--- title: Creating and Organizing Categories on your Indie Site description: In this article, we will learn about the best practices when it comes to creating and organizing your Indie Site's categories. --- [Skip to content](https://help.indiegraf.com/creating-and-organizing-categories-on-your-indie-site#main-content) - [English](https://help.indiegraf.com/creating-and-organizing-categories-on-your-indie-site) - [Español](https://help.indiegraf.com/es/creating-and-organizing-categories-on-your-indie-site) English Show submenu for translations [Publisher Portal](https://portal.indiegraf.com/tickets?hsLang=en) [![Indiegraf-PrimaryLogo-FullColor-1](https://help.indiegraf.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Indiegraf-PrimaryLogo-FullColor-1.png?width=262&height=60&name=Indiegraf-PrimaryLogo-FullColor-1.png)](https://help.indiegraf.com/?hsLang=en) Open main navigation Close main navigation - - [English](https://help.indiegraf.com/creating-and-organizing-categories-on-your-indie-site) - [Español](https://help.indiegraf.com/es/creating-and-organizing-categories-on-your-indie-site) English Show submenu for translations - [Publisher Portal](https://portal.indiegraf.com/tickets) How can we help you? - There are no suggestions because the search field is empty. 1. [Indiegraf](https://help.indiegraf.com/?hsLang=en) 2. [Indie Website](https://help.indiegraf.com/indie-website?hsLang=en) 3. [Content Creation & Management](https://help.indiegraf.com/indie-website?hsLang=en#content-creation-management) December 16, 2025 # Creating and Organizing Categories on your Indie Site ## In this article, we will learn about the best practices when it comes to creating and organizing your Indie Site's categories. ### **Why is this important?** Categories play a key role in organizing content and improving both **reader experience** and **search engine optimization (SEO)**. When set up thoughtfully, they help visitors easily navigate your indie news site and allow you to structure your content for long-term growth. Here are some best practices and tips to help you build a solid category structure: ### **✅ 1. Start With High-Level Topics** Think of **categories as the main sections** of a newspaper or magazine. They should represent the broad topics you regularly cover. Examples might include: - News - Politics - Business - Sports - Arts & Culture - Opinion - Features - Community 💡 *Tip: Keep the number of top-level categories manageable—between 5 and 10 is a good rule of thumb.* ---   ### **🧱 2. Use Subcategories for Deeper Structure (If Needed)** If you publish a lot of content under one category, consider breaking it down into **subcategories**. For example: **Politics** - Local Politics - National Politics - Elections This keeps your content well-organized and helps readers find exactly what they’re looking for. ---   ### **🗞️ 3. Let Your Editorial Calendar Guide You** Review your past content and editorial plans. Ask yourself: - What topics do we publish on *consistently*? - Are there any emerging themes we should create space for? - Are some existing categories underused? Only create categories for topics you write about **regularly**, not just once in a while. ---   ### **⚖️ 4. Keep the Names Clear and Consistent** Category names should be: - **Short and intuitive** - **In sentence case or Title Case** (choose one and stick to it) - **Free of jargon** (think about your audience’s understanding) Avoid vague names like “Miscellaneous” or “Stuff We Like.” Clarity improves UX and SEO. ---   ### **🔗 5. Don’t Confuse Categories with Tags** While categories define your site's broad structure, **tags** are optional and better used to highlight specific topics, people, or themes within articles. For example: - Category: “Arts & Culture” - Tags: “Book Review,” “Local Artists,” “Art Gallery” Use tags *sparingly and strategically*. Too many tags can bloat your site and confuse search engines. ---   ### **📉 6. Audit and Refine Over Time** Your category structure isn’t set in stone. Revisit it every few months and ask: - Are there underused or redundant categories? - Could any categories be merged or renamed? - Are there new topics that deserve a dedicated category? Just be careful when changing category URLs as it may affect SEO. If needed, set up **redirects**. - [Welcome to Indiegraf](https://help.indiegraf.com/welcome-to-indiegraf?hsLang=en) - [Onboarding](https://help.indiegraf.com/onboarding?hsLang=en#main-content) - [Quick Start Guide](https://help.indiegraf.com/onboarding?hsLang=en#quick-start-guide) - [Indie Website](https://help.indiegraf.com/indie-website?hsLang=en#main-content) - [Analytics & Growth](https://help.indiegraf.com/indie-website?hsLang=en#analytics-growth) - [Audience Engagement & Forms](https://help.indiegraf.com/indie-website?hsLang=en#audience-engagement-forms) - [Configuring your Homepage](https://help.indiegraf.com/indie-website?hsLang=en#configuring-your-homepage) - [Content Creation & Management](https://help.indiegraf.com/indie-website?hsLang=en#content-creation-management) - [Design & Page Layout](https://help.indiegraf.com/indie-website?hsLang=en#design-page-layout) - [Indiegraf Pay](https://help.indiegraf.com/indie-website?hsLang=en#indiegraf-pay) - [Media & Visual Assets](https://help.indiegraf.com/indie-website?hsLang=en#media-visual-assets) - [Paywall Solution: Pelcro](https://help.indiegraf.com/indie-website?hsLang=en#paywall-solution-pelcro) - [SEO and Google Tools](https://help.indiegraf.com/indie-website?hsLang=en#seo-and-google-tools) - [Site Administration](https://help.indiegraf.com/indie-website?hsLang=en#site-administration) - [Technical Questions](https://help.indiegraf.com/indie-website?hsLang=en#technical-questions) - [Indie Email](https://help.indiegraf.com/indie-email?hsLang=en#main-content) - [Quickstart Video Guide: Indie Email](https://help.indiegraf.com/indie-email?hsLang=en#quickstart-video-guide-indie-email) - [Account Setup & Foundations](https://help.indiegraf.com/indie-email?hsLang=en#account-setup-foundations) - [Contact Management](https://help.indiegraf.com/indie-email?hsLang=en#contact-management) - [Creating Campaigns](https://help.indiegraf.com/indie-email?hsLang=en#creating-campaigns) - [Sending Campaigns & Automation](https://help.indiegraf.com/indie-email?hsLang=en#sending-campaigns-automation) - [Troubleshooting & Deliverability](https://help.indiegraf.com/indie-email?hsLang=en#troubleshooting-deliverability) - [Analytics](https://help.indiegraf.com/indie-email?hsLang=en#analytics) - [Indie Ads Manager (IAM)](https://help.indiegraf.com/indie-ads-manager-iam?hsLang=en#main-content) - [Reporting & Statistics](https://help.indiegraf.com/indie-ads-manager-iam?hsLang=en#reporting-statistics) - [Essential Articles](https://help.indiegraf.com/indie-ads-manager-iam?hsLang=en#essential-articles) - [Native Ad Templates](https://help.indiegraf.com/indie-ads-manager-iam?hsLang=en#native-ad-templates) - [Quick Start Guide](https://help.indiegraf.com/indie-ads-manager-iam?hsLang=en#quick-start-guide) - [Payment Solutions](https://help.indiegraf.com/indie-ads-manager-iam?hsLang=en#payment-solutions) - [Hearken](https://help.indiegraf.com/hearken?hsLang=en#main-content) - [Planning and Preparing to Launch with Hearken](https://help.indiegraf.com/hearken?hsLang=en#planning-and-preparing-to-launch-with-hearken) - [Collecting Questions](https://help.indiegraf.com/hearken?hsLang=en#collecting-questions) - [Collecting Votes](https://help.indiegraf.com/hearken?hsLang=en#collecting-votes) - [Reporting an