I would like the different sections of a StoryMap to have URLs that could be shared, and would take a reader directly to a specific part of the StoryMap.
Most often the granularity of links would match well with the granularity of navigation. If a heading block is being used for navigation, then it would also have a URL that would take a user directly to that point in the story.
Or, to avoid the dependency on Navigation. It would be great if any heading block could be used as a bookmark anchor in the story, and a URL generated that would take a user directly to that section.
The URL does not have to be human readable, as the StoryMap author may have two headings with the same text. The URL would need something to make it unique in that case.
Also, the author might edit the text for a heading, or edit the name it is presented with in the Navigation menu. Such changes, however, should have no impact on the URL that points to a specific heading block.
In other words, the URLs should be some form of a permalink, which would not break, if the author edits the text of the heading, or drags-and-drops the heading elsewhere in the story.
Users would need some way of getting the URL to a specific section, whether the story is being authored or viewed.
For instance, there could be an on-hover permalink icon next to the heading text. The user would use that to copy the URL that is for that specific section of the story. It would also be present, in both the Editing and Published view of a story, so that authors and readers could all leverage the capability.
As an example of the on-hover permalink approach elsewhere in the Esri ArcGIS platform, check out the ArcGIS API for Python documentation. Mouse over any of the function headings and a link icon will appear with the permalink to that section of the page, for example:
Example function section heading in API documentation.
Example of on-hover permalink appearing on mouse-over.
You can right-click on the permalink icon to copy the URL.