{"id":31,"date":"2024-02-19T14:24:52","date_gmt":"2024-02-19T19:24:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.smith.edu\/project-resources\/?p=31"},"modified":"2025-08-04T09:49:39","modified_gmt":"2025-08-04T13:49:39","slug":"organizing-wordpress-content","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.smith.edu\/project-resources\/organizing-wordpress-content\/","title":{"rendered":"Organizing WordPress Content"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<style>\nsummary {\n\tbackground-color: #B2E0DF;\n}\n<\/style\n\n\n\n<ul id=\"top\" class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"#pages-v-posts\" data-type=\"internal\" data-id=\"#pages-v-posts\">Pages vs Posts<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"#categories\">Categories<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"#tags\">Tags<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"#add\">Add Categories and Tags to your Posts<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:100px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-group alignwide has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"pages-v-posts\">Pages vs Posts<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>WordPress has two different types of content containers, pages and posts. Even though \u201cPosts\u201d and \u201cPages\u201d are created similarly in WordPress, they have some important differences that you need to consider when building your site. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Posts<\/strong> are entries that can be organized in a number of different ways. Posts can be listed chronologically, and found in \u201carchives\u201d (categorized lists) based on tags and\/or categories. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Pages<\/strong> are static and do not use dates, tags or categories.&nbsp; People tend to use pages for content that stays in one place, like an \u201cAbout Me\u201d page.&nbsp;Pages can also have a hierarchical structure <\/p>\n\n\n\n<details class=\"wp-block-details is-layout-flow wp-block-details-is-layout-flow\"><summary>When to use Posts vs when to use Pages<\/summary>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">When to use Posts?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Posts can be used for information that needs chronological organization. \n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>You can select either the latest or oldest posts to go first, and you can use a plug in to customize the order of your posts.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Posts are good for information that requires tags or categories.&nbsp;\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>For example, if you want to use a Category or Tag as an option in your navigation menu. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Posts can be used if you want the URL to display the date of publication.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">When to use Pages?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Pages are typically used in your site navigation, think \u201cAbout Me\u201d or \u201cContact\u201d pages.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Pages should be used to publish content that will not have many changes over time.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Pages are good as stand-alone content publications.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Pages are good if you plan to create a Parent-child relationship between content (e.g. Europe: France, Germany, Spain).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Pages are best used for non-chronological content.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Categories and Tags<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>When you are expecting to have large numbers of posts you can make your content easier to find and organize by using <strong>Tags<\/strong> and <strong>Categories<\/strong>. Tags and categories can work together or on their own. Tags and Categories are meant to help users to quickly find the content they are looking for on your site and\/or help them discover the type of content that you have. A good use of these tools is key to guide readers throughout the content of your site. With that in mind, it\u2019s good to not&nbsp;<em>overuse&nbsp;<\/em>them either, as too many can appear overwhelming.<\/p>\n<\/details>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"categories\">Categories<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n<p>Categories are often used as hierarchical and\/or definitive categories. For example, a site about Animals might use \u201cMammals\u201d and \u201cReptiles\u201d as categories since we can generally be sure we will know what category an animal belongs in. Categories can be added to a site\u2019s navigation to organize all posts in a specific section. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You can also use categories in navigation menus. To learn more about creating menus, see <a href=\"https:\/\/sites.smith.edu\/project-resources\/creating-and-managing-wordpress-menus\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"343\">Creating and Editing Menus on WordPress.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<details class=\"wp-block-details is-layout-flow wp-block-details-is-layout-flow\"><summary>Using Categories<\/summary>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Create Categories<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Navigate to the <strong>Dashboard<\/strong> of your site.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>In the \u201cDashboard\u201d, on the left side toolbar, click <strong>Posts<\/strong> &gt; <strong>Categories<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The <strong>Categories<\/strong> page will open.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>To add categories, on the right side of the page, enter <strong>a name<\/strong> and select a <strong>Parent category<\/strong> when needed (e.g. Continent &gt; North America).&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Click <strong>Add New Category<\/strong>. The new category will appear on the right summary list.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"596\" height=\"751\" src=\"https:\/\/sites.smith.edu\/project-resources\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1047\/2024\/02\/image-1.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-463\" style=\"aspect-ratio:0.7936085219707057;width:359px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sites.smith.edu\/project-resources\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1047\/2024\/02\/image-1.png 596w, https:\/\/sites.smith.edu\/project-resources\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1047\/2024\/02\/image-1-238x300.png 238w, https:\/\/sites.smith.edu\/project-resources\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1047\/2024\/02\/image-1-400x504.png 400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 596px) 100vw, 596px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><br>Find out more about Categories at WordPress\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/wordpress.org\/documentation\/article\/posts-categories-screen\/\">Post Categories Page<\/a>.