Shanta R. Nathwani gives a presentation on content architecture in WordPress, specifically how to differentiate between pages and posts, and use categories and tags. The presentation covers static vs. dynamic content, creating a menu structure using pages and category archives, applying the 3-5-7 principle to menus, and demonstrates building a menu in WordPress. Attendees are encouraged to brainstorm content for their own site and map it to pages or categories.

1. Content Architecture
aka. Pages vs. Posts & Categories vs. Tags
Shanta R. Nathwani 1
WordCamp Montreal 2015

2. Main Idea
• Posts vs. Pages & Categories vs. Tags. There is so much confusion
about what types of things should be put on a page and what
should be in a post. Static vs. Dynamic content is the best way to
tackle this. When creating a website, you can edit a menu to
include not only pages, but also category archives that can create a
more complete experience.
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3. Agenda
• About Me
• Introduction
• Pages & Posts
• Categories & Tags
• Live Demo
• Q & A’s
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4. Find Me!
Tweet Me:
@ShantaDotCa
My Web Site:
http://shanta.ca
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5. About (A boot) Me
• Instructor, Sheridan College
• Joint program with University of Toronto at
Mississauga: Institute of Culture, Communication,
Information and Technology
• Web Design and Capstone Project
• Independent Consultant
• Clients include NPOs, Real Estate, Software
Development, Financial and Political Sectors
• Bachelor of Commerce in Info Tech Mgmt., Ryerson
University
• Serial WordCamper. Went to 7 last year and
crowdsourcing my tour this year.
• Co-organizer, WordCamp Hamilton 2015
Shanta R. Nathwani - http://shanta.ca - @ShantaDotCa 5

6. 1. Write down on post it notes all the main
topics that you would like to see on your
website.
Shanta R. Nathwani - http://shanta.ca - @ShantaDotCa 6
About
Us
Events
ServicesRecipes
Contact
Products
Portfolio
Blog

7. Post-It Notes
• Used to put down all the pieces of
information that you want to put on your
website
• Later on, you may want to colour code them
into categories and pages
• During the presentation today, start filling in
those post-its with your ideas of what you
want on the site. You may not finish it today,
but it will give you a start.
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8. An Example
Categories and Pages Menu Structure
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9. Follow Along!
We are going to put together our menu based on content we’ve
already got. Follow along at:
http://tantienhime.com
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10. 3-5-7 Principle
• 3 Clicks to where you
need to be.
• Few (very few)
exceptions
• No more than 5-7
items in a list.
• This includes menus
and lists
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11. Pages vs Posts
Pages
• Static information for the most part
• “About Us” is a great example
• Does not use Categories
• Can have sub-pages
Posts
• Dynamic information
• Time sensitive
• Uses Categories & Tags
• “Upcoming Events” or “Events
Attended” are good examples
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12. 2. Figure out which ones will be Categories and
which ones will be Pages
Pages Categories
Shanta R. Nathwani - http://shanta.ca - @ShantaDotCa 12
About
Us
Events
Services
Recipes
Contact
Products Portfolio

13. Pages Categories
3. Change the colour of either one or the other
so that you can tell the difference
Shanta R. Nathwani - http://shanta.ca - @ShantaDotCa 13
About
Us
Events
Services
Recipes
Contact
Products Portfolio

14. Categories vs. Tags
Categories
• Major classifications for
information
• “Events” is a great example
• Can have sub-categories (much like
pages)
Tags
• Describes the content using
keywords
• WordPress recommends 5-7 per
post
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15. WordPress Menus
Menus can contain:
• Categories (sometimes called “Category Archives”)
• Pages
• External Links
The number of menus that are supported depend on the theme you choose, so
do that first!Since 3.6, you can now choose what menu goes where (main,
sidebars). Again, dependant on the theme.
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16. 4. Keeping the 3-5-7 Rule, start to structure
your menus according to the topic, not whether
or not your content is a post or a page.
Shanta R. Nathwani - http://shanta.ca - @ShantaDotCa 16
About
Us
EventsServices Contact
Products
Recipes
Portfolio

17. 5. Create your menu in WordPress using pages
and categories!
Shanta R. Nathwani - http://shanta.ca - @ShantaDotCa 17

18. Go Live!
• http://tantienhime.com/wp-admin (For Me)
• http://tantienhime.com (For You)
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19. Resources
• How to create your menu: https://learn.wordpress.com/get-published-30/#lecustommenu
(Created for .com, but still applicable)
• Information Architecture: Blueprints for the Web: http://www.amazon.com/Information-
Architecture-Blueprints-Christina-Wodtke/dp/0735712506 (until last year, used by our
course)
• Don’t Make Me Think: http://www.amazon.com/Dont-Make-Think-Revisited-
Usability/dp/0321965515 (one of the books that replaced IA)
• Evil By Design: http://evilbydesign.info/book/ (the other new book)
• WordPress.tv: http://shanta.ca/my-wordpress-tv-talk-at-wordcamp-buffalo-2013/ (my
earlier talk, including creating the menu)
Shanta R. Nathwani - http://shanta.ca - @ShantaDotCa 19

20. Questions?
Tweet Me:
@ShantaDotCa
Email:
shanta@shanta.ca
My Web Site:
http://shanta.ca
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