If you’ve ever felt confused about how to organize your blog content in WordPress, you’re not alone! One of the most common challenges I see with new bloggers is understanding how categories and tags work.
The good news? Once you understand them, categories can improve your site’s organization, user experience, and even SEO. This guide will take you through everything—from setting up your first categories to customizing category pages in Kadence.
What Are WordPress Categories?
Think of your blog as a filing cabinet. Each category is like a folder inside that cabinet, where you store similar posts together. But unlike a real-world filing cabinet—where a document can only go in one folder—WordPress allows you to assign a post to multiple categories if needed.
For example, if you run a food blog, you might have categories like:
- Breakfast Recipes
- Dinner Recipes
- Healthy Eating
A blog post about healthy overnight oats could fit into both Breakfast Recipes and Healthy Eating, making it easier for readers to find relevant content.
Why Categories Matter for Your Blog
Using WordPress categories correctly can:
- Make your site easier to navigate for readers
- Improve your SEO by organizing your content effectively
- Encourage readers to explore more content within a category
However, many bloggers make mistakes when setting up categories. Let’s cover how to avoid them.
Best Practices for Using WordPress Categories
1. Keep Categories Broad, Not Too Thin
One big mistake I see is creating categories that are too thin, meaning they only contain one or two posts.
Your categories should be broad enough to house multiple posts but specific enough to keep things organized.
2. How Many Categories Should You Have?
A general rule of thumb: stick to 5-10 core categories that cover all your blog topics.
However, if you have a lot of content, your categories may need to expand as your site grows. If a category is getting too broad, you can consider breaking it into subcategories (more on that below). Just make sure each category still serves a purpose and contains enough content to be useful.
If you find yourself with too many categories or categories with only 1-2 posts, consider merging them. Review your category structure every few months to ensure it aligns with your blog’s growth.
Subcategories: When to Use Them
If your blog has grown and some categories are getting too broad, it might be time to introduce subcategories.
For example, on a food blog, instead of just “Recipes,” you could structure it like this:
Main Category: Recipes
- Subcategory: Breakfast
- Subcategory: Lunch
- Subcategory: Dinner
This helps visitors find content more easily without overwhelming them with too many choices.
How WordPress Category Pages Work
1. Do I Need to Manually Create Category Pages?
No! WordPress automatically generates a category archive page for every category you create. This page lists all posts assigned to that category.
A common mistake is manually creating category pages, which isn’t necessary unless you’re building a custom Category Index page.
2. How to Find the Link to Your Category Pages
To get the link to a category page:
- Go to Posts → Categories in your WordPress dashboard.
- Hover over the category name and click “View”—this opens the category page.
- The URL will look something like this:
https://yourwebsite.com/category/breakfast-recipes/
You can use these URLs in your menu navigation, internal links, or sidebar widgets.
How to Edit Your Category Page Layout in Kadence
If you’re using one of our themes, your archives are already customized, but you can adjust things if you need something different to fit your content.
Customizing Category Pages in the Kadence Customizer
- Go to Appearance > Customize
- Navigate to Posts/Pages Layout > Archive Layout
- Here you can adjust the things like the layout, columns, and post display options.
Adding Content Above Category Archives with Kadence Elements (Kadence Pro Required)
By default, WordPress only displays posts on category archive pages. If you want to add custom content above the post list, you will need Kadence Pro. In order to add content to the top your Archives you will do the following:
- Go to Appearance > Kadence > Elements.
- Click “Add New” and select a “Section” block.
- Add your custom text, images, or calls-to-action that you would like to appear above your posts.
- Under Display Settings, choose “Show on Category Archives” and select the category(s) you want this to appear on.
- Be sure to select to show for All Users.
- Save and check your category page!
This is great for adding SEO-friendly descriptions, links, or even opt-ins above your category archives.
Final Thoughts
Getting your categories and tags right from the start will make a huge difference in your site’s organization, SEO, and user experience.
Key Takeaways:
- Use 5-10 broad categories instead of thin, single-post categories.
- Subcategories are useful when a category gets too broad.
- Category pages are automatically created—no need to make them manually.
- Use Kadence Customizer and Elements to enhance category layouts.
- Limit or avoid tags, and non-index them for SEO purposes.
By structuring your blog properly, you’ll improve SEO, keep readers engaged, and make your content easier to find. Now, go organize those categories like a pro! 🚀