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/details>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"tags\">Tags<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Tags work very similarly to categories, but are generally more open ended than, and can be applied across categories. &nbsp;For example the tag <em>fierce<\/em>&nbsp;could be added to both an animal in the <em>Mammals<\/em> category (e.g. \u201cTiger\u201d) and the <em>Reptiles<\/em> category (e.g. \u201cCobra\u201d).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<details class=\"wp-block-details is-layout-flow wp-block-details-is-layout-flow\"><summary>Using Tags<\/summary>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Create Tags<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Navigate to the <strong>Dashboard<\/strong> of your site.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>In the \u201cDashboard\u201d, on the left side toolbar, click <strong>Posts<\/strong> &gt; <strong>Tags<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The <strong>Tags<\/strong> page will open.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>To add categories, on the right side of the page, enter <strong>a name<\/strong> and select a <strong>Parent category<\/strong> when needed (e.g. Continent &gt; North America).&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Click <strong>Add New Category<\/strong>. The new category will appear on the right summary list.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>To add tags, on the right side of the page, enter <strong>a name<\/strong>. Click <strong>Add New Tag<\/strong>. The new tag will appear on the right summary list<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1448\" height=\"258\" src=\"https:\/\/sites.smith.edu\/project-resources\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1047\/2024\/02\/image-1.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-461\" style=\"aspect-ratio:0.9680672268907563;width:334px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sites.smith.edu\/project-resources\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1047\/2024\/02\/image-1.png 1448w, https:\/\/sites.smith.edu\/project-resources\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1047\/2024\/02\/image-1-300x53.png 300w, https:\/\/sites.smith.edu\/project-resources\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1047\/2024\/02\/image-1-1024x182.png 1024w, https:\/\/sites.smith.edu\/project-resources\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1047\/2024\/02\/image-1-768x137.png 768w, https:\/\/sites.smith.edu\/project-resources\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1047\/2024\/02\/image-1-940x167.png 940w, https:\/\/sites.smith.edu\/project-resources\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1047\/2024\/02\/image-1-400x71.png 400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1448px) 100vw, 1448px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n<\/details>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:24px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"add\">Add Categories and Tags to your Posts<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Categories and tags can be added from individual posts or from the dashboard. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Managing Categories and Tags from a Post<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>You can add categories or tags directly from the settings sidebar in an individual post. Make sure that the settings sidebar is open and that the post tab is visible. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:25px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<details class=\"wp-block-details is-layout-flow wp-block-details-is-layout-flow\"><summary> To add a Category or Tag from a Post<\/summary>\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Add a Tag from a Post<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Select Tags to expand the Tags section<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Add the appropriate tags in the <strong>Add New Tag <\/strong>field. Press the enter (pc) or return (mac) key after each tag, or add in multiple tags using commas as separators.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Add a Category from a Post<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Select Categories to expand the Categories option.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Select the checkbox next to the Category you want to choose\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>To add a new category, select + <strong>Add New Category<\/strong> and enter the new category name. You may also set the Parent category to nest the new category under an existing category.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/details>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:25px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Managing Categories and Tags from the Dashboard with Quick Edit  <\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>You can use the <strong>Quick Edit<\/strong> tool to add Categories or Tags to a Post. Quick Edit is especially useful if you need to add Categories or Tags or multiple posts at once, or if you need to bulk edit other options.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<details class=\"wp-block-details is-layout-flow wp-block-details-is-layout-flow\"><summary>To add Categories or Tags from the WordPress dashboard<\/summary>\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Navigate to the WordPress dashboard<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>From the left navigation, choose <strong>Posts<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>In the Posts page, hover over the Post you want to edit <br><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"700\" height=\"125\" class=\"wp-image-491\" style=\"width: 700px;\" src=\"https:\/\/sites.smith.edu\/project-resources\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1047\/2024\/02\/2024-02-19_13-25-50.png\" alt=\"A WordPress Post in the Posts page with the Quick Edit option circled\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sites.smith.edu\/project-resources\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1047\/2024\/02\/2024-02-19_13-25-50.png 1032w, https:\/\/sites.smith.edu\/project-resources\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1047\/2024\/02\/2024-02-19_13-25-50-300x53.png 300w, https:\/\/sites.smith.edu\/project-resources\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1047\/2024\/02\/2024-02-19_13-25-50-1024x183.png 1024w, https:\/\/sites.smith.edu\/project-resources\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1047\/2024\/02\/2024-02-19_13-25-50-768x137.png 768w, https:\/\/sites.smith.edu\/project-resources\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1047\/2024\/02\/2024-02-19_13-25-50-940x168.png 940w, https:\/\/sites.smith.edu\/project-resources\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1047\/2024\/02\/2024-02-19_13-25-50-400x71.png 400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 700px) 100vw, 700px\" \/><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Choose <strong>Quick Edit<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Add the category or tag