Answer](https://help.indiegraf.com/hearken?hsLang=en#reporting-an-answer) - [Spreading Hearken Across Your Organization](https://help.indiegraf.com/hearken?hsLang=en#spreading-hearken-across-your-organization) - [Creating and Customizing an Embed](https://help.indiegraf.com/hearken?hsLang=en#creating-and-customizing-an-embed) - [Workflow Features](https://help.indiegraf.com/hearken?hsLang=en#workflow-features) - [Platform Features](https://help.indiegraf.com/hearken?hsLang=en#platform-features) - [Setting Up Notifications and Alerts](https://help.indiegraf.com/hearken?hsLang=en#setting-up-notifications-and-alerts) - [Setting up APIs and webhooks](https://help.indiegraf.com/hearken?hsLang=en#setting-up-apis-and-webhooks) - [Data collection and exporting](https://help.indiegraf.com/hearken?hsLang=en#data-collection-and-exporting) - [Automatic categorization](https://help.indiegraf.com/hearken?hsLang=en#automatic-categorization) - [Social, outreach, and marketing](https://help.indiegraf.com/hearken?hsLang=en#social-outreach-and-marketing) - [Events and In-Person Engagement](https://help.indiegraf.com/hearken?hsLang=en#events-and-in-person-engagement) - [Monetizing your Hearken work](https://help.indiegraf.com/hearken?hsLang=en#monetizing-your-hearken-work) - [Indiegraf Experts](https://help.indiegraf.com/indiegraf-experts?hsLang=en) - [Indiegraf Product Release Notes](https://help.indiegraf.com/indiegraf-product-release-notes?hsLang=en#main-content) - [Product Demo Videos](https://help.indiegraf.com/indiegraf-product-release-notes?hsLang=en#product-demo-videos) - [General](https://help.indiegraf.com/general?hsLang=en) - [RevEngine](https://help.indiegraf.com/revengine?hsLang=en#main-content) - [Getting Started with RevEngine](https://help.indiegraf.com/revengine?hsLang=en#getting-started-with-revengine) - [International giving](https://help.indiegraf.com/revengine?hsLang=en#international-giving) - [RevEngine Core](https://help.indiegraf.com/revengine?hsLang=en#revengine-core) - [Organization management](https://help.indiegraf.com/revengine?hsLang=en#organization-management) - [Working with Stripe](https://help.indiegraf.com/revengine?hsLang=en#working-with-stripe) - [Contribution page basics](https://help.indiegraf.com/revengine?hsLang=en#contribution-page-basics) - [Customizing your page](https://help.indiegraf.com/revengine?hsLang=en#customizing-your-page) - [Branding and images](https://help.indiegraf.com/revengine?hsLang=en#branding-and-images) - [Advanced page settings & features](https://help.indiegraf.com/revengine?hsLang=en#advanced-page-settings-features) - [Portal & contribution management](https://help.indiegraf.com/revengine?hsLang=en#portal-contribution-management) - [Contribution data](https://help.indiegraf.com/revengine?hsLang=en#contribution-data) - [Analytics and Reporting](https://help.indiegraf.com/revengine?hsLang=en#analytics-and-reporting) - [Best Practices and Recommendations](https://help.indiegraf.com/revengine?hsLang=en#best-practices-and-recommendations) - [Receipts, reminders and transactional communications](https://help.indiegraf.com/revengine?hsLang=en#receipts-reminders-and-transactional-communications) - [Security & Legal](https://help.indiegraf.com/revengine?hsLang=en#security-legal) - [Common issues](https://help.indiegraf.com/revengine?hsLang=en#common-issues) [![Indiegrf](https://help.indiegraf.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Indiegraf-SecondaryLogo-DarkNavy-2.png?width=260&height=130&name=Indiegraf-SecondaryLogo-DarkNavy-2.png "Indiegrf")](https://help.indiegraf.com/?hsLang=en) Indiegraf is on a mission to make local news entrepreneurship a great career and life choice for journalists everywhere. [mailto:support@indiegraf.com](mailto:support@indiegraf.com) Copyright © 2025, Indiegraf Media