What is Tag in WordPress?

### Understanding WordPress Taxonomies for Content Organization

In the realm of WordPress, taxonomies serve as a means to systematically arrange posts and various custom post types. The term ‘taxonomy’ is derived from the ‘Linnaean taxonomy’ used in biological classifications.

### Built-in Taxonomies: Categories and Tags

WordPress is equipped with two built-in taxonomies: categories and tags. These taxonomies are essential for organizing content, but with custom post types, you might find the need for custom taxonomies.

Categories in WordPress are broad groupings for your posts, akin to chapters in a book. For instance, a news site might sort its content into categories such as International News, Community Updates, Climate Conditions, and Athletic Events.

Any post not assigned to a specific category falls under the default category, which is ‘Uncategorized’ on a fresh WordPress installation but can be modified to suit your needs.

Categories can be structured hierarchically, allowing for the creation of subcategories. For example, under a primary category like ‘Photography Equipment,’ you might have a subcategory such as ‘Digital SLRs.’

To delve deeper into setting up parent and child categories, you can refer to our comprehensive guide on establishing categories and subcategories in WordPress.

Tags, on the other hand, are utilized to pinpoint precise aspects of your posts, functioning like index terms. They highlight the minutiae within your content. For instance, under a ‘Literature Critiques’ category, tags might include ‘Novel,’ ‘Detective Fiction,’ ‘Stephen King,’ or ‘Agatha Christie.’

Contrary to categories, tags do not have a hierarchical structure and are optional.

Employing categories and tags effectively can bolster your website’s search engine optimization (SEO). For further insights, our guide on SEO best practices for content categorization is a valuable resource.

### Crafting Custom Taxonomies for Enhanced Content Sorting

Custom taxonomies offer a tailored approach to organizing your content. For example, if you create a custom post type named ‘Literature,’ you might want to classify it using a custom taxonomy like ‘Genres.’

These custom taxonomies can also be hierarchical. Within main genres such as Fiction and Nonfiction, you could establish subgenres like Adventure, Science Fiction, and Historical Romance.

Many widely-used WordPress plugins leverage custom post types for data management. For instance:

• WooCommerce introduces a ‘product’ custom post type for e-commerce sites.
• WPForms uses a ‘wpforms’ post type to manage form entries.
• MemberPress employs a ‘memberpressproduct’ custom post type for membership options.

For a more detailed exploration of when to use custom post types or taxonomies in WordPress, our guide provides all the necessary information.

This article aims to enhance your understanding of WordPress taxonomies. For additional insights and WordPress tips, please consider our recommended readings below.

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### Further Exploration

• Converting WordPress Categories to Custom Taxonomies
• Tag
• Adding Categories and Subcategories in WordPress
• Implementing Taxonomy Images in WordPress
• SEO Best Practices: Categories vs Tags
• Deciding on Custom Post Types or Taxonomies in WordPress
• Integrating Categories with Custom Post Types in WordPress
• Post Types
• Displaying Current Taxonomy Title and URL in WordPress
• Category