appropriate for your post<br><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"700\" height=\"163\" class=\"wp-image-492\" style=\"width: 700px;\" src=\"https:\/\/sites.smith.edu\/project-resources\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1047\/2024\/02\/2024-02-19_13-30-17.png\" alt=\"The WordPress Quick Edit menu\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sites.smith.edu\/project-resources\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1047\/2024\/02\/2024-02-19_13-30-17.png 1516w, https:\/\/sites.smith.edu\/project-resources\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1047\/2024\/02\/2024-02-19_13-30-17-300x70.png 300w, https:\/\/sites.smith.edu\/project-resources\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1047\/2024\/02\/2024-02-19_13-30-17-1024x238.png 1024w, https:\/\/sites.smith.edu\/project-resources\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1047\/2024\/02\/2024-02-19_13-30-17-768x179.png 768w, https:\/\/sites.smith.edu\/project-resources\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1047\/2024\/02\/2024-02-19_13-30-17-940x219.png 940w, https:\/\/sites.smith.edu\/project-resources\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1047\/2024\/02\/2024-02-19_13-30-17-400x93.png 400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 700px) 100vw, 700px\" \/><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/details>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:25px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Managing Categories and Tags from the Dashboard with the Categories or Tags Page<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>You may want to manage categories or tags directly, for example if you want to create a new category or tag or organize several categories into parent categories<\/p>\n\n\n\n<details class=\"wp-block-details is-layout-flow wp-block-details-is-layout-flow\"><summary>To edit or delete a Category or Tag<\/summary>\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Navigate to your WordPress Dashboard<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>On the right side of the page, in the WordPress navigation, navigate to <strong>Posts<\/strong> &gt; <strong>Categories<\/strong> or <strong>Posts<\/strong> &gt; <strong>Tags<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>On the right side of the page hover over the category or tag row.&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The category or tag options will appear.&nbsp;\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Edit<\/strong> opens a new screen that allows you to change the name, slug, description, or parent category.&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Quick Edit<\/strong> lets you quickly change the name of the category.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Delete<\/strong> erases the category or tag from your site.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>View<\/strong> opens the category page, a special page that displays all of the posts in that category on a single page. \n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Want an example? Take a look at the category page for <a href=\"https:\/\/sites.smith.edu\/project-resources\/category\/wordpress-admin\/\">WordPress Administration<\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1090\" height=\"599\" src=\"https:\/\/sites.smith.edu\/project-resources\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1047\/2024\/02\/2024-01-08_14-57-22.png\" alt=\"The WordPress Categories screen with a category circled in red to show the quick edit options\" class=\"wp-image-488\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sites.smith.edu\/project-resources\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1047\/2024\/02\/2024-01-08_14-57-22.png 1090w, https:\/\/sites.smith.edu\/project-resources\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1047\/2024\/02\/2024-01-08_14-57-22-300x165.png 300w, https:\/\/sites.smith.edu\/project-resources\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1047\/2024\/02\/2024-01-08_14-57-22-1024x563.png 1024w, https:\/\/sites.smith.edu\/project-resources\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1047\/2024\/02\/2024-01-08_14-57-22-768x422.png 768w, https:\/\/sites.smith.edu\/project-resources\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1047\/2024\/02\/2024-01-08_14-57-22-940x517.png 940w, https:\/\/sites.smith.edu\/project-resources\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1047\/2024\/02\/2024-01-08_14-57-22-400x220.png 400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1090px) 100vw, 1090px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/details>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:50px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group alignfull has-background-color has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-5d2f8bdc wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\" style=\"margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0;padding-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--40);padding-right:var(--wp--preset--spacing--30);padding-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--40);padding-left:var(--wp--preset--spacing--30)\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-group alignwide is-content-justification-space-between is-layout-flex wp-container-core-group-is-layout-b585a4aa wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\">\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\"><a href=\"https:\/\/sites.smith.edu\/project-resources\/wordpress-admin-starter-pack\/\" data-type=\"page\" data-id=\"15\">Back to WordPress Admin Starter Pack<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\"> <a href=\"#top\">Go Back Up<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>summary { background-color: #B2E0DF; }<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5691,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[10,9,8,36],"class_list":["post-31","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-wordpress-admin","tag-capstone","tag-organization","tag-wordpress","tag-wordpress-admin"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.smith.edu\/project-resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.smith.edu\/project-resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.smith.edu\/project-resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.smith.edu\/project-resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5691"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.smith.edu\/project-resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=31"}],"version-history":[{"count":25,"href":"https:\/\/sites.smith.edu\/project-resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2306,"href":"https:\/\/sites.smith.edu\/project-resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31\/revisions\/2306"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.smith.edu\/project-resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.smith.edu\/project-resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=31"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.smith.edu\/project-resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=31"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}