Thread

Hello,
I’ve read up the documentation and read the wiki but am still having trouble working out the difference between using weblogs and categories. I’m just about getting to grips with weblogs but am finding categories a little difficult to figure out. Can anyone point me in the direction of some help? Or can someone take a minute and break it down to me really simply?

Thanks very much for your time.

First question is - what are you trying to do?

Overall I see weblogs as places to store content that’s alike.  In database terms - “normalized” - so all FAQ’s, customer testimonials, portfolio entries, blog posts, parts in a parts catalog, etc.

Categories are just ways to group content within a weblog - so if you had a parts catalog for automotive parts you’d break that down into axle, transmission, engine categories etc.

If it’s the “what do I use to build navigation” question, for me it’s a weblog for every section of the site, with top level nav hardcoded into an embedded template, and—usually - use of weblog:entries and category:archive tags to build subnav in a given section.

Hey thanks Michael,
I’m currently working through your tutorial and it is really helpful. I guess what i’m trying to work out is what kind of information can categories store? Are they like weblogs at all which can store custom fields etc. or are they not as flexible as weblogs?

While categories do have custom fields, think of them as a weblog add-on and not their own entity.

In other words you wouldn’t use categories in the absence of a weblog.

You could think of them as a tag - a way to mark up content such that you can at some point on your site pull out that specific group.  So tags, but with a pre-defined vocabulary and the opportunity to structure them hierarchically with subcategories.

Here’s an example from a client site.  They’re a catalog retailer for Jeep parts.  The weblog contains all the parts information for all models of Jeeps built after 1976 (roughly 4K records).

We broke the catalog down using categories and subcategories.  The top-level categories in this case are AC & Heater, Axle, Body, etc.  And then within each of those categories there are subcategories for Model (CJ, Wrangler, Cherokee, etc).

So if you wanted body parts for a 1978 CJ5 you’d first choose Body, then CJ, and get to this page.

The image is stored in EE as a category image for the CJ subcategory under the Body category in the Parts Catalog weblog. 

Each part listed on that page is one post in the parts catalog weblog.  I could - if they wanted to and had the data - make each part number clickable and build a detail page for that specific part.

If their business was structured such that all body parts were handled by one employee I could add custom category fields to hold his name, phone number, etc. 

Or if lead times or a return policy was different across parts categories (like most often you can’t return an electrical part once it’s been installed, where other parts are still returnable) that could be put into a custom category field.

Does that help?

I think I’m starting to see the light actually Michael. Having an example to look at really has helped me out. My biggest problem with learning new things like this is not being able to picture how they would be used in a real life example. Many thanks again for all your words of wisdom.

Categories are a way to sort the contents of your weblog. Think of it this way:

In your closet, you might sort stuff so that your shirts hang together and your pants hang together, and your shoes are lined up on the floor. The stuff’s all in the closet because it’s all clothing, but it’s organized by type.

Likewise, in your garage, you keep the garden tools together in one place, the wastebins together in another, the sporting equipment in another.

The closet and the garage are each weblogs. Shirts, pants and shoes are categories in the closet weblog. Garden tools, wastebins and sporting equipment are categories in the garage weblog.

Subcategories would be if you further divide your garden tools into dirty and clean, or long-handled and hand tools.