Tags and categories on posts are used to help readers locate information in different ways.
Categories are like chapters of a book; they provide a general overview of the topics you blog about. Whereas tags are more like the index at the back of the book and explode the topic into a million bits.
On a post you can add as many tags and categories as you need to make the post easier to locate.
The categories and tags you use are displayed in your blog sidebar using the categories widget and tag widget. When your readers click on a categories or tag link in your sidebar it loads a page with all posts that use that tag or category.
Categories
Categories can have unique names and be wordy; you want them sufficiently descriptive so your reader understands the type of subject matter they will find when they click on the link. As a general rule you tend to limit the total number of categories you use on a blog.
Below are the categories used on The Edublogger.
Add Categories
Categories are added when you write posts by either:
- Checking the box to the left of the category you want to use
- Clicking on the + Add New Category link. Type your desired category in the Add New Category text box and then click Add
To remove a category from a post just uncheck the box to the left of that category.
Tags
Tags are displayed on your blog as a tag cloud; clicking on a tag name will take your readers to all posts tagged with that term. Tags are normally short, one or two words, and are generally keywords (i.e. terms readers would be likely to use if they searched your site); terms that your readers will understand.
Below are the tags used on The Edublogger. The larger the size of the word in the tag cloud the more posts that have been tagged using that term.
Adding Tags
Tags are added when you write posts by typing your desired tags in the Add New Tag text box and then clicking Add.
Each tag needs to be separated with a comma otherwise the system considers the words to be one tag.
To remove a tag from a post just click the X to the left of that tag.
