How to use Categories & Tags in WordPress?

Categories and tags are essential tools for organizing content on your WordPress site. They help improve user experience by making it easier for visitors to find related content and enhance SEO by structuring your site more efficiently. This step-by-step guide will show you how to use categories and tags in WordPress.

Categories are broad groupings of your posts. They are hierarchical, meaning you can create sub-categories. Categories are ideal for organizing content into major topics.

Step-by-Step Guide to Using Categories

Step 1: Create a New Category

Log in to your WordPress Dashboard. Navigate to Posts > Categories. In the Add New Category section, enter the name of your category.

Optionally, you can enter a Slug (URL-friendly version of the name), Parent Category (if it’s a sub-category), and a Description. Click Add New Category to save.

Step 2: Assign a Category to a Post

Go to Posts > All Posts. Hover over the post you want to categorize and click Edit. In the Categories section on the right-hand side, check the box next to the category you want to assign. Click Update to save your changes.

Step 3: Manage Categories

To edit a category, go to Posts > Categories. Hover over the category you want to edit and click Edit. Make your changes and click Update.

Tags are more specific keywords that describe the details of your posts. Unlike categories, tags are not hierarchical. They are useful for linking related posts across different categories.

Step-by-Step Guide to Using Tags

Step 1: Create a New Tag

Log in to your WordPress Dashboard. Navigate to Posts > Tags.

In the Add New Tag section, enter the name of your tag. Optionally, you can enter a Slug and a Description. Click Add New Tag to save.

Step 2: Assign Tags to a Post

Go to Posts > All Posts. Hover over the post you want to tag and click Edit. In the Tags section on the right-hand side, enter the tags separated by commas and click Add. Click Update to save your changes.

Step 3: Manage Tags

To edit a tag, go to Posts > Tags. Hover over the tag you want to edit and click Edit. Make your changes and click Update.

• Use Categories for Broad Topics: Categories should represent the main topics or themes of your site. Each post should generally belong to one or two categories.
• Use Tags for Specific Keywords: Tags should describe specific details and can be used to link posts across different categories.
• Avoid Overlapping Categories and Tags: Ensure that categories and tags serve distinct purposes to avoid redundancy.
• Plan Your Structure: Think about the structure of your site before creating categories and tags to ensure logical organization.