What are categories?
Categories allow you to group related posts together.
Adding categories to a post
To add categories directly to a post, navigate to the Dashboard. On the left-hand menu, click Posts. Click on the post you want to assign to a category. In Block Editor, under “Post” on the right-hand menu, expand the Categories option. In Classic Editor, scroll down to the categories box on the right hand side. Click the checkbox next to the category you want the post to be assigned to and publish your changes.
You can select multiple categories for a single post. You can remove a post from a category by unchecking the box next to the category name.
Adding categories to your site
To add categories to your site, but without specifying a post, go to the Dashboard. On the left-hand menu, click Posts. Click on Categories. The Categories section shows a list of the categories and how many posts are assigned to each.
The section has a search bar on the top right and an Add New Category button on the top left. If you want to add a new category, give the category a name and description in the boxes provided. Click Add New Category.
Where do categorized posts appear on my site?
Depending on your chosen theme, categorized posts may appear in the following places on your site:
- On your menu to organize your posts into category pages, which display posts by category
- In the sidebar/widget areas – Directions coming soon!
On your site menu
Once posts have been given a category, you can create a link for that specific category to add to your menu. All posts assigned to that category will appear in the category. To add a category to your top-level menu, first navigate to your site’s Dashboard. From there, open the Customizer by navigating to Appearance → Customize.
Click Menus and select the menu you want to edit. Click Add items → Categories. Click the plus sign next to the Category you want to add. Click Publish to save changes.
On the sidebar or widget area(s)
- To add posts of a chosen category to your sidebar, navigate to the Dashboard. On the left-hand menu, click on Appearance → Widgets. Follow the directions for adding widgets here. Add Categories widget.