{"id":50298,"date":"2020-03-12T19:06:00","date_gmt":"2020-03-12T13:36:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/?p=50298"},"modified":"2026-10-13T13:44:13","modified_gmt":"2026-10-13T08:14:13","slug":"convert-category-to-tags-wordpress","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2020\/03\/convert-category-to-tags-wordpress\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Convert Categories to Tags in WordPress (and Redirect Them)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Want to <strong>convert categories to tags in WordPress<\/strong>? When you start a blog, it is easy to create too many categories, and later realise many of them should have been tags. We did exactly that on QuickOnlineTips: over the years we created separate categories for Facebook, Twitter and other networks. As Instagram, YouTube and Pinterest arrived, posts ended up in several categories at once. So we created one &#8220;Social Media&#8221; category and converted the individual networks into tags. WordPress makes this easy, but you must handle redirects too.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-50303\" src=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-content\/uploads\/category-to-tags.png\" alt=\"convert categories to tags in WordPress\" width=\"361\" height=\"213\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-content\/uploads\/category-to-tags.png 361w, https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-content\/uploads\/category-to-tags-300x177.png 300w, https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-content\/uploads\/category-to-tags-150x89.png 150w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 361px) 100vw, 361px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><strong>Quick answer:<\/strong> Install the free Categories to Tags Converter from Tools, then Import, in your WordPress dashboard. Select the categories to convert and click Convert. Then add 301 redirects from each old \/category\/ URL to its new \/tag\/ URL using Rank Math, Yoast or the Redirection plugin, so visitors and search engines do not hit 404 errors.<\/p>\n<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_88 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6ad26b7a27833\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"ez-toc-cssicon\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #1a202c;color:#1a202c\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #1a202c;color:#1a202c\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6ad26b7a27833\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2020\/03\/convert-category-to-tags-wordpress\/#Categories_vs_tags_what_is_the_difference\" >Categories vs tags: what is the difference?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2020\/03\/convert-category-to-tags-wordpress\/#How_to_convert_categories_to_tags_in_WordPress\" >How to convert categories to tags in WordPress<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2020\/03\/convert-category-to-tags-wordpress\/#Redirect_old_category_URLs_to_the_new_tags\" >Redirect old category URLs to the new tags<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2020\/03\/convert-category-to-tags-wordpress\/#Before_you_convert_SEO_warning\" >Before you convert: SEO warning<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2020\/03\/convert-category-to-tags-wordpress\/#Tips_for_a_clean_WordPress_structure\" >Tips for a clean WordPress structure<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2020\/03\/convert-category-to-tags-wordpress\/#FAQ\" >FAQ<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-7\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2020\/03\/convert-category-to-tags-wordpress\/#Does_converting_categories_to_tags_change_post_URLs\" >Does converting categories to tags change post URLs?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-8\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2020\/03\/convert-category-to-tags-wordpress\/#Can_I_undo_the_conversion\" >Can I undo the conversion?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-9\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2020\/03\/convert-category-to-tags-wordpress\/#Should_tag_pages_be_indexed\" >Should tag pages be indexed?<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Categories_vs_tags_what_is_the_difference\"><\/span>Categories vs tags: what is the difference?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Categories<\/strong> are your site&#8217;s broad sections, like chapters of a book. Every post needs at least one, and most sites need only 5 to 15.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Tags<\/strong> are specific topics that can cross categories, like an index. A post about WhatsApp privacy might sit in the Social Media category with tags for WhatsApp and Privacy.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Too many overlapping categories confuse readers and spread your site structure thin. Clear categories with useful tags help both navigation and search engines.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How_to_convert_categories_to_tags_in_WordPress\"><\/span>How to convert categories to tags in WordPress<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<ol>\n<li>Go to <strong>Tools &gt; Import<\/strong> in your dashboard.<\/li>\n<li>Find <strong>Categories and Tags Converter<\/strong> and click <strong>Install Now<\/strong>, then <strong>Run Importer<\/strong>. You can also install the <a href=\"https:\/\/wordpress.org\/plugins\/wpcat2tag-importer\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Categories to Tags Converter<\/a> plugin directly.<\/li>\n<li>Tick the categories you want to convert. WordPress warns that child categories will become top-level categories if you convert a parent.<\/li>\n<li>Click <strong>Convert Categories to Tags<\/strong>. The new tags are created in seconds, and posts keep their links.