Many WordPress users aren’t aware of best practices for tags and categories. Some users may not know the differences between the two. Both help you organize content in various ways.

It definitely pays to use tags and categories correctly. They can help you organize website content within WordPress, which means easier navigation for site visitors, which in turn boosts SEO.

WordPress Categories vs. Tags

Categories work for broad, hierarchical content groupings, which you can break down into sub-categories. For example, a music blogger might categorize a blog by genre: rock, blues, hip hop, jazz, and so on, with rock sub-categories such as punk, alternative, classic, etc.

On the other hand, tags call out specific items mentioned in the content. They allow you to micro-categorize posts and aren’t hierarchical. For example, a blog on the Beatles might be categorized as rock music but tagged as “the Beatles,” to highlight the content more specifically within that blog.

In sum, categories indicate the general topic of your post. Tags indicate particular aspects of the nature of the content, and they can differ on each page or post. Categories apply broadly to all or nearly all content and thus get more use than tags, which apply case by case.

Categories and tags are added to WordPress posts by default. They don’t normally appear on pages, but some plugins, such as the Create And Assign Categories For Pages plugin by Sandeep Singh, extend this functionality to pages.

Setting Up WordPress Categories

You can add or edit a WordPress category in two common ways. First, go to the WordPress Dashboard > Posts > Categories.

Then fill in the following fields:

• A name
• A Slug (the URL structure of the category page)
• A selected parent category (optional)  
• A description (optional)

If you leave the slug field blank, it will automatically assign a slug based on the entered name.

Once created, the category can be assigned to a page or post. When editing a post or page, you will find the categories section in the sidebar on the right-hand side of the screen. (You will see this option by default only on posts, NOT on pages. You must add a plugin to expand the functionality to pages.) Check the appropriate boxes to apply the category or categories to that page or post.

You can also add new categories within this area. Clicking on the Add New Category link will prompt you to add a category name and a parent category if necessary. However, you can’t add descriptions or change existing category names from this area.

WordPress creates the category of Uncategorized by default. This category is applied if a different category has not already been assigned to the page or post.

Setting Up WordPress Tags

Tags help users search your website and quickly understand what the content is about. They also help search engines better understand the content on each page. A post can have any number of tags, but we recommend 10 or fewer. Excess tags can add confusion.

To add or edit tags, go to the WordPress Dashboard > Posts > Tags.

In practice, site managers and contributors are more likely to add tags directly to the post or page through the WordPress page editor. As with categories, go to the right sidebar to assign tags. Tags are content specific, so checkboxes wouldn’t work well. Type multiple tag options directly into the input box.

Displaying Tags and Categories on a Website

One of our clients, MetalTek, uses tags and categories on its blogs. In the right-hand column, a list of tags highlight specific content within each blog. Below that are links to blogs in the same category as the post on the current page.

It pays to use tags and categories correctly in #WordPress. They can help you organize #websitecontent, which means easier navigation for site visitors, which in turn boosts #SEO. https://bit.ly/3HnWzxa @northwoods #WordPresswebsite