Categories can be added in two different locations on the WordPress Dashboard: the Categories page, and the Add New Post and Edit Post pages.
Through the Categories Page
The Categories page (located at Dashboard > Posts > Categories) contains an Add New Category section(Figure 1). To add a new category from here, simply:
- Enter the category name
- Optional: Enter a Slug for the category name which is a URL-friendly version of the name. If you do not specify one, a slug will be automatically created.
- Optional: Select the category parent from your list of existing categories in the dropdown (leave at None if category isn’t a sub-category)
- Optional: Add a description of your category
- Click on the Add New Category button – you can now use your category for all of your posts
Figure 1: Add New Catgoery Page
Through the Add New Post or Edit Post Page
The Add New Post and Edit Post pages (found by going to Dashboard > Posts > Posts and clicking on the Add New button or on an existing post, respectively) contain a Categories section that allows users to add new categories on the fly.
The Categories section(Figure 2) contains an Add New Category link. The link opens up a menu where you can write the category title and select a parent category (if you wish) from a drop-down (note that you cannot add a description for the category from this menu). Once you are done, click on the Add New Category button and you’ll be ready to use that category for your post.
If you wish to add a description for the category that you’ve created using this method, you can do so by editing the category.
Figure 2: Add category through Add New Post or Edit Post Page
NOTE: The Categories section may be disabled for your Add New Post and Edit Post pages. To enable the Categories section in this case, simply go into Screen Options (found on the top-right of the page) and ensure that the Categories check box is checked off(Figure 3).
Figure 3: Screen Options
Edit Categories
Categories can be edited by visiting the Categories (Dashboard > Posts > Categories) page. If a category is edited, the change will be manifested in all posts and other areas where the category is being used.
To edit a category, click on that category’s name (or the category’s Edit link) in the category list on the Category page to open the Edit Category page(Figure 4). On the Edit Category page, you can edit the category’s name and description, and select a new parent category from the drop-down menu. Once you’re finished with your changes, simply click on the Update button and you’re done!
Figure 4: Edit Category Page
Delete Categories
To delete categories:
- Go to Dashboard > Posts > Categories
- Find the desired category in the category list OR search for it using the search bar at the top right of the page
- Hover over the category and click on the Delete link that appears OR check off the category’s checkbox, select Delete in the Bulk Actions dropdown, and click on the Apply button.
Assign Categories to Posts
To assign a category to a post:
- Go to the post’s Edit page (go Dashboard > Posts > Posts and then click on the post’s name).
- NOTE: Assigning a category to a new post on the new post page (Dashboard > Posts > Posts – click on Add New button) is exactly the same.
- Find the Category section on this page.
- Select the category(ies) that you wish your post to be categorized under (a post can have multiple categories).
- Click on the Update link in the Publish section of the page to finalize changes.