How to Change the Category Order in WordPress

Do you want to change the category order in WordPress?

By default, WordPress shows visitors your categories in alphabetical order. To help people find interesting or important content, you may want to use a custom category order instead.

In this article, we will show you how to easily change the category order in WordPress.

Why Change Category Order in WordPress?

Sometimes, you may want to show all the categories on your WordPress website. You can do this by adding the Categories List block to any page, post, or widget-ready area.

In this way, you can help visitors search by category in WordPress and find the content they are interested in reading.

By default, WordPress shows categories to visitors in alphabetical order. However, this may not be the best fit for your website.

For example, if you run a WooCommerce store, then you may want to adjust the product category order to show your top-selling product categories first.

With that in mind, let’s see how you can easily change category order in WordPress.

Changing Category Order in WordPress

The best way to create a custom category order is by using Category Order. This free plugin allows you to rearrange your categories using drag and drop.

The first thing you need to do is install and activate the Category Order plugin. For more details, see our step-by-step guide on how to install a WordPress plugin.

Upon activation, simply head over to Posts » Taxonomy Order to see a list of all the categories on your WordPress blog.

You can now rearrange the categories using drag and drop.

If you are using child categories, then these will appear indented below the parent. When you move the parent category, the child categories will move too.

When you are happy with the category order, just click on the ‘Update’ button.

You can now add the Categories List block to any widget-ready area. For step-by-step instructions, please see our guide on how to add and use widgets in WordPress.

You can also add the Categories List widget to any page or post.

After that, simply visit your WordPress website to see all your categories arranged in a custom order.

Change Product Category Order in WooCommerce

If you have an online store, then you can add a list of your product categories to any page, post, or widget-ready area using the Product Categories List block.

This can help shoppers find items they want to buy, especially if you use the block alongside a smart WooCommerce product search.

You can use the Category Order plugin to change where each category appears in the list. For example, you might display your most popular product categories first or prioritize your ‘Sales’ category so shoppers don’t miss out on any deals.

To rearrange the product categories, just go to Products » Taxonomy Order.

You can now rearrange all the categories on your online marketplace using drag and drop. When you are happy with the changes, click on ‘Update’ to make them live.

You can now go ahead and add the Product Categories List block to any page, post, or widget-ready area.

If you are using a block-enabled theme, then you can even add the Product Categories List block to areas you can’t edit using the standard WordPress content editor.

For example, you can add the block to your 404 page template, archives page, search results, or any other page. This can get you even more clicks and sales.

After adding this widget, simply visit your online store to see the product categories listed in your custom order.

We hope this article helped you learn how to change category order in WordPress. You may also want to see our guide on how to make money online blogging with WordPress or our expert picks for the best SEO plugins and tools.

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