Adding a new category for your WordPress website, is easy with WordPress’ simple Category management; it can make a huge difference in how users view and navigate through your WordPress site. WordPress categories let you arrange your posts and facilitate organising related content. This article shows you how to create new categories and assign posts to them and is related to our You Tube video: WordPress Categories Made Easy: Organize Your Posts Like a Pro.

How to Add a New Category in WordPress

This article assumes that you are already logged in to your WordPress website’s dashboard.

– In the left-hand menu, hover over “Posts” and click “Categories”.

– This will take you to the “Categories” page to manage your categories.

Add a New Category

– On the “Categories” page, you will see a form on the left side to add a new Category.

– Fill in the following fields:

• Name: Enter the name of the category.
• Slug: This is the URL-friendly version of the name. It is usually all lowercase and contains only letters, numbers, and hyphens.
• Parent Category: To create a Subcategory, select a parent category from the dropdown menu. Otherwise, leave it as “None”.
• Description (Optional): Enter a description for the category. Some themes may display the description, depending on the one you are using.

– Once you have filled in the necessary fields, click “Add New Category” at the bottom of the form.

– Your new category will now appear in the list on the right side of the page, as well as being reflected on the right hand side Blog Summary section of your WordPress website.

YouTube Video: WordPress Categories Made Easy: Organize Your Posts Like a Pro

Additional Information

Bulk Actions for Categories:

You can execute Categories operations in bulk, like deleting several Categories simultaneously. Choose the Checkboxes next to the Categories you wish to remove, pick “Delete” from the Bulk Actions dropdown menu, and then click “Apply” on the Categories page to do this.

NOTE: Before doing mass Bulk Deletions, please ensure that you have a current backup of your WordPress site before deleting.

Using Category Descriptions:

Several WordPress themes include Category descriptions on Category archive pages. When you add a description, you provide your WordPress site visitors with background information on the types of material they can anticipate in that Category.

Customising Category Pages:

When you use your theme’s Category template file, you can change how a Category page looks. You need to be familiar with PHP and WordPress theme creation for this. Otherwise, create unique Category pages with a page builder plugin.

Category Widgets:

You can add the Categories widget from WordPress to your sidebar or other widget places. To facilitate user navigation on your WordPress website, this widget will display a list or menu of your Categories.

SEO Best Practices:

To enhance the SEO of your WordPress site, give your Categories meaningful and keyword-rich names. The content structure of your website may become diluted if you use too many Categories. Instead, use tags for more specialised topics and a few broad Categories.

Login to Domains.co.za Account

1. Go to the Domains.co.za website Account Login page.

2. Enter your Email and Password.

3. Then click the “Sign In” button.

Access WordPress from your Domains.co.za Dashboard

4. On the right of the Dashboard under the “Manage Account” menu, click “Manage Services” on the drop-down menu and select your Hosting plan, our example uses Web Hosting.

5. Scroll down to the “Quick Manage” section (below “Product Information”) and click on the WordPress icon. If you haven’t yet installed WordPress, it will ask you to first do so.

Access WordPress via cPanel from your Domains.co.za Account

6. On the right of the Dashboard under the “Manage Account” menu, click “Manage Services” on the drop-down menu and select your Hosting plan, our example uses Web Hosting. (refer image above).

7. Click “Manage” next to the website domain you wish to access in cPanel.

8. The Product Information section will display – click the “Login” button next to Control Panel.

9. On the cPanel Dashboard, in the menu on the right, select “WP Toolkit”, or if you haven’t yet installed WordPress “WordPress Management”.

10. There is also a WordPress icon under the “Popular Applications” section on the cPanel Dashboard.

WordPress can be Accessed Online via cPanel

1. Go to your cPanel URL or cPanel Login page.

2. Enter your “Email” and “Account Password” and click “Log In”

3. On the cPanel Dashboard, in the menu on the right, select “WP Toolkit”, or if you haven’t yet installed WordPress “WordPress Management”. There is also a WordPress icon under the “Popular Applications” section on the cPanel Dashboard.