WordPress Categories: Uncategorized?

When you install WordPress there will be one category. Its name is ‘Uncategorized’ and unless you change it, every post will go into that category by default.

First, let’s get rid of that word-with-no-meaning, ‘Uncategorized’. Login to your Administration Panel and click on Manage and then click on Categories. Click on the ‘Edit’ field beside the category name. Enter a new category name and ’slug’. Give this category name some thought because it will become the default. That is, if you forget to check a category, this category will be used automatically. We’ll add new categories shortly, but this is the one to think about for now.

Enter the category name and ’slug’, if you want one. The slug is the link title of your your category and is separate from the name of your category. For example, if your Category is named General and the slug is named Miscellaneous, your General category will be located at yourdomain.com/wordpress/archives/category/general/. Click on ‘Edit Category’ to save your changes.

Adding new categories is easier. Simply look on the right side of your screen while you are in Write from the Admin Panel. You will see the word Categories with a + or - next to it. If it shows a +, click on the + sign to expand the item. You will see a box with the clickable word ‘Add’ next to it. Add as many categories as you want but make them meaningful to the subject of your blog. You can change or delete categories in the Manage, Categories window.

Categories are cool because they help your reader find posts on a certain subject without wading through the whole blog to find them. If your reader wants to see every post related to one subject, he can simply click on that category in your sidebar and see all posts filed under that category.

You can create a subset of categories under a larger category and we’ll talk about that next. Until then - start creating your categories!