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-50301\" src=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-content\/uploads\/select-categories.png\" alt=\"select categories to convert to tags\" width=\"230\" height=\"276\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-content\/uploads\/select-categories.png 230w, https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-content\/uploads\/select-categories-125x150.png 125w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 230px) 100vw, 230px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>The same tool converts tags to categories if you ever need to go the other way.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-50305\" src=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-content\/uploads\/converted-tags.png\" alt=\"converted tags in WordPress\" width=\"354\" height=\"161\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-content\/uploads\/converted-tags.png 354w, https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-content\/uploads\/converted-tags-300x136.png 300w, https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-content\/uploads\/converted-tags-150x68.png 150w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 354px) 100vw, 354px\" \/><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Redirect_old_category_URLs_to_the_new_tags\"><\/span>Redirect old category URLs to the new tags<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>After conversion, links like \/category\/facebook\/ return 404 errors. Redirect each one to the matching tag with a 301 redirect:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Rank Math:<\/strong> Rank Math SEO &gt; Redirections &gt; Add New.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Yoast SEO Premium:<\/strong> Yoast SEO &gt; Redirects.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Free option:<\/strong> the <a href=\"https:\/\/wordpress.org\/plugins\/redirection\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Redirection<\/a> plugin, which we used.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-50306\" src=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-content\/uploads\/redirect-category-tags.png\" alt=\"redirect category to tags with 301 redirect\" width=\"539\" height=\"258\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-content\/uploads\/redirect-category-tags.png 539w, https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-content\/uploads\/redirect-category-tags-300x144.png 300w, https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-content\/uploads\/redirect-category-tags-150x72.png 150w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 539px) 100vw, 539px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Then check the redirects work, update your menus and widgets if they linked to the old categories, and look for broken links with our guide to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2020\/04\/find-remove-internal-broken-links\/\">find and remove internal broken links<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Before_you_convert_SEO_warning\"><\/span>Before you convert: SEO warning<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>If a category page ranks well in Google, think twice. Changing its URL means Google has to discover the new address, and rankings can dip for a while even with redirects. Check category traffic in Google Search Console first, and convert low-traffic categories before popular ones. Also decide whether tag archives should be indexed; many sites set thin tag pages to noindex in their SEO plugin.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Tips_for_a_clean_WordPress_structure\"><\/span>Tips for a clean WordPress structure<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Give each post one main category.<\/li>\n<li>Use tags sparingly; a tag with only one or two posts adds little value.<\/li>\n<li>Write short descriptions for important categories and tags so their archive pages are useful.<\/li>\n<li>Never change your <a href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2020\/02\/change-wordpress-permalinks-structure\/\">permalink structure<\/a> at the same time; make one change at a time.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"FAQ\"><\/span>FAQ<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Does_converting_categories_to_tags_change_post_URLs\"><\/span>Does converting categories to tags change post URLs?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Only if your permalinks include %category%. With the common \/%postname%\/ or date-based structures, post URLs stay the same.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Can_I_undo_the_conversion\"><\/span>Can I undo the conversion?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Yes. The same tool converts tags back into categories, though you will need to restore any parent and child relationships by hand.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Should_tag_pages_be_indexed\"><\/span>Should tag pages be indexed?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Index tags with plenty of useful posts; noindex thin ones to avoid low-quality pages in search.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Want to convert categories to tags in WordPress? When you start a blog, it is easy to create too many&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":50303,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_kad_post_transparent":"default","_kad_post_title":"default","_kad_post_layout":"default","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"default","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"default","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[49,17],"class_list":["post-50298","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blogging","tag-tutorials","tag-wordpress"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50298","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=50298"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50298\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":65524,"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50298\/revisions\/65524"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/50303"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=50298"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=50298"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=50298"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}