The Complete Guide to Safely Changing, Moving, and Deleting WordPress Categories

As a WordPress site owner, properly organizing your content into categories is crucial for providing a seamless user experience. But websites evolve over time, and what seemed like a logical category structure at first may not stand the test of time.

So what do you do when your existing categories start holding your site back? The right category changes can strengthen your content architecture for the better. But edit them the wrong way, and you risk wreaking havoc on your site.

With 15 years as a WordPress webmaster under my belt, I‘ve learned how to properly modify categories to improve the site while avoiding common pitfalls.

In this complete guide, I‘ll share the techniques I use with my own clients‘ sites when we need to change, move, or delete existing categories in WordPress.

Why Category Changes Are Often Necessary as Your Site Evolves

Many websites start out with a basic category structure that makes sense in the beginning. But as more content gets added, your categories may start to show signs they need a refresh.

Here are some of the most common reasons I end up tweaking my clients‘ website categories:

1. Category names that hurt SEO

In the early days of creating your site, you may not have done extensive keyword research to optimize your category names. Over time, this can hamper your pages‘ ability to rank in search engines.

For example, a category like "Blog" is vague. Renaming it something more descriptive like "Content Marketing Strategies" can attract more organic traffic.

2. Bad category architecture as the site grows

What started as a straightforward IA (information architecture) can become unwieldy. Too many posts in one category makes it hard to navigate. Or categories may become redundant when similar ones already exist.

Restructuring your categories by moving them around or adding subcategories will help visitors better find content.

3. Changing business needs

If your site‘s focus evolves, old categories may no longer fit. For example, if you expanded an ecommerce store from just shoes to all apparel, you‘d need new categories to reflect that.

It‘s perfectly normal for sites to outgrow their original categories over time. Don‘t be afraid to delete or change categories to match where your business is headed.

4. User behavior changes

Watching how people engage with your content over time is invaluable. Google Analytics can show you which categories get the most traffic – and which ones visitors barely tap into.

Use these insights to delete underperforming categories or change those that don‘t align with user search habits.

5. Housekeeping needs

Day-to-day site maintenance issues arise that impact categories, like:

• Typos: Fixing typos in category names looks more professional.
• Duplicates: Merging two categories covering the same topic cleans things up.
• Misuse: The default "Uncategorized" category may need to change if overused.

Periodic category housekeeping ensures your site stays organized.

While the reasons for altering your category structure varies, one thing remains constant: it must be done carefully to avoid negatively impacting your site.

Let‘s look at some category editing mistakes to avoid – and how to change categories the right way.

Common Category Editing Pitfalls to Avoid

When clients come to me with issues caused by category changes gone wrong, it usually boils down to one of these all-too-common mistakes:

Breaking existing links

If you change the URL of a category page without setting up redirects, any existing links to that page will start displaying 404 errors. This frustrates visitors who then bounce.

It also damages your site‘s SEO, as search engines now see those outdated links as broken.

Orphaning content

Deleting a category without reassigning its posts will dump all that content into the default "Uncategorized" category.

This makes posts harder to find and harder for search engines to understand your content structure.

Impacting page authority

If you move pages between categories improperly, you may dilute their authority. For example, taking a high-traffic, well-linked page and putting it in an obscure category can starve it of link juice.

Confusing visitors

Too many category changes at once can disorient returning visitors when the IA they‘re used to suddenly changes drastically.

Go for small, incremental changes over time instead of a massive overhaul in one go.

The common thread is that not thinking through category edits holistically can introduce more user experience problems than you solve.

So in the rest of this guide, I‘ll share tips and best practices to change, move, or delete WordPress categories to improve – not hurt – your site.

How to Edit the Name, Slug, or Description of a Category

One of the most straightforward category edits is changing the name, URL slug, description, or parent category. Let‘s look at how to do this safely.

Step 1: Navigate to Categories

From your WP dashboard, go to Posts > Categories to bring up the full list of categories on your site.

Step 2: Click the Edit link

Hover over the category you want to modify, and click the "Edit" link that pops up:

This opens the Edit Category screen:

Step 3: Make your changes

With the category edit screen open, you can:

• Change the name: Type a new name in the Name field to rename the category.

• Change the slug: Edit the Slug field to create a new URL for that category‘s archive page.

• Modify the description: Add or update the category description to guide users on when to use that category.

• Choose a new parent: Assign the category to a new parent using the Parent Category dropdown.

Step 4: Save your changes

Once you have made your updates, click the blue Update button to save your changes.

That‘s all there is to safely editing basic category details in WordPress!

Just a couple extra tips:

• To avoid broken links, go slow when changing slugs – more on that next.

• Take time to write descriptions; this helps users and SEO.

Now let‘s talk about how to change category URLs more extensively.

How to Change Category URLs Without Breaking Links

Changing the slug of a category is trickier than editing its name or description. Since that slug creates the URL for the category‘s archive page, you risk breaking existing links across your site.

But sometimes you need to edit a category URL for cleaner structure or better optimization. Here‘s how I safely change category slugs for clients:

Step 1: Redirect from old URL to new URL

The key is installing a redirect plugin like Redirection or Safe Redirect Manager.

For example, if you change a category URL from:

/category/design-tools/

To:

/category/web-design-tools/

You‘d create a 301 redirect in your plugin from the old URL to the new one.

A proper 301 will tell search engines that the category page has permanently moved to the new URL. This passes link equity and preserves rankings.

Without that redirect in place, changing the slug would result in a dead 404 link for any sites linking to the category.

Step 2: Change the category slug

Only after adding the redirect in place should you change the actual category slug in WordPress.

