
When running a WordPress website or blog, categories are your best friends. These default WordPress taxonomies help you organize your content so visitors can easily find what they need. Think of walking into a library without sections or labels. It would be hard to find your favorite book, right? Similarly, categories make your website neat and reader-friendly.
But that’s not all—they also play a role in search engine optimization (SEO). When used properly, categories help search engines understand your content, which can improve your website’s ranking so more people can find your blog through Google or other search engines.
This guide explains everything you need to know about WordPress categories. You’ll learn how they work, how to set them up properly, and how to avoid common mistakes. We’ll also share best practices to ensure your categories improve your site’s organization and boost your SEO.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
- WordPress categories help group your content broadly, whereas WordPress tags highlight specific details about a post.
- Use keyword-rich, descriptive names for categories to improve your site’s SEO and organization.
- Avoid assigning too many categories to a single post to keep your site clean and user-friendly.
- Regularly review and update your WordPress categories to match your current content and maintain a professional structure.
- Consider using subcategories to create a hierarchical structure for more detailed organization.
- Display categories effectively using menus, widgets, or blocks to enhance navigation and reader engagement.
- Use SEO plugins to manage category optimization and avoid duplicate content issues.
- Plan your categories thoughtfully before creating new ones to ensure a consistent and well-organized website.
- A well-structured site with optimized categories improves visitor experience and search engine visibility.
Table of Contents
Introduction to WordPress Categories
Categories are a part of WordPress’s taxonomy system. Taxonomies classify and organize content, while categories belong to the default category taxonomy. This helps you group related posts under broad topics. It’s a key method for organizing content and assisting visitors to locate articles they find interesting.
Categories are hierarchical, meaning you can create parent categories and subcategories for better organization. For example, Recipes can be a parent category, while Breakfast can be a child category. This tree-like structure is helpful when you want to break down broad topics into smaller ones.
If someone clicks on the parent category Recipes, they’ll see all posts under that category, including those in the subcategories. But if they click on a subcategory like Breakfast, they’ll only see breakfast-related posts. This makes browsing more intuitive.
Furthermore, you also have multiple benefits of using subcategories:
- Subcategories help visitors find precisely what they want without wading through unrelated posts.
- Your content stays neat and easy to manage, especially if you write about a selection of topics.
- A clear structure enables search engines to understand your content hierarchy, facilitating ranking posts for relevant searches.
- As your site grows, subcategories let you expand without creating clutter.
Let’s discuss the default category and how to create and manage WordPress categories.
Default Category
When you first create a WordPress website, it comes with a default category called Uncategorized. This category is used automatically if you forget to assign a specific category to a post. While it’s helpful as a fallback, leaving posts in Uncategorized can make your site look unorganized.
Moreover, your target audience may find it confusing, and it doesn’t provide any meaningful information about the post’s content. So, it’s always better to rename this Uncategorized category to something meaningful covering your main topic.
Rename Default Category
The default category name Uncategorized isn’t descriptive and adds little value to your site’s organization or SEO. However, renaming it offers several advantages.
First, it enhances professionalism, as Uncategorized looks unorganized and might confuse users, while a custom name makes your site appear more professional. Second, it improves SEO by providing a more relevant category name, which helps search engines better understand your content and enhances your site’s structure.
Lastly, it adds clarity; if a post is accidentally assigned to the default category, a meaningful name gives readers context. For example, with a food blog, renaming Uncategorized to General Recipes would make much more sense and provide a better user experience.
Here’s how to do it:
Go to your WordPress Dashboard. Navigate to Posts → Categories. Find the Uncategorized category in the list and click Edit.

In the Name field, type the new name you want for the category and update the Slug field if you wish to change the URL-friendly version of the category name. For example, if the name is Java Topics, set slug to java-topics. Remember, slugs should be lowercase, and hyphens should be used for spaces. Lastly, click Update to save your changes.

However, if you wish to use a completely different category as the default, WordPress lets you do that too:
Navigate to WordPress Dashboard → Settings → Writing. Under Default Post Category, choose a new category from the dropdown menu. Click Save Changes to apply your settings.

