Category
A category, in Jahia, is a term organized in a dedicated tree structure and used to classify content. For an editorial team, it is the controlled vocabulary tool, where contributors choose from predefined values and cannot invent new ones on the fly. Classification stays consistent from one team to another and from one site to another.
Definition and how it works
Category Manager, available from the main navigation, is where these terms are created and edited. They are managed for the whole platform (not site by site) and organized as a tree, in which each term can carry child terms over several levels. Their labels are translated in the same tool, so they can be shown to visitors in each language. Permissions on branches of the tree can restrict who edits them, translates them or uses them for classification.
Classification applies to the content item, not to each translation, so all languages of an item share the same values. That classification then serves several purposes. It improves editor search in jContent and makes filtered lists possible (the latest news on one theme, for instance). With the Jahia Augmented Search module, it is taken into account and weighted in site search for visitors. When jExperience is installed, it is passed in page view events.
To choose between categories, tags, keywords and interests, the Academy documentation offers a detailed decision grid.
Academy documentation: classifying content
Related terms: Tags · Classification · Site search · Content item
Resources that cover this term
- EU AI Act labelling requirements: when to label AI-generated content and how to do it in Jahia
- How to Choose the Optimal Platform to Build Your Online Portal: A Comprehensive Guide
- How to develop a DXP platform with the best UX for business users?
- How to Elevate Your CX with Personas, Customer Journey Maps, and Content Auditing
- What is a Digital Experience Platform (DXP)?
- What is a Web Portal? Definition, examples & enterprise Use Cases
Category vs tags: the differences
Categories and tags both classify content, but they meet different needs. The former favor control and hierarchy, the latter flexibility.
| Term | How it differs |
|---|---|
| Tags | Tags form a flat list, shared at site level and not translated. Contributors can create new ones while editing content. Categories are hierarchical, common to the platform, translated and picked from an existing list. |
| Classification | Classification is the activity of organizing content, whatever the tool. A category is one of the tools for that activity, alongside tags, keywords and custom properties. |
| Interest (jExperience) | Interests are scores assigned to pages for segmentation and personalization, added directly to the visitor profile. The classification itself reaches jExperience through page view events. |
Category in practice
A group that runs several brand sites wants to classify all its news by topic and by country. It creates two classification trees, translated into the sites’ languages. Each site reuses the same values, so the corporate site can display a list of news on one topic across all brands.
On each site, the list shows labels in the page’s language with no re-entry, because the translation was done once, in the manager.
Frequently asked questions
Who can create a new category?
The contributor editing content picks from existing values and cannot add new ones. Terms are created and edited in Category Manager, available from the main navigation. A new value therefore goes through whoever manages the taxonomy. That is the price of a controlled vocabulary. It is also its purpose, since classification stays consistent from one team to another and from one site to another.
Can categories be specific to a single site?
Management happens at platform level, not site by site. Permissions on parts of the tree can, however, restrict who may edit, translate or use them for classification. A multisite group can therefore keep a shared taxonomy while reserving some branches for one team or one brand.
Do categories drive personalization in jExperience?
Indirectly. Page classification is passed to jExperience in page view events. To segment or personalize based on the categories a visitor viewed, you build a condition on these time-based events in the condition builder. Interests, by contrast, feed a score directly into the visitor profile.