A long article needs three things a reader can use without scrolling to find them: where they are, what else is on the page, and how much is left. All three modules are Creative modules and all three ship switched on.
Add a table of contents
- Add Table of Contents to a sidebar column or above the article. It reads the headings already on the page, so there is nothing to type.
- Choose the heading levels. Include H2, Include H3 and Include H4 are on, and H1, H5 and H6 are off, which is right for most articles and wrong for a page whose sections are H1s.
- Point it at the article with Content Selector, a CSS selector for the container. Left empty it reads the whole page, which on most themes means it collects your footer headings too.
- Set Minimum Headings so a short post does not get a one item list, and pick a List Style of numbered, bulleted or none.
- Decide how it follows the reader. Smooth Scroll and Scroll Spy are on, Scroll Offset compensates for a fixed header, and Sticky with its own offset keeps the list in view on a wide screen. Collapsible is the mobile answer.
Because it is generated, it cannot fall out of step with the article: fix a heading and the list fixes itself. That does make your heading structure the outline, which is a good reason to keep headings short and in a sensible order rather than using them for emphasis.
Breadcrumbs
Breadcrumbs renders the trail from the site root to the current page and marks it up as a BreadcrumbList, so the same trail can appear under your result in a search page. Home Text names the first crumb, Before Text puts a word such as You are here in front of it, and the separator is an icon you choose. Put it above the title, keep it on one line, and let the last item be the current page rather than a link back to itself.
Reading Progress
Reading Progress is a bar at the top or bottom of the window, or a ring in one of the four corners: Indicator Style picks between them and Position places it.
The setting that matters is Target Selector, a CSS selector for the thing being read. Left empty it tracks the whole page, which counts your footer as reading, so a reader hits sixty per cent at the end of the article and the bar never fills. Point it at the article container instead.
Bar Thickness runs from two to twelve pixels and starts at four. Bar Color takes a colour, or turn on Use Gradient and add a Gradient End Color. Hide On Complete gets the bar out of the way once the reader reaches the end, and Show Percent prints the number for the ring.
Placing them together
All three at once is a lot of furniture. On a wide screen a sidebar table of contents and a thin progress bar coexist happily. On a phone, pick one. The reader came for the article.
Post Reading Time pairs well with these, and belongs next to the byline rather than in the progress bar. It ships switched off, and it is worth setting Words Per Minute deliberately: 250 is the default, and technical writing reads slower than that. Include Comments and Include Images decide whether those count toward the estimate.