Create & Manage WordPress Categories
As discussed, organizing your WordPress blog using categories is essential for a good user experience and SEO. So, it’s important to create and manage relevant WordPress categories. Here’s how to do it effectively:
Create Categories via Category Editor
Log in to your WordPress Dashboard. Go to Posts → Categories in the left-hand menu. On the Categories page, you’ll see a form on the left side to add a new category.
Fill in the Name field with your category name. Ensure you keep it user-friendly because this category name will be visible on your website. It also helps users identify the topic of posts grouped under this category.
Then, add a Slug – a URL-friendly version of the category name, comprising lowercase letters, numbers, and hyphens.
If this category belongs to a broader group, select a Parent Category to create a hierarchy. If not, keep the setting as None. You may add a brief Description if you wish (some themes display it). Finally, click Add New Category.

Now, your new category will appear in the list on the right, and can be assigned to posts.

Important:
If you don’t specify a slug, WordPress automatically generates one based on the category name by converting the name to lowercase and replacing spaces and special characters with hyphens. Although automatically generated slugs are generally fine, it’s better to specify the slug manually if you want full control over your URL structure.
Edit or Delete WordPress Categories
Sometimes, you may need to delete or change a category to keep your site organized and relevant. You may need to update a category if its name, description, or hierarchy no longer aligns with your content or SEO strategy. For example, renaming Tech to Tech News provides more clarity.
On the other hand, you can delete a category if it’s no longer used, has duplicate or irrelevant content, or clutters your site’s structure. Removing unused categories improves navigation and prevents confusion for readers. However, ensure posts assigned to a deleted category are reassigned to another relevant category to maintain organization.
How to Update WordPress Categories:
Go to Posts → Categories in the dashboard. Hover over the category you wish to modify and click Edit.

Update the name, slug, or description as needed. Click Update to save your changes.

Now, if you no longer need a category, deleting it is simple:
Go to Posts → Categories again. Hover over a category you want to remove and click Delete.

WordPress will prompt you to confirm. If the category has posts, these will be moved to the default category.
Assigning WordPress Categories to Posts
When you assign categories, this organizes your WordPress posts into the right categories; this is essential for keeping your site easy to navigate. It ensures readers can quickly find related content while helping search engines understand your site’s structure. You can assign WordPress categories in 3 ways:
- While Creating a Post
- While Editing a Post
- Bulk Assigning Categories
Let’s start with the first one.
When creating a new post in WordPress, assigning a category is quick and straightforward. In Post Editor, look for the Categories panel in the right-hand sidebar. You’ll see a list of existing categories. Check the box next to the category that best fits your post’s topic.
If you don’t see the right category, click Add New Category within the editor, enter the name, and it will be instantly assigned to the current post. Once done, finish your post and publish it with the selected category.

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By effectively categorizing your content in WordPress, you can enhance navigation for users and improve indexing by search engines.
Similarly, if you need to update the category of an existing post, go to WordPress Dashboard → Posts → All Posts. Find the post you want to edit and click on its title to open it in the Post Editor.
In the Categories section on the right, check the box for the new category you want to assign. Uncheck any categories that are no longer relevant. After making changes, click Save to save the post with the updated categories.
To assign a category to multiple posts, go to Posts → All Posts in your Dashboard. Select posts you wish to update by checking the boxes next to their titles. At the top of the page, click the Bulk Actions dropdown menu, choose Edit, and click Apply.

A new editing panel will appear where you can choose a category under the Categories section. Check the appropriate category box, then click Update to apply the change to all selected posts.

These steps ensure your posts are organized efficiently, whether you’re working on new content, updating older posts, or managing multiple posts at once. Ensure you follow best practices for assigning WordPress categories:
- Keep it Relevant: Assign categories that match your post’s main topic. Avoid assigning too many WordPress categories to a single post, as this can distract readers and weaken your site’s focus.
- Stick to One or Two Categories: Use one primary category and, if needed, one additional category for broader relevance. This keeps your site structure simple and user-friendly.
- Avoid Duplicates: Don’t use categories that overlap in meaning, like Tech Tips and Technology Advice. To avoid redundancy, choose the most suitable one.
By thoughtfully assigning categories to your posts, you create a well-structured website that’s easy for visitors to browse and appealing to search engines. This small step goes a long way to improve user experience and the site’s SEO.
Display Categories
Organizing your website with WordPress categories is just the first step. To make your site easy to navigate, it’s important to display these categories so visitors can easily find and use them. WordPress gives you several options to showcase categories, including adding them to menus and using widgets or blocks. Let’s explore each of these below.
Add Categories to Menus
Adding categories to your navigation menu is a great way to help users find content quickly. To do this, go to your WordPress Dashboard and navigate to Appearance → Menus. Switch to the Edit Menus tab. Pick a menu you wish to edit or create a new one (in this tutorial example, we edit the menu).
On the left-hand side, you’ll see a Categories section. Click on it to expand, then check the boxes for the categories you wish to add. Finally, click Add to Menu, drag the categories in order and click Save Menu.