Go to Posts > Categories, open the edit screen, and edit the slug field to the new URL:

Step 3: Test it

Visit the old category URL – you should automatically get redirected to the new URL. Likewise, the new URL should display the category page as expected.

Double check the redirect is working properly before moving on.

With this simple yet effective process, you can update category page URLs without jeopardizing user experience or search performance.

Next let‘s talk about how to safely merge or delete categories without orphaning content.

How to Merge, Delete, or Rename Categories Without Losing Posts

Another common category change is consolidating or removing categories that are outdated, redundant, or no longer needed.

For example, you may want to:

• Merge two similar categories into one stronger category.
• Delete a typo category like "Life Sytle" because it was created incorrectly.
• Rename a vague category like "Blog" something more targeted like "Marketing."

However, deleting or renaming a category without preparing could dump all the posts into the default "Uncategorized" category if you‘re not careful.

Here are some tips to merge, delete, or rename categories without creating orphaned posts:

Step 1: Audit assigned posts first

Before deleting or renaming a category:

1. Click into that category to view all assigned posts.

2. For each post, change the categories to more relevant existing categories that still apply.

This ensures each post retains helpful categorization before you make the change.

Step 2: Delete or rename the category

Once all posts are safe and sound in alternate categories, you can delete the category you want to remove:

Or rename it by editing the name field on the category edit screen:

The posts you moved in Step 1 will stay properly categorized.

Step 3: Add redirects for deleted category URLs

One last recommendation is to redirect deleted or renamed category archive URLs to relevant pages so links don‘t break.

For example:

• Redirect a deleted category URL to your site‘s blog or homepage.
• Redirect a renamed category URL to its new name.

This keeps visitors arriving from external sites happy.

With this process, you can reduce category clutter without turning posts into "unicategorized" digital orphans.

How to Add Category Hierarchy with Parent and Child Categories

Another way to improve unwieldy categories is by breaking them into smaller subcategories. This adds hierarchy that makes drilling down easier.

For example, instead of one massive "Blog" category, you may create:

• Blog
• • Blogging Tips
• • Content Marketing
• • Email Newsletters
• • Social Media

Let‘s look at how to create this type of category structure:

Step 1: Create each subcategory

Go to Posts > Categories > Add New Category to create each subcategory one by one:

Fill in details like name and description.

Step 2: Designate parent categories

When adding a subcategory, choose its parent category from the Parent Category dropdown:

This nests the subcategory under the correct parent.

Step 3: Repeat for each subcategory

Keep repeating steps 1-2 to create all needed subcategories nested under their respective parent categories.

The end result is a logical IA that goes from broad (parent categories) to more narrow (subcategories).

Visitors can easily self-navigate to very specific content. Plus, you aren‘t maintaining one massive category anymore.

If the nested categories grow too big over time, you can always break them down further into more subcategories.

How to Change the Default Category from "Uncategorized"

By default, WordPress assigns all posts without a category to "Uncategorized." This bucket category can quickly become bloated and useless.

You may want to change the default category to something that better fits your site‘s content structure.

There are two ways to change the default category in WordPress:

Option 1: Change the default category

Under Settings > Writing, find the Default Post Category setting:

Choose a category from your site that you want to set as the new default from the dropdown. Then click Save Changes.

Option 2: Rename "Uncategorized"

If you‘d rather keep the "Uncategorized" category but give it a new name, that works too:

1. Go to Posts > Categories

2. Open the "Uncategorized" category edit screen

3. Enter a new name in the name field

4. Click Update

Now instead of Uncategorized, posts will use the new default category name you chose or renamed.

How to Efficiently Convert Between Categories and Tags

Some WordPress sites improperly use tags as categories or vice versa. While tags and categories both organize content, they serve different purposes:

Categories group posts into main topics or content types. They should be broad.

Tags add details about a specific post. They can be more narrow.

If you inherited a site that mixed tags and categories, or want to convert some for better IA, here‘s what to do:

Step 1: Install Categories to Tags Converter plugin

This handy plugin lets you bulk convert categories into tags or vice versa in one click.

Go to Plugins > Add New to search for and install the plugin. Then activate it.

Step 2: Go to Tools > Importing

Under the importer, click on Categories to Tags Converter.

Step 3: Check boxes to choose which to convert

It will display all your categories and tags. Check the boxes next to ones you want to convert:

Step 4: Click the appropriate button

To convert categories to tags, click the Convert Categories button.

To go the other way and convert tags into categories, click the Convert Tags button instead.

The plugin seamlessly handles all the underlying details of renaming terms, updating posts, etc. In a few seconds, the checked categories and tags will switch places.

Use this to clean up any improper categorization/tagging that may have occurred on your site!

Recap: Safely Editing Categories Without Ruining Your Site

As you can see, editing categories in WordPress isn‘t quite as simple as clicking on them and changing a name or two. There are implications beneath the surface.

I hope this guide provided some best practices and techniques to update your category structure while avoiding common issues like:

• Breaking existing URL links
• Losing proper post categorization
• Diluting rankings and search visibility
• Creating a confusing IA for visitors

The takeaways I want you to remember are:

• Take it slow. Don‘t overhaul everything overnight.
• Use redirects when changing category URLs.
• Reassign posts before deleting or merging categories.
• Add parent/child categories to divide mammoth ones.
• Use plugins to simplify repetitive tasks like converting categories into tags.

Categories are the backbone of a well-organized website. Invest time up front in creating a solid IA, and periodically maintain it using the tips in this guide.

Your future self will thank you next time you need to add or edit content!