Do you need to rename categories in WordPress?

As your website grows, you may need to change the names of some of your categories or merge them with other categories.

In this article, we will show you how to correctly rename categories in WordPress without affecting your strategies. SEO.

But before, if you have never installed WordPress discover How to Install a WordPress Blog in 7 Steps et How to search, install and activate a WordPress theme on your blog 

Then back to why we are here.

Why Rename Categories in WordPress?

If you recently created a WordPress website, creating a good organizational structure will make it easier for your visitors to find your content and can help your website rank higher on search engine results pages.

This is why WordPress offers categories and tags. You can learn how to effectively organize your content with our guide Categories vs Tags - WordPress SEO Best Practices

As you add content, you may want to improve the way you organize your posts, and you may decide to rename some of your categories.

Let's see how to properly rename categories in WordPress.

How to Rename Categories in WordPress

You will find the WordPress category management area by visiting the section Articles -> Categories. On this page, you can manage WordPress categories, edit existing categories, and delete unwanted categories.

WordPress tutorial - renaming categories in WordPress

There are two ways to rename categories. The first is to click on the 'Quick edit' link under the category you want to rename.

WordPress tutorial - renaming categories in WordPress

The Quick Edit metabox is now displayed. Here you can quickly change the category name.

You can also change the slug of the category, which determines the URL of the category page. For example, if the slug is 'books', the category page URL would be:

https://exemple.com/categorie/films

Editor's Note: You don't need to change the slug if you're just doing a minor name change, but if you do, you need to set up a 301 redirect. We'll show you how to do this later in this article.

Make sure you click the button Update category when you have finished.

The second way to rename a category also allows you to add a category description. To do this, you must click on the link “ Edit under the category you want to rename.

This will take you to the edit category page. Here you can change the category name, slug and description.

WordPress tutorial - renaming categories in WordPress

The category edit page also allows you to choose a parent category. You can do this by installing one of our best WordPress plugins to manage categories and subcategories on your blog

Changing the category prefix

WordPress also allows you to change the prefix in category URLs. This is called the category base./categorie/

To modify it, go to Settings -> Permalinks and scroll down to 'Optional'. There you will see a online form to change the category base and tag base.

WordPress tutorial - renaming categories in WordPress

The default category base is 'category'. Here you can change it to anything you want, like "subjects".

This would change the URL of

http://www.exemple.com/categorie/votre-slug-de-categorie/

à

http://www.exemple.com/sujets/otre-slug-de-categorie/

Merging and Bulk Editing Categories

As your website grows, you may decide to simplify your organizational structure and merge multiple categories into one.

This is useful if you find you have a few categories that are very similar. Combining them into one category will make your WordPress site less complex and easier to navigate.

To find out how, see our guide to how to merge and bulk edit your categories and tags.

Redirect users to new category URL

If you changed the category slug, the category page URL has changed and the old URL will no longer work.

Fortunately, if you've added this category to your WordPress menu, WordPress will automatically update the menu to reflect your changes.

But when users or search engines try to use the old category URL, it won't work anymore. Instead, they will see a 404 Page Not Found error message.

These 404 errors create a bad User experience which can lead to lower search engine rankings and lower online sales.

To avoid this, you must configure a redirect from the old URL to the new one. Learn how to do it using our tutorial on How to find 404 pages and how to redirect them

404 redirect with AIOSEO WordPress plugin

 

It is extremely important that you set up 301 redirect using AIOSEO, otherwise changing category URLs may negatively impact your website's search ranking.

Other recommended resources

We also invite you to consult the resources below to take more ownership and control of your website and blog.

Conclusion

There ! That's it for this tutorial. We hope this tutorial helped you learn how to properly rename categories in WordPress.

However, you will also be able to consult our resources, if you need more elements to carry out your projects of creation of Internet sites, by consulting our guide on the WordPress blog creation.

But, in the meantime, don't forget to leave us your Comments and suggestions in the dedicated section.

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