The Mystical Realm of WordPress Categories

Are you lost in a sea of blog posts on your WordPress site? Fear not! With the magic of categories, you can create an organized hierarchy of related posts to help your visitors navigate your site.

What are Categories Anyway?

Categories in WordPress are like almighty folders or directories that contain a group of related posts. But wait, it gets even more mystical! A post can belong to multiple categories, but it must belong to at least one. It’s like your post can exist in multiple dimensions at once.

For instance, let’s say you run a food blog. You could have categories such as appetizers, entrees, desserts, and many more. Each category contains posts that belong to that specific group. It’s like putting each recipe into its own magical cookbook.

How to Summon Categories on Your WordPress Site

Creating categories in WordPress is not for the faint of heart. Luckily, we’ve got a step-by-step guide that will guide you through this mystical process:

Step 1: Sign into Your WordPress Dashboard

Enter your username and password, and prepare to enter the mystical realm of WordPress categories.

Step 2: Summon the Mighty ‘Posts’

From the left-hand WordPress menu, click on “Posts.” We’re getting closer!

Step 3: Your Illustrious New Category Revealed

Once on the ‘Posts’ page, select “Categories” from the dropdown menu. From there, you can summon your new category by entering its name in the “Name” box and a slug (optional) in the “Slug” box.

But wait, there’s more! If you have a parent category, select it from the “Parent Category” dropdown menu. Parent categories are used to create a hierarchy of categories like never before.

Step 4: The Finale – ‘Add New Category’

Click the “Add New Category” button, and your new category will be instantaneously saved. You are now ready to summon categories on your WordPress site.

How to Display the Categories on Your WordPress Site

Method 1: Displaying Categories with Menus

Summoning your precious categories in WordPress can be done in multiple ways. One of them is by using menus. Follow these steps to get started:

1. Head to “Appearance” on the WordPress dashboard and click on “Menus.”
2. Create a new menu or select an existing one.
3. Click on “Categories” in the left-hand menu, and a heavenly list of your categories will appear.
4. Check the categories you want to add to your menu and click “Add to Menu.”
5. Drag and drop the categories to arrange them in the order you want.
6. Save your menu, and the categories will now appear in your theme’s navigation bar.

Method 2: Displaying Categories with Widgets

Another mystical method of displaying categories on your website is by using widgets. Get started by trying these steps:

1. Go to “Appearance” on the WordPress dashboard and click on “Widgets.”
2. Find the “Categories” widget and drag it to the widget area where you want it to appear.
3. Configure the widget by giving it a title, choosing the categories you want to display, and selecting a display format (dropdown or list).
4. Save the widget, and the categories will now appear in your widget area.

Method 3: Displaying Categories with Shortcodes

If you’re looking for a more magical way of displaying categories to a specific page or post, try using shortcodes. Follow these steps:

1. Go to the page or post where you want to display the categories.
2. In the content editor, add the following shortcode: [catlist ID=1,2,3]
3. Replace “1,2,3” with the IDs of the categories you want to display. You can find the category ID by going to “Posts” > “Categories” and hovering over the category name. The ID will appear in the URL at the bottom of your screen.
4. Save or update your post, and the categories will now appear on the page or post.

In the End…

Categorizing your content in WordPress is a mystical way to organize your posts and improve your website’s navigability. By using menus, widgets, and shortcodes, you can display your categories in different locations on your website and make it easier for your visitors to find the content they are interested in.

With a well-organized website, your visitors will be mesmerized and more likely to stick around. So, summon your magical WordPress categories and watch as they take your website to the next mystical level.