Posts » Categories vs. Tags
Once upon a time, WordPress.com only provided a Category option.
Categories allowed for a broad grouping of post topics, but when you wanted to describe a post in more specific terms, more categories were required. That led to very long category lists inside the blog and very long lists in Categories Widgets.
So we now have tags, as well.
Tags are similar, but instead of a list of words to choose from, you write them in a list (separated by commas) in the Tags Module of your post editing screen. They are generally used to describe your post in more detail.
For example, a post titled “Last Night At Burger King” might be filed under the “Dinner” category, but could have tags such as, “burger, chicken fries, chocolate shake, dr. pepper.”
We understand that it may be a bit confusing upon first glance (especially to new bloggers), so here are some common questions and answers that may help you out:
Is Tag the same as tag ?
Yes. Capitals letters do not change a tag. Blogging is the same as blogging.
Is there a limit to the number of tags I can have?
Yes, the sky. In other words, no.
Tag and Category Archive URLs:
If you publish a post attached to a category “food,” the URL will look like this:
http://blog.wordpress.com/category/food/
The same post using the tag “food” will look like this:
http://blog.wordpress.com/tag/food/
If you publish a post attached to a category “food” and with the tag “rice,” the URLs will look like this:
http://faq.wordpress.com/category/food/
http://faq.wordpress.com/tag/rice/
Is there any advantage to using tags or categories, or both?
No. There is no advantage within WordPress.com and external search engines using one or the other.
Do I have to use tags?
The use of tags is entirely optional (although each post must be attached to at least one category).
Are categories and tags hierarchical?
Categories can be arranged in a hierarchy (see this page to learn more). Tags, however, exist in their own right and have no set relationship to anything else.
Video
Watch the “Adding and deleting categories” video from WordPress.tv.
Watch the “Adding & managing categories after the fact” from from WordPress.tv.
Last modified: December 31, 2009
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