How to write a topic overview that links your other articles

If you have written several articles on one subject, readers who land on one of them have no easy way to find the rest. A topic overview fixes that. This guide shows you how to write a topic overview that links your other articles, so one page can guide a reader through your whole run of posts.

What a topic overview is and why it helps readers

A topic overview is an article that explains one subject in a few paragraphs and then points to your other articles about it, in a sensible order, with a line on what each one covers.

It is not a table of contents and it is not an archive. An archive lists everything you have posted. An overview picks the posts that belong to one subject and tells the reader where to start.

It helps in three ways:

A reader who finds one article can see what else you have written on the subject.
A reader who is new to the subject gets a route through it instead of a pile of posts.
You get a single page you can point people to when someone asks, "Where do I start?"

On Electrified, each topic you add to a post links to a page of every post about it. That page collects everything under the topic. Your overview is the version you shape by hand.

Pick a topic you have already written about

Write the overview after you have articles to link, not before. An overview with nothing behind it is a promise, and a thin one.

A good rule is three or more articles on the same subject. Fewer than that and a simple link inside one article does the job.

Open My posts while signed in. It lists every post with Drafts and Published tabs, so you can see what is live. Only published posts are worth linking from an overview, because a draft is visible only to you. A link to a draft would send a reader to a page that tells them it is a draft and that only its author can see it.

Then narrow the subject. "Writing" is too broad. "Writing for people who are learning a skill" is a subject you can actually cover in one overview. If your articles split into two clear subjects, write two overviews.

Group your articles into a clear order

Do not link in the order you published. Link in the order a reader would need them.

Try one of these orders:

Beginner to advanced. Start with the article that needs no background.
By task. Group posts by what the reader is trying to do, such as planning, drafting or fixing.
By time. Use this when the posts tell a story, such as a project from start to finish.

Write the order down before you write any prose. A plain list of titles under two or three group names is enough. If a post fits no group, it probably does not belong in this overview.

Keep each group small. Three to five links under a heading is easy to scan. Twelve links under one heading is an archive again. For more on making a list that people can use, see how to write a list article that readers can use.

Write an opening that tells readers what they will find

Open with the answer, as you would in any article. Say what the subject is, who the overview is for, and how many articles it links.

Here is a weak opening:

I have written a lot about this over the past months, so here are some links.

Here is a stronger one:

This is a guide to writing for readers who want to act on what they read. It links four articles, from planning a post to keeping a log. Start with the first one if you are new.

The second version names the subject, the reader and the starting point. A reader can decide in one breath whether to continue.

Your headings carry a lot of weight here too, because readers scan them first. If you want a method, read how to write article headings that tell readers what is next. Use one heading per group of articles and make each heading say what the group is for.

Link each article with context, not just a list

A bare list of titles makes the reader guess. Give each link a sentence of its own that answers two questions: what is in it, and when would I read it?

In the Electrified editor you write a link as [link text](https://...). You can also start a section with ## and a heading, and write lists with - at the start of each line. The Preview tab shows what the published page will look like, so check your links there before you publish.

Compare these two entries:

Weak: "How to write a post. Read it here."
Strong: "Read this one when you keep getting the same question from different people. It shows how to turn your answer into a post you can send as a link."

The strong entry tells the reader who it is for. Keep each description to one or two sentences. If you need more, the article itself is the place for it.

Use clear link text too. Link the title or the key phrase, not the words "click here". Descriptive text tells a reader where a link goes before they follow it. Do not write the overview to chase search ranking. Most writers' links on Electrified carry rel="nofollow ugc", so plan the page for readers and nothing else.

Keep the overview updated as you publish

An overview goes stale the day you publish a new article it does not mention. Make updating it part of publishing.

The routine is short:

Publish the new article and give it your topic.
Open the overview from My posts.
Add one link and one sentence in the right group.
Press Save changes.

A published post keeps its address, so every link you have shared to the overview still works after you edit it. You do not need to repost it.

If you want to draft a change without showing it, you can unpublish the post back to a draft. Only do that for a big rewrite, because the page disappears for readers while it is a draft. For small additions, edit and save.

Your own page at /@handle lists your published posts, and your feed at /@handle/feed.xml carries your newest 100. The overview is the only place that explains how the posts fit together, so keep it current.

Example: write a topic overview for a set of writing guides

Here is a sample overview to show the pattern. The subject is writing guides, and the links point to posts on Miguel's page. The one-line notes are a sample of the style. When you build your own overview, open each post first so your note matches what it really says.

Writing to explain.

A post that answers a question you keep getting asked: read it when the same question keeps arriving and you want one page to point to.
An about page for your project: read it when you need a page that says what your project is.

Writing to learn.

A weekly learning log you keep up: read it when you want a steady habit of writing about what you learn.

Writing to look back.

A project retrospective article: read it when a project has ended and you want to record what happened.

The opening paragraph for this overview might read: "This is a guide to writing that serves a purpose. It links four articles in three groups: explaining, learning and looking back. Start with the group that matches what you are trying to do."

The groups are not in publishing order. They follow what a reader wants to do, and every line says when to read the article. That is the pattern to copy.

When you add topics to your overview in the editor, choose up to five, separated by commas. Each is under 40 characters. You might use writing guides or knowledge building, which are existing topic pages. You can see all topics with their post counts at /topics.

Frequently asked questions

How many articles do I need before I write a topic overview?

Three is a good minimum. With fewer, a link inside one article is usually enough.

Should I link drafts in my overview?

No. A draft is visible only to you, so a reader who follows the link will see a page that says it is a draft. Publish the article first, then link it.

Does the overview replace my topic pages?

No. A topic page lists every post that uses that topic. Your overview is a page you shape by hand, with an order and a sentence for each link.

Will my overview change if I edit it later?

You can edit it and press Save changes. The post keeps its address, so links you have already shared still work.

Can a tool write the overview for me?

A personal token lets a tool save drafts to your account, but it cannot publish. You read the draft, check the links and publish it yourself.

Get started

Make a list of your published articles on one subject, sort them into two or three groups, and write one sentence for each. Then write the opening paragraph last, once you know what the page contains.

Make an account on Electrified: write about your product, topic or idea on your own page, one article at a time, and let readers follow along.