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Patrysha
02-19-2010, 04:20 PM
I know you can put a post into several categories, but I seem to recall reading something about that not being advisable...

For example, for a B&M home decor store --would f a post about an expresso machine put under the categories of the brand name and coffee makers and price range.

Also could I create multiple sub-categories with the same name under different categories.. Price range $50-$100 under Kitchen, Bath, Bedroom etc.

Harold Mansfield
02-19-2010, 05:52 PM
I know you can put a post into several categories, but I seem to recall reading something about that not being advisable...

For example, for a B&M home decor store --would f a post about an expresso machine put under the categories of the brand name and coffee makers and price range.


Yes, you can put things under multiple categories. It's done all of the time.




Also could I create multiple sub-categories with the same name under different categories.. Price range $50-$100 under Kitchen, Bath, Bedroom etc.

Yes, you can have subcategories of the same name under differing parent categories.

Patrysha
02-19-2010, 08:02 PM
Perfect :-) I knew that more than one category could be picked, but thought I'd read something somewhere about it being better to only pick one...but I don't remember where, when or why.

vangogh
02-19-2010, 08:26 PM
You can put things under more than one category, but you shouldn't. Think of a category like the table of contents of a book. No page in a book is in more than one chapter.

What you're looking for is tags. Tags are more like the index of a book.

There's no one way to set up the categories, though less is probably better. Too many categories can be unwieldy. I think I would set up your categories around the ideas of kitchen, bathroom, etc and then maybe use the brands as tags. You could also do the opposite.

Here's a video from WordPress.tv on tags and categories (http://wordpress.tv/2009/09/20/lorelle-vanfossen-tags-categories-portland09/). It's a long video (about 50 minutes), but it does a good job walking you through how to set up both categories and tags and what each is for.

This is a bit more advanced, but both categories and tags are what's called taxonomies, which is just a way of classifying things. You can create your own taxonomies under WordPress so you could create a taxonomy called brands and assign each post a brand while each is still under one category with several tags.

One category per post. As many tags as you want per post.

Harold Mansfield
02-19-2010, 11:12 PM
I'm looking at it in terms of search.
Why can't she have:
www. domain.com/CoffeeMakers/Braun/Under $100
and
www. domain.com/CoffeeMakers/Braun/Under $500 ?

"Under $100" and "Under $500" would obviously be sub categories of "Braun" and "Braun" being a subcategory of "Coffee Makers".

I see retail sites do that all of the time.

vangogh
02-19-2010, 11:37 PM
That's fine. That's still one category each though. The category for the first post would be Under $100 and the category for the second post would be Under $500. Neither would actually be in the category CoffeeMakers or Braun. You wouldn't check either of those boxes when publishing the post.

I'm saying you shouldn't have the the same post be in both Under $100 and Under $500, even though technically if something is under $100 it's also under $500.

Patrysha
02-19-2010, 11:59 PM
Y
This is a bit more advanced, but both categories and tags are what's called taxonomies, which is just a way of classifying things. You can create your own taxonomies under WordPress so you could create a taxonomy called brands and assign each post a brand while each is still under one category with several tags.

One category per post. As many tags as you want per post.

Is that technique covered in the video? I think that sounds like the best way to go. Though I could do it with tags method if that is equally good.

We just chose the theme today and I'm excited to be working on this project...it's such a cool store.

I found my next reward wish list item today...seats that look like keyboard buttons. Kind of like these only the ones in the store were Esc and End Sit On A Keyboard Key! : TurboGadgets Gadget Reviews and Gadget News (http://www.turbogadgets.com/2007/02/23/sit-on-a-keyboard-key/)

Harold Mansfield
02-20-2010, 06:22 AM
That's fine. That's still one category each though. The category for the first post would be Under $100 and the category for the second post would be Under $500. Neither would actually be in the category CoffeeMakers or Braun. You wouldn't check either of those boxes when publishing the post.

I'm saying you shouldn't have the the same post be in both Under $100 and Under $500, even though technically if something is under $100 it's also under $500.

Oh yeah,that makes sense, however I break that rule all of the time. I constantly put things in 2 different categories so that they will show up in different areas of the blog....they have to be in "featured" to show up in the rotating gallery, and then in their specific category just for organization, and search.

I imagine a lot of people with themes that use categories for functions have that problem. I couldn't put every article in "Featured" no matter what the rules are, and I couldn't make everything else a sub category of featured ( that would give me a ridiculous drop down menu)..that would just make my blog completely unorganized.

I also do it on Examiner...some articles are both "New Releases" and "Tours", or something to that effect. It doesn't make sense to combine a category just to encompass a few articles, and you can't leave a story out of a significant category...and everything cannot be a child category...it's too confusing.

The best resolution I have found is to just put them in the appropriate categories when it's necessary.

mattbeck
02-20-2010, 02:48 PM
Just piping in here to agree with the above.

You CAN put it in multiple categories, but it's best practice to use tags (or just put them in the sub-category) for those examples.

