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WordPress hat seitdem einen Inhaltsverzeichnisblock ausgeliefert 2022. Vier Jahre später, es ist immer noch markiert “Experimental-,” Daher kann eine selbstgehostete Standardinstallation es nicht einmal im Editor sehen. Das bedeutet, dass Sie in jedem Tutorial dazu aufgefordert werden “just add the native block” is pointing at a feature that isn’t really there. Here’s the part nobody mentions: you probably already have a working table of contents, tucked inside a plugin you installed for something else.
Schnelle Antwort: Running Rank Math or All in One SEO? You already have a free Table of Contents block. Drop it above your first heading and it builds the list from your H2s and H3s automatically. No SEO plugin yet? Install SimpleTOC (a 10,000-install block that adds zero frontend JavaScript) or Easy Table of Contents (600,000+ installs, auto-inserts across your whole site). Want no plugin at all? You can hand-build anchor links in about ten minutes.
Zuletzt überprüft: Juni 2026. Plugin install counts, Bewertungen, and the core block’s status verified against WordPress.org and the Gutenberg project this month.
What separates this guide from the dozens that rank above it: it skips the experimental block most sites can’t use. It leads with the free tool you likely already own. And it tells you which heading levels and placement actually help readers, not just which plugins exist.
Why a Table of Contents Earns Its Place
Zwei Gründe, and they pull in the same direction. Zuerst, readers skim. On a 2,500-word guide, a clickable list near the top lets someone jump straight to the section they came for. No scrolling past four things they don’t need. Less friction, fewer bounces.
Zweite, Google reads those anchor links too. When your headings carry proper anchors, Google can show “springen zu” links right under your result, sending visitors deep into the page. That extra real estate in the results pushes your listing taller and lifts click-through. If on-page structure for search is your main goal, pairing a clean heading outline with SEO-optimized hosting covers both the content and the delivery side.
Eine ehrliche Einschränkung. A table of contents helps long content. Slap one on a 400-word post and it’s clutter. The rough line: if the article has four or more H2 sections, add one. Below that, überspringe es.
Methode 1: Use the Table of Contents Block You Already Have
Start here, because it costs nothing and adds no new plugin. Two of the big free SEO plugins, Rank Math and All in One SEO, include a Table of Contents block at no charge. If either is already on your site, the work is basically done.
Zum Alles in einem SEO, open the post in the block editor, click the Add Block (+) icon where you want the list (usually right after your intro), and search “AIOSEO.” Pick the AIOSEO Table of Contents Block. It scans the page, pulls in every heading, and indents your H3s under their parent H2s on its own. You get list-style options (bullets or numbers) and a collapsible toggle so mobile readers can fold it away.
Rank Math works the same way: insert its Table of Contents block, and it generates the list from your headings. Both are free. Both update as you add or reorder headings. Neither asks you to touch a line of HTML.
One gotcha if you run Yoast. It’s the most-installed SEO plugin around, but its free version has no Table of Contents block at all. Yoast bundles one only in its paid Premium tier. So if Yoast is your plugin and you’re not on Premium, don’t waste twenty minutes hunting for a block that isn’t there. Use Method 2 oder 4 stattdessen.
The catch worth knowing: a block sits in one post. It won’t appear on older articles automatically. If you want every post on the site to get a table of contents without you editing each one, jump to Method 3.
- Kosten: kostenlos, no extra plugin if you already run an SEO suite
- Effort: Über 30 seconds per post
- Beste für: people who already have Rank Math or AIOSEO installed
Methode 2: A Featherweight Block (SimpleTOC)
No SEO plugin, and you don’t want one just for a list? SimpleTOC is the lean pick. It’s a single-purpose Gutenberg block with a 5-star rating across 76 Rezensionen auf WordPress.org, and its standout trait is what it doesn’t do: by default it loads no JavaScript and no CSS on the frontend. Smooth scrolling and accordion styling are opt-in, and they only add assets when you switch them on.
That restraint matters more than it sounds. Easy Table of Contents carries 60x the install base, but it loads its own JavaScript and CSS on every page that shows a TOC. SimpleTOC’s near-zero footprint means it won’t show up as render-blocking weight in a PageSpeed audit. On a fast host the difference is small, but it’s real, and your origin speed still does the heavy lifting either way. Hosting your site on SSD-based WordPress hosting does more for load time than shaving a few kilobytes off a TOC ever will.
Setup is the same two-click routine: add the SimpleTOC block above your first H2, and it builds the outline from your headings. It defaults to plain HTML lists, which is exactly what you want for accessibility and clean markup.
