Intercom’s Help Center Table of Contents (ToC) is intended to provide a two-tier navigation structure. However, Intercom officially recommends avoiding <h1> tags in the article body for SEO reasons (to avoid multiple H1s on a page; the <header> tag is also read as <h1>). This recommendation creates a fundamental conflict: following your SEO advice effectively breaks the ToC, reducing it to a single, flat layer because it ignores <h3> and <h4>.
This is not a "new feature" request; it is a functional misalignment that renders the "dynamic" ToC obsolete for any company following modern web standards.
The Problem
• The Conflict: The ToC only supports <h1> and <h2>. Since using <h1> in the body is discouraged, we are forced to use <h2> as the top level and <h3> for sub-sections.
• The Result: Sub-sections (<h3>) are invisible in the ToC. The promised two-layer navigation is currently impossible to achieve without sabotaging our SEO.
• Collapsible Sections: The title of a collapsible section is also ignored by the ToC, making long-form, organized content difficult to navigate.
Proposed Solution: User-Configurable ToC Levels
To resolve this, Intercom must allow users to define the hierarchy of their Table of Contents. This can be easily implemented in the Help Center settings with a simple toggle/checkbox system:
Settings: Table of Contents Hierarchy
Select which header tags should be included in the dynamic Table of Contents:
☐ H1 (Not recommended for SEO)
☑︎ H2
☑︎ H3
☐ H4
☑︎ Include Collapsible Section Titles (When assigned an included header tag)
This solution allows customers to align their navigation with their specific SEO strategy and content structure.
Why this is Essential
We are currently forced to choose between search engine visibility and user experience (readability). As a premium platform, Intercom should not force its users into this trade-off. The current logic is outdated and contradicts your own technical advice.
Conclusion & Required Action
This issue should not be relegated to a "Product Wishlist" where it relies on popularity votes. It is a structural flaw in the Help Center’s architecture that prevents the software from functioning as intended.
We expect this issue to be moved to the Product Roadmap as a priority fix to align the Help Center functionality with Intercom’s own SEO best practices.