Understanding WordPress Basics – Using Categories to Provide
a Way to Organize Your Post Topics
See video tutorial below on Categories.
1. Adding Categories
In your Dashboard under the tab for Posts you will see the tab for Categories. You can add categories there. There is room for a category name, a slug (the part the browser sees) and a description of a category.
2. Choosing a Category After Writing a Post
In the Post page there is a Categories box to the right of the text box for posting. The Categories that fit the post can be chosen by putting a check mark in the box. Below the Categories is the box for adding Tags.
3. Adding a List of Categories to the Sidebar for Visitors
There are widgets that can be used to add lists of Categories to the sidebar so visitors can view the Categories. This can be one of the ways people browse your site and click to choose topics.
4. Adding Category Topics to the Horizontal Navigation Bar
Categories can also be added so they show up on the public side of the website by using sidebar menus or by customizing the horizontal navigation bar on the front of the website.
5. Drop Down Category Boxes for the Sidebar or Footer
Visitors can click on a Category subject to see all the posts on that topic. There are also plugins that have a drop down box. When a visitor clicks the down arrow of the drop down box the list of Categories shows.
6. Categories Are Different From Tags
Categories are a wider or more general topic area than Tags. The Tags are more detailed in describing a page or post. For instance a Category for WordPress Tutorials might include a post with Tags that include “uploading photos.”