JackTTIf you're an avid reader on Dev.to, you might have come across articles that feature a table of contents generated from a markdown heading elements. This humble yet effective tool serves as a roadmap for readers, offering a clear overview of the article's structure. In my opinion, this is not just a good practice; it's an excellent one.
Here are a few reasons why I believe having a table of contents is beneficial:
Structural Overview: A table of contents provides readers with an immediate sense of the article's organization. It allows readers to gauge the depth and breadth of the content, making it easier to decide if the article meets their needs.
Time Saver: A table of contents can be a real time-saver. It lets readers jump directly to the sections that interest them the most, skipping over parts they may already be familiar with.
A Proposal for Dev.to
Now, let's consider a thought: What if Dev.to took the initiative to automatically generate a table of contents for every article and placed it conveniently on the right side of the article?
This feature could revolutionize the reading experience on the platform. Imagine being able to glance at the table of contents before diving into an article. It would provide a quick preview of what the article contains, allowing readers to decide whether it's worth their time. Additionally, the automatic generation of the table of contents would alleviate the burden on authors, who often manually create these sections.
What's your take on this idea?
Please leave a comment and share your thoughts on this matter. I hope that a lot of feedback about this feature can be an input for Dev.to to improve the reading experience.