- Kosten: kostenlos, no paid tier
- Effort: add one block per post
- Beste für: speed-conscious sites with no SEO plugin installed
Methode 3: Set It and Forget It (Einfaches Inhaltsverzeichnis)
Here’s the one to reach for when you’ve got 200 existing posts and zero interest in editing all of them. Easy Table of Contents is the most-installed option in this space at 600,000+ aktive Installationen, bewertet 4.4 aus 5 über 219 Bewertungen, and it’s actively maintained (Ausführung 2.0.85, tested up to WordPress 7.0). This isn’t an abandoned plugin.
Its real trick is auto-insertion. In the plugin settings you pick which post types get a table of contents (Beiträge, Seiten, oder beides), set a minimum heading count to trigger it, and choose where it lands. From then on, every qualifying article gets a list with no per-post work. Retroactively. That’s the feature SimpleTOC and the SEO-plugin blocks can’t match.
A few honest limits. The free version drives everything through that global auto-insert and a shortcode, not a drag-and-drop block; the Gutenberg block and the Elementor widget live in the paid Pro tier. And site-wide auto-insert means you’ll occasionally get a table of contents somewhere you didn’t want one, so keep the per-post disable option handy. For most blogs the trade is worth it.
- Kosten: free core, optional Pro for the block and widgets
- Effort: one-time setup, then automatic
- Beste für: sites with lots of existing posts that need a TOC all at once
Methode 4: Hand-Built Anchor Links (No Plugin)
Don’t want another plugin in the stack? You can build a table of contents by hand in the block editor. No code beyond a couple of clicks per heading. It’s the most durable method too, because it depends on nothing that can break in an update.
The process has two halves: tag each heading with an anchor, then link to those anchors from a list up top.
- Schritt 1: Add an anchor. Click an H2, open the block settings sidebar, expand Advanced, and type a short slug into the HTML Anchor field (sagen, Preisgestaltung oder setup-steps). Repeat for every heading you want to link.
- Schritt 2: Build the list. At the top of your post, add a List block and type out your section titles.
- Schritt 3: Link each item. Highlight a list item, click the link button, and enter # plus the anchor you set (zum Beispiel, #Preisgestaltung). The hash tells the browser to scroll to that spot on the same page.
- Schritt 4: Test it. Preview the post and click each link. Every one should jump to its section.
Ja, it’s more manual, and you have to update the list whenever you add a section. But it produces the cleanest possible markup, survives plugin changes, and gives you total control over wording and order. For a cornerstone page you’ll rarely touch, it’s a fine choice. For a blog you publish to weekly, the upkeep gets old fast, which is exactly when Method 1 oder 3 gewinnt.
About That “Einheimisch” Table of Contents Block
Das bringt viele Leute zum Stolpern, so let’s clear it up. WordPress did add a Table of Contents block to the Gutenberg project in version 13.3, released back in 2022. Das Problem? It never graduated. Ab Juni 2026 it’s still marked experimental, which means it only appears if you’ve installed the separate Gutenberg plugin and switched on experimental features. A standard WordPress install (the core software most hosts give you) doesn’t show it in the block inserter at all.
WordPress.com muddies the water further. Sites there do offer a Table of Contents block that auto-builds from your H2 through H6 headings. But even WordPress.com’s own support page notes it leans on the Gutenberg plugin being active. So if a guide told you the block is “eingebaut” and you went looking and found nothing, you weren’t doing it wrong. It mostly isn’t there yet.
Fazit: don’t wait on the core block. The methods above all work today on any current WordPress site. And the SEO-plugin block in Method 1 gives you the same one-block convenience people expect from the native one.
Which Method Should You Actually Pick?
Skip the feature-checklist routine. Match the method to your situation instead.
- You already run Rank Math or AIOSEO, publishing a few posts a month: use the SEO plugin’s block (Methode 1). Zero new plugins, and it’s free. Adding a dedicated TOC plugin on top would just be redundant weight.
- No SEO plugin, you care about page speed, under ~50 posts: SimpleTOC (Methode 2). The no-JavaScript footprint keeps your PageSpeed score clean, and per-post insertion is no burden at that volume.
- A large existing blog (100+ Beiträge) that all need a TOC now: Einfaches Inhaltsverzeichnis (Methode 3). Auto-insert applies retroactively across the whole archive in one setting. Doing that by hand or block-by-block would take days.
- A single high-value landing page, or you refuse to add plugins: hand-built anchors (Methode 4). Maximum control, zero dependencies, and nothing to break when a plugin updates.
- You build with Elementor Pro: use its built-in Table of Contents widget. It’s a Pro-only feature, but if you already pay for Elementor, Theme Builder can place it site-wide in one move. No separate plugin needed.
One overlap to call out: don’t run two of these at once. An SEO-plugin block plus Easy Table of Contents auto-insert on the same post gives you two tables of contents stacked on top of each other. Pick one path per post type.
Styling and Best Practices
A working table of contents is step one. A useful one follows a few rules that most tutorials skip.
- Place it after your intro, before the first H2. Readers want the map after they know what the article is, not before. That slot also sits above the fold on most posts.
