Categories vs Tags, sorted out simply

Categories vs Tags, sorted out simply

WordPress gives posts two labeling systems, and beginners pile content into both randomly. Here's the clean way to think about it.

Categories are the big sections of your site, like the chapters of a book. A cooking blog might have: Breakfast, Dinner, Desserts. Every post belongs to one, maybe two.

Tags are tiny detail labels, like the index at the back of a book. For a recipe that might be: gluten-free, 30-minutes, vegetarian. A post can have several.

Golden rule: few categories, used consistently. Don't create a new category for every post, that defeats the purpose.

A good test: if you'd put it in your site's main menu, it's a category.

In plain words: categories are broad chapters; tags are specific keywords. Keep categories few, tags descriptive.