Putting them in multiple categories essentially creates duplicate content on your site.

It's not a terrible thing and there are good reasons for it in some cases (such as having a featured category that you rotate), but you shouldn't be doing it as a general rule.

Harold Mansfield
02-20-2010, 07:39 PM
I found my next reward wish list item today...seats that look like keyboard buttons. Kind of like these only the ones in the store were Esc and End Sit On A Keyboard Key! : TurboGadgets Gadget Reviews and Gadget News (http://www.turbogadgets.com/2007/02/23/sit-on-a-keyboard-key/)

That's pretty 'Geeky', I like 'em :)

vangogh
02-20-2010, 11:58 PM
Is that technique covered in the video?

It's been awhile since I watched the video. I don't think setting up taxonomies comes up, but I could be wrong. If you search for 'wordpress taxonomies' plenty should come up. You'll probably be fine with tags though you can certainly set up taxonomies too.


I constantly put things in 2 different categories so that they will show up in different areas of the blog

Just keep in mind that you're creating duplicate content that way.


Putting them in multiple categories essentially creates duplicate content on your site.

Guess you can tell I agree with you Matt.

KristineS
02-22-2010, 04:02 PM
Speaking strictly as someone who uses the software to write, and not any kind of tech geek (as Vangogh could surely attest), I like the one category, multiple tags idea. It makes things easier to find. There are also plug-ins out there that will allow people to see your tag cloud and be able to find specific words if they wish to do so.

Harold Mansfield
02-24-2010, 12:47 PM
Well, in my case, a good number of articles go in 2 categories...it may produce duplicate content, but there are so many blogs scraping my feed as it is that I can't even worry about it anymore.
Also, I syndicate my own feed by category to other sites..for instance all of my festival news goes to ElectronicDance Music.org..but I also list those as 'Featured' articles for the benefit of my home page.

On Examiner, they actually promote the ability to cross categorize your articles and many times suggest it for their own internal listings and searches.

I can't think of another site that I do that on, but on this one, it's just the way it has always been.

vangogh
02-25-2010, 12:31 AM
If you have to place posts in two categories instead of being able to tag them, then you probably didn't set up categories in the best way in the beginning. Beyond the seo implications there isn't ever a need to place an article in more than one category.

Also know that duplicate content that comes from another site scraping your content is different than duplicate contend you create on your own site. The latter has more consequences.

Harold Mansfield
02-25-2010, 11:10 AM
If you have to place posts in two categories instead of being able to tag them, then you probably didn't set up categories in the best way in the beginning. Beyond the seo implications there isn't ever a need to place an article in more than one category.

Also know that duplicate content that comes from another site scraping your content is different than duplicate contend you create on your own site. The latter has more consequences.

That would make sense if everything that you do is based on Tags, but it isn't.
For instance, how do you propose to separate things into different RSS feeds?
You can't do that with tags.

Also, if I need everything on the front page slider (which is one category), and then move down the page in it's specific category..I can't do that with tags either.

Another for instance:
I have a press release that is both information and track listing of a new release and concert dates.

Would you suggest splitting that up into 2 different posts, half under "New Releases" and the other part under "Tours and Events" ?

Harold Mansfield
02-25-2010, 11:25 AM
Also, if I need everything on the front page slider (which is one category), and then move down the page in it's specific category..I can't do that with tags either.


Never mind, I already answered that question in my head, "Change the coding so that the Featured Content Slider displays from multiple categories".

But what do you suggest for others who don't know how to edit their own files to change specific functions?

Patrysha
02-25-2010, 12:32 PM
But what do you suggest for others who don't know how to edit their own files to change specific functions?

Hire someone or learn how from tutorials :-)

vangogh
02-25-2010, 04:12 PM
I'll agree with Patysha. Hire someone or learn how. I'm mostly clueless when it comes to work on my car. If it breaks I take it to a mechanic. I don't try to fix the car in a way that wouldn't be good for it. If at some point I become interested or get tired of paying mechanics, I'll learn how to fix my car myself, accepting that along the way I'll make some mistakes. I won't learn on my primary vehicle, but one I buy or keep around just for the purpose of learning how to work on it.

Harold Mansfield
02-25-2010, 04:48 PM
I'll agree with Patysha. Hire someone or learn how. I'm mostly clueless when it comes to work on my car. If it breaks I take it to a mechanic. I don't try to fix the car in a way that wouldn't be good for it. If at some point I become interested or get tired of paying mechanics, I'll learn how to fix my car myself, accepting that along the way I'll make some mistakes. I won't learn on my primary vehicle, but one I buy or keep around just for the purpose of learning how to work on it.

Can't say I disagree with that:)

vangogh
02-26-2010, 01:44 AM
Sounds simple when we're talking about fixing a vehicle. Yet for some reason when it comes to building a website or writing copy for that site or marketing the site, people seem to think they don't need to pay someone to do the work or learn how to do it right.

There are a lot of things that are easy to do yet hard to do well.