Categories

You can use categories to define sections of your site and group related posts. The default category is Uncategorized but this can be easily changed in your Settings. Pages cannot be associated with Categories. You can only associate Categories to Posts.

There are two ways to add Categories. They can be added whilst adding or editing your Post or they can be added via the Categories menu option. Adding Categories whilst editing your Post, will automatically assign those Categories to your Post. Adding Categories using the Categories menu option will simply add them to the list of available Categories.

When you click on the Categories menu option you’ll be shown a list of Categories that have already been added along with some blank fields that allow you to add a new Category.

To add a new Category, fill in the blank fields and then click the Add New Category button:

• Name – The name is how it appears on your site
• Slug – The Slug is the URL-friendly version of the name. It’s usually all lowercase and contains only letters, numbers, and hyphens
• Parent – Categories, unlike tags, can have a hierarchy. You might have a Car category, and under that have children categories for Ford, General Motors and Toyota. Totally optional. To create a subcategory, just choose another category from the Parent dropdown
• Description – The description is not prominent by default; however, some themes may display it

Once you add a new Category it will appear in the list of Categories on the right side of the screen.

When hovering your cursor over each row in the list of Categories, a few links will appear beneath the Category name.

• Edit – Allows you to edit the Category properties such as Name, Slug, Parent and Description
• Quick Edit – Allows you to quickly edit the Category Name and Slug
• Delete – Deletes the Category permanently from the list of Categories. After clicking Delete you will be prompted to confirm your choice. Click OK to delete the Category or Cancel if you don’t want to delete it
• View – This will list all the Posts that are currently using this Category

If you would like to permanently delete numerous Categories at once, click the checkboxes next to the Categories you would like to delete and then choose Delete from the Bulk Actions dropdown list at the top of the page. After selecting Delete, click the Apply button to immediately delete the selected Categories (you will not be prompted to confirm your choice).

Deleting a Category does not delete the posts in that Category. Instead, posts that were only assigned to the deleted Category are set to the default Category, which is set to Uncategorized by default. The Default Post Category can be configured within the Settings > Writing section.

Adding Categories within your Post

Adding Categories whilst editing your Post will automatically assign those Categories to your Post.

When using the Block Editor, the Categories panel can be found just below the Permalink panel. To add an existing Category, simply tick the checkbox(es) next to the Categories you’d like to assign to the Post.

If you would like to create a new Category and assign it to the Post at the same time, click the Add New Category link. Two fields will then appear. Type the name of the Category that you’d like to add into the empty input field. If you’d like the new Category to have a Parent, select it from the Parent Category dropdown list. Click the Add New Category button when done to create the Category and automatically assign it to the Post.

When using the Classic Editor, the Categories panel can be found just below the Format panel if your Theme supports Post Formats. Alternatively, it will reside just below the Publish panel. To add an existing Category, simply tick the checkbox(es) next to the Categories you’d like to assign to the Post.

If you would like to create a new Category and assign it to the Post at the same time, click the + Add New Category link. Two fields will then appear. Type the name of the Category that you’d like to add into the empty input field. If you’d like the new Category to have a Parent, select it from the Parent Category dropdown list. Click the Add New Category button when done to create the Category and automatically assign it to the Post.

Tags

Tags are ad-hoc keywords that identify important information in your post (names, subjects, etc) that may or may not recur in other posts. Unlike Categories, Tags have no hierarchy, meaning there’s no relationship from one Tag to another. Pages cannot be assigned Tags and cannot be associated with Categories. You can only associate Tags and Categories to Posts.

Like Categories, there are two ways to add Post Tags. They can be added whilst adding or editing your Post or they can be added via the Tagsmenu option. Adding Tags whilst editing your Post, will automatically assign those Tags to your Post. Adding Tags using the Tags menu option will simply add them to the list of available Tags.

When you click on the Tags menu option you’ll be shown a list of Tags that have already been added, along with some blank fields that allow you to add a new Tag. A list of Popular Tags is also displayed in ‘cloud’ format. That is, the Tags are displayed in alphabetical order and the more often a Tag has been used, the larger the font it’s displayed in.

To add a new Tag, fill in the blank fields and then click the Add New Tag button:

• Name – The name is how it appears on your site
• Slug – The Slug is the URL-friendly version of the name. It’s usually all lowercase and contains only letters, numbers, and hyphens
• Description – The description is not prominent by default; however, some themes may display it

Once you add a new Tag it will appear in the list of Tags on the right side of the screen.

When hovering your cursor over each row in the list of Tags, a few links will appear beneath the Tag name.

• Edit –Allows you to edit the Tag properties such as Name, Slug and Description
• Quick Edit – Allows you to quickly edit the Tag Name and Slug
• Delete – Deletes the Tag permanently from the list of Tags. After clicking Delete you will be prompted to confirm your choice. Click OK to delete the Tag or Cancel if you don’t want to delete it
• View – This will list all the Posts that are currently using this Tag

If you would like to permanently delete numerous Tags at once, click the checkboxes next to the Tags you would like to delete and then choose Delete from the Bulk Actions dropdown list at the top of the page. After selecting Delete, click the Apply button to immediately delete the selected Tags (you will not be prompted to confirm your choice).

Adding Tags within your Post

Adding Tags whilst editing your Post, will automatically assign those Tags to your Post.

When using the Block Editor, the Tags panel can be found just below the Categories panel. To add a new Tag, simply write the Tag or Tags (separated with commas) into the edit field. If you make a mistake and need to remove a Tag, simply click the small ‘x’ next to the individual tag to remove it.

When you start typing your tags, a list of previously used tags will display below the edit field if any of the characters that you type, match a previously entered Tag. If a list of previous Tags appears, you can click on any of the Tags to select them.

When using the Classic Editor, the Tags panel can be found just below the Categories panel. To add an existing Tag, click the Choose from the most used tags link. This will display a list of previously used Tags (if available). They are arranged alphabetically and in ‘cloud’ format. That is, the more often a Tag has been used, the larger the font it’s displayed in. To add a previously used Tag, simply click on the Tag name and it will be assigned to your Post. To add a new Tag, simply write the Tag or Tags (separated with commas) into the edit field and click the Add button. Tags that are assigned to the Post will be displayed below the edit field. To remove a Tag from your Post, click the small ‘x’ icon next to the Tag name.