Not long ago, I was trying to determine what to do next with my blog. I wanted to improve it. I decided to start with my categories, subcategories and tags lists since they were all over the place. The critical one was the categories list. It grew so fast to say that my blog was growing slowly.  And, while I was having fun, my blog was supposed to serve a purpose. It needed some direction, focus, and I thought a makeover of my lists might add the structure I sought.

Whether or not your blog has a specific purpose, you will find that this organization will do a lot for you and your readers. After all, structure clears up the focus and that can be liberating. So, I got busy freeing myself.

Setting up Your Blog Outline

The goal: develop lists that enhance the purpose of the blog. I went through categories first, deleting, revising and even adding a couple. When I was done, I had gone from 27 to 11 categories, and no subcategories for now. I’m not forcing myself to keep only these categories forever. I’ll just be growing my list more deliberately rather than haphazardly. Figure out what works for your blog. Here’s what I work with:

• Categories should include big topics related to your blog’s purpose
• Each category should be able to have multiple posts
• If you can’t see more than one post for a topic, you may want to consider demoting that topic to a tag
• Add new categories carefully: consider how adding each topic will impact your readers’ navigation
• Subcategories are the next smaller heading in the outline, falling between categories and tags.
• Tags are the most specific label of each blog. Where you may have easily 1 category and subcategory for each post, you can have several tags

If I wanted to write a post about a specific writing genre, I might make it a subcategory of writing, and tag it depending on the details of the post.
So, following the pattern “Category=>subcategory—>tags”,
“Poetry=>learning—>resources, classes, programs, mentors” could be a list.

Why Clear Categories, Subcategories and Tags Help

• Carefully organizing the blog structure and outline forces you to get clear on your purpose
• Being clear on your blog’s purpose can actually help you to focus and generate new post ideas
• A clearer outline is helpful for visitors to know what they can expect to find on your blog
• Easily searchable blogs improve the likelihood that readers will return
• Categories, subcategories and tags make an efficient way to search your blog
• Because tags are used in various categories, they offer a degree of cross-referencing

Updating was Easy

I spent the bulk of time on this project in planning. Deciding what would be useful categories and tags, and to delete the subcategories. Then, deciding what rule I would follow. Right now, I use one category per post and posts can have multiple tags.

The WordPress quick edit feature saved me through editing the categories, subcategories and tags.

1. Edited lists on paper
2. Input the category and subcategory changes on the categories page
3. Then in the posts list page, using the nifty quick edit feature, visited each post that needed changes and updated each post’s category and tags

Now my site is outlined more clearly and it’s more focused for me too. It works differently for different types of sites. It’s worked a little differently for Telling Stories, my creative writing blog, but it still helped. Remember, even though your site may seem to expand on its own, you are in control.

And, while I’ve got a handle on the theory, mine is definitely a work in progress. So please feel free to share your tips and insights below.

If you think your blog is growing far afield of your original intent, take a close look at it. Start with a review of your categories, subcategories and tags. Revising these areas may give you a fresh focus. If you’re new to blogging, even if your blog covers any and everything, growing your outline deliberately and with consideration of your focus will help you to not feel overwhelmed.