- Limit it to H2 and H3. Pulling in H4s and H5s makes the list a wall of links nobody reads. Two levels deep is the sweet spot. Most blocks let you set the depth.
- Make it collapsible on mobile. A 12-item list that pushes your actual content down half a screen on a phone hurts more than it helps. The AIOSEO and Easy Table of Contents options both offer a fold-away toggle. Benutze es.
- Consider sticky only on very long pieces. A floating TOC that follows the scroll is handy on a 4,000-word pillar page and annoying on a 900-word post. Reserve it for the big ones.
- Watch the weight. If you’re stacking a TOC plugin onto an already plugin-heavy site, the kilobytes add up. Our breakdown of the hosting speed formula shows where a few extra scripts actually start to bite into load time, and where they don’t.
Quick accessibility note, because it’s free to get right: keep the list as real HTML list items with descriptive text. Screen readers navigate by them, and so does Google. All four methods above produce proper markup by default, so you’re covered as long as you don’t override it with custom HTML hacks.
Troubleshooting Common Problems
The links don’t jump, or they jump to the wrong spot
Almost always an anchor mismatch. On hand-built lists, confirm the link target (#Preisgestaltung) exactly matches the HTML Anchor on the heading. With block-based TOCs, there’s a known quirk: some don’t generate live anchors until you save the post and reload the editor once. speichern, auffrischen, then test again before assuming it’s broken.
Two tables of contents are showing up
You’ve got an auto-insert plugin (Einfaches Inhaltsverzeichnis) and a manual block firing on the same post. Disable one. Either turn off auto-insert for that post type, or remove the block. Pick a single method per content type and the duplicates vanish.
The table of contents is empty or missing sections
Zwei übliche Ursachen. Your post may not hit the minimum heading count the plugin needs to trigger (check that threshold in settings). Or your headings are styled as plain bold text rather than real H2/H3 heading blocks, so the generator can’t see them. Convert them to proper headings and they’ll appear.
It looks fine on desktop but breaks the layout on mobile
A long uncollapsed list or a sticky TOC overlapping content. Switch on the collapsible option, and drop sticky positioning on shorter posts. If your theme fights the styling, the conflict usually traces to an outdated theme or PHP version; verwaltetes WordPress-Hosting keeps that stack current for you, which heads off a lot of these display bugs.
Häufig gestellte Fragen
Does WordPress have a built-in table of contents?
Not in the practical sense. A Table of Contents block exists in the Gutenberg project, but it’s been experimental since 2022 and still isn’t in core WordPress as of 2026. A normal install won’t show it. The closest “eingebaut” option is the free block inside Rank Math or All in One SEO, if you already run one of those.
Do I need a plugin to add a table of contents in WordPress?
Nein. You can build one by hand using HTML anchors on your headings and a linked list at the top, with no plugin at all. A plugin or SEO-plugin block just automates that work and updates the list when your headings change. For a single page, manual is fine; for a busy blog, automation saves real time.
What’s the best free table of contents plugin for WordPress?
Für die meisten Menschen, the block already inside Rank Math or AIOSEO, since it adds nothing new. If you have no SEO plugin and want minimal page weight, SimpleTOC (no frontend JavaScript by default) is the lean choice. For applying a TOC across hundreds of existing posts at once, Easy Table of Contents and its auto-insert wins.
Does Yoast SEO have a table of contents block?
Only the paid one. Yoast SEO Premium ships a Table of Contents block, but the free Yoast plugin doesn’t include it. If you run free Yoast, don’t upgrade just for this. Add SimpleTOC, switch on Easy Table of Contents, or hand-build the anchor links instead.
Does a table of contents help SEO?
Indirekt, Ja. It doesn’t rank you higher on its own, but the anchor links can earn “springen zu” links under your Google result, which lifts click-through. It also keeps readers on the page longer by helping them find what they want. Both are signals search engines reward.
Where should the table of contents go in a blog post?
Right after the introduction and before your first H2 heading. Readers want the overview once they know the topic, not before it. That position also tends to sit above the fold, so it’s visible without scrolling on most posts.
Why don’t my table of contents links work after I publish?
Usually one of two things. The heading anchors and link targets don’t match exactly (a typo or a different slug), or a block-based TOC hasn’t refreshed its anchors yet. Save the post, reload the editor, and re-test. If you hand-built the links, double-check each # target against its heading’s HTML Anchor field.
Nächste Schritte
A table of contents is one small piece of making long WordPress content readable and search-friendly. Once it’s in, the bigger wins come from the content around it: well-structured headings, fast pages, and posts worth scrolling through in the first place. If you’re still building out your site, our look at the KI-WordPress-Builder covers how to draft that structure quickly, and the SEO hosting and speed guides linked above handle the delivery side. Get the headings right, pick the method that fits your setup, and your readers (und Google) will find their way around without a second thought.