Use Widget Blocks to Showcase Categories
WordPress also lets you showcase categories using widget blocks, which can be displayed on your sidebar, footer, or even within posts and pages.
To use a WordPress widget, go to Appearance → Widgets in the Dashboard. Navigate to your desired area. In our example, it’s Main Sidebar. Click on the + button, search for the Categories List widget, and click on it to add it to your area.

You can select it and customize the settings from the right panel to show categories as a list or a dropdown menu. You can even display the post count for each category, letting users know how much content is available under each topic.

Important:
If you don’t see the right panel, click Settings in the top right.
If using the block editor (Gutenberg), you can add a Categories block directly to any page or post. Open the page or post where you want to display categories, click + to add a block, and search for Categories. Once added, customize how the categories are displayed.

This is how it appears:

Important:
Use the Categories widget to add WordPress categories at the end of the post. If you want to add a categories list to the sidebar, use the Categories List widget.
SEO Best Practices for Categories
Optimizing categories is key; it also plays a big role in SEO. Let’s explore how to optimize them to boost your site’s visibility.
Optimize Categories
Choose keyword-rich, descriptive names for your categories. For example, instead of using an ambiguous name like Stuff, use something clear like Healthy Recipes. It helps search engines understand what your content is about.
If it fits your site’s structure, include categories in your post URLs (permalinks). Enable this in Settings → Permalinks by selecting the Custom Structure option and adding /%category%/ to the URL path. Finally, click Save Changes.

WordPress Categories vs Tags
Let’s look at a comprehensive table comparing WordPress categories and tags to help you understand their differences and how to use them effectively:
Aspects | Categories | Tags |
Purpose | Group posts into broad topics or sections. | Highlight specific details or keywords of a post. |
Hierarchy | Hierarchical: Can have parent and child categories. | Non-hierarchical: No parent-child structure. |
Requirement | Mandatory: At least one category is required per post. | Optional: Posts can exist without tags. |
Quantity | Limit to one or a few per post for clarity. | Can have multiple tags per post, but should be relevant. |
URL Inclusion | Can be included in permalinks (e.g., /category-name/). | Not typically included in permalinks. |
SEO Impact | Helps structure your site for search engines. | Adds keywords to enhance internal linking. |
Usage Example | For a food blog: “Recipes”, “Reviews”, “Tips”. | For a recipe post: “Chocolate”, “Desserts”. |
Display | Often displayed in menus or navigation bars. | Commonly displayed as tag clouds or under posts. |
Scope | Broad, general topics covering multiple posts. | Specific, detailed descriptors for individual posts. |
Management | Requires careful planning to maintain structure. | Can grow quickly; requires regular cleanup to avoid clutter. |
Archive Pages | Categories have dedicated archive pages by default. | Tags also generate archive pages by default. |
Best Practice | Use for overall site organization. | Use to connect related posts across categories. |
Like post categories, WordPress page categories offer a way to organize pages into groups for better structure and management. Although WordPress doesn’t natively support page categories, you can use plugins or custom taxonomies to enable this feature, facilitating grouping and displaying related pages on your site.
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FAQs
Why are WordPress categories important?
Categories organize your content, making it easier for visitors to find related posts. They also improve your site’s SEO by helping search engines understand your site structure and content focus.
How do I keep my categories organized?
Regularly check your categories to ensure they match your content. Delete unused categories, combine similar ones, and update category names if needed. Use tools like SEO plugins to manage archives and prevent duplicate content issues
Can I change categories later?
Yes, you can update categories as your content evolves. Regularly reviewing and updating them ensures your site stays organized and reflects your current topics.
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