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How to Rename the Uncategorized Category in WordPress

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Are you wondering how to rename the Uncategorized category in WordPress?

WordPress beginners often ask us if it’s possible to remove or rename the Uncategorized category in WordPress to something different, such as ‘General, ‘Other’, or ‘Miscellaneous’.

In this article, we will show you how to rename the Uncategorized category and how to change the default category in WordPress.

How to Rename the Uncategorized Category in WordPress

What Is the Default Category in WordPress?

Categories and tags are the two default taxonomies that come with every new WordPress install. They are used to group your posts together in different ways.

Your WordPress posts must be filed under at least one category. If you forget to assign a category to your post, then it is automatically filed under your default category.

On a new WordPress website, this default category is called ‘Uncategorized’.

The Uncategorized Category

Usually, you can just go to Posts » Categories and delete a category. However, you can’t delete the default category until you assign another category that will be used as the default.

There are two ways to solve this issue. You can either rename the default category from Uncategorized to something more meaningful, or you can set a new default category.

We will cover both methods in this tutorial, and you can use the quick links below to jump to the method you want to use:

Renaming the Uncategorized Category in WordPress

To rename the default category, you need to visit the Posts » Categories page in the WordPress admin dashboard.

Next, you should hover your mouse over the Uncategorized category and click the ‘Edit’ link.

Click the Edit Link Under the Uncategorized Category

This will bring you to the Edit Category screen.

Using the top two fields, you can rename your category and change its URL slug. After that, make sure you click the ‘Update’ link at the bottom of the page.

The Edit Category Page

Changing the slug will also change the category page’s URL. Now, if you have a new website that is not live or indexed by search engines, then that won’t cause a problem.

However, if your site is live, then changing the URL slug will result in 404 errors when search engines or actual users try to visit the old category using the original URL.

Don’t worry. We will show you how to set up redirects later in this article.

Changing the Default Category in WordPress

You can also easily change the default category in WordPress. First, make sure you have at least one category other than uncategorized available.

If you don’t already have a category that you would like to use as default, then you need to go to Posts » Categories and create a new category.

Adding a New Category

Now, you will need to navigate to the Settings » Writing page. The first option on the page allows you to set a default post category.

Simply use the dropdown menu to select the default category you would like to use.

Choosing the Default Category in Writing Settings

Don’t forget to click the ‘Save Changes’ button to store your settings.

WordPress will now use the category you selected as the default category. If you forget to assign a category to a post, then it will be filed under this default category.

However, posts filed under ‘Uncategorized’ will not be moved to the new category. You will need to edit those posts and change their category.

If there are just a couple of posts, then you can do it manually. Otherwise, you may want to check out our guide on how to bulk-move posts to categories and tags in WordPress.

You can then also delete the Uncategorized category if you don’t plan to use it in the future. If an old post was only filed under ‘Uncategorized’, then it will be automatically moved to your new default category.

Redirecting the Old Uncategorized URL

If your site was live when you renamed the Uncategorized category slug or deleted it, then users and search engines will see a 404 page for the old URL. This is bad for both SEO and user experience since visitors will see an error page instead of the content they are looking for.

The good news is that you can easily fix that and redirect users to your new category URL or the renamed URL.

First, you need to install and configure the All in One SEO (AIOSEO) plugin. For more information, please see our step-by-step guide on how to set up All in One SEO correctly.

Note: You will need AIOSEO Pro to use the redirection manager. There is also a free version of AIOSEO, but it doesn’t include this feature.

Once the plugin is active, you will need to go to All in One SEO » Redirects in your WordPress dashboard and then click the ‘Activate Redirects’ button.

Activate AIOSEO Redirects

Next, you can set up your redirect.

In the Source URL field, you need to type /category/uncategorized or the name of your old default category.

Next, click the small gear icon ⚙️ next to that field to display some settings, and then check the ‘Regex’ box.

Redirecting the Uncategorized Category Using AIOSEO

Once you’ve done that, enter the name of the renamed or new default category in the Target URL field, like /category/general.

Finally, make sure that the Redirect Type is ‘301 Moved Permanently’ and then click the ‘Add Redirect’ button.

That’s all. Now, visitors going to your old Uncategorized category URL will be redirected to the new URL.

Our Best Guides About WordPress Categories

Now that you know how to rename the Uncategorized category, you may want to see some other guides on how to make the most out of categories in WordPress:

We hope this guide helped you learn how to rename the Uncategorized category as well as how to set a new default category in WordPress. You may also want to see our guide on how to style individual categories differently in WordPress or our expert picks for the best WordPress search plugins.

If you liked this article, then please subscribe to our YouTube Channel for WordPress video tutorials. You can also find us on Twitter and Facebook.

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Editorial Staff

Editorial Staff at WPBeginner is a team of WordPress experts led by Syed Balkhi with over 16 years of experience in WordPress, Web Hosting, eCommerce, SEO, and Marketing. Started in 2009, WPBeginner is now the largest free WordPress resource site in the industry and is often referred to as the Wikipedia for WordPress.

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Reader Interactions

21 CommentsLeave a Reply

  1. Syed Balkhi says

    Hey WPBeginner readers,
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  2. THANKGOD JONATHAN says

    This is more than tutorial for me. It is an advice. I have always don’t like the default uncategoriea category on my blog. Unfortunately, I din’t have this idea. Thank you so much for writing this post.

  3. Regina says

    I have a newer, recently live website. I still have the “uncategorized” default category, but I do NOT have any post in this category yet (it is still empty).
    Will a 404 error occur if I rename my empty uncategorized category?

  4. Yogesh Mhaske says

    i want to create one website which contains some static page and just one customer information form page. so i need to create any category for it. Please let me know i am not getting anything.

  5. Horeen says

    Here are the steps you will need to take to rename the uncategorized category in WordPress:

    First, login to your WordPress dashboard and navigate to Posts > Categories. on this page you should see the option to add a new category to the left and a list of the categories you have already set up on the right.

  6. Munna Hossain says

    Nice sharing. I am looking for how to change or rename uncategorized category in WordPress. I have already renamed Uncategorized category in mu site by using your article. Especially your video was more helpful. Thanks for sharing such an important article.

  7. Keely says

    Another great post ..

    Just wondering why you need to do a redirect if there’s nothing posted in the category?

    • WPBeginner Support says

      Those old category links may have been indexed by search engines. Redirecting them will allow search engines to find new category, it will also help users coming from search engines and other sources that may have directly linked old category URL.

      Admin

  8. Blanche Russell says

    I think somewhere on this confusing journey I have changed “uncategorized” to “blogging”, as that seems to show up on all my posts unless I change to a more descriptive word. Is this OK to replace “uncategorized”? Thanks. I struggle.

    • WPBeginner Support says

      Yes it is ok to change Uncategorized. However, if you feel that the category you choose for the default category is not right for all your articles, then you can edit those articles and assign them some other category.

      Admin

  9. Steven Alig says

    Good point. I never really did like the term “uncategorized”.
    I tend to change it to “Miscellaneous”. This covers all of the bases when a post just doesn’t fit into one of our structured categories.

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