Classification

Classification is the activity of applying metadata (descriptive information) to content so it can be sorted and found in a meaningful way. The system of terms it produces is often called a taxonomy. It relies on tags, categories, keywords or custom properties. For an organization that publishes a lot, it is what turns a pile of content into a usable collection.

Definition and how it works

Classification serves several audiences at once. Visitors find content more easily through site search, since the Jahia Augmented Search module takes tags, categories and keywords into account and weights them. Contributors benefit too, since search in jContent uses these values. The site can display lists filtered by topic. Finally, when jExperience is installed, page views carry their tags and categories, which enriches behavior analysis.

Jahia offers four built-in tools: categories (a controlled tree, shared across the platform, with translated labels), tags (a flat list shared at site level, expanded by contributors), keywords (set on pages, historically for SEO) and jExperience interests (scores meant for segmentation). A developer can also create a dedicated property. In every case, classification applies to the content item, so all its translations share the same values.

Academy documentation: classifying content

Classification vs navigation tree: the differences

Classification is often confused with the site tree or with one of its own tools. The table places each one.

Classification compared with related terms
Term	How it differs
Navigation tree	The site tree stores each page in a single place, under a single parent. Classification links the same content item to several topics at once, without moving it.
Category	A category is one classification tool: a term in a controlled, translated tree managed for the whole platform.
Tags	Tags are another tool: a flat list, specific to one site, which contributors expand themselves while editing content.

Classification in practice

The Academy documentation suggests deciding on four criteria. The first weighs flexibility against control (can contributors add values?). The second weighs hierarchy against a flat list (do you need levels, such as country then region?). The third is about scope, site or platform (is the scheme specific to one brand or shared by the group?). The last concerns translated labels (will the values be shown to visitors in several languages?).

For a multisite group displaying its topics on sites in several languages, categories are the fit. For an editorial team that wants loose tagging within one site, tags are.

Frequently asked questions

Can the same content item belong to several topics at once?

Yes. Linking one item to several topics is precisely what sets classification apart from the site tree. In the tree, a content item occupies a single place, under a single parent. Its categories and tags, however, can link it to several topics without moving it. A study can thus relate to an industry, a country and a campaign all at once. It then appears in the filtered lists of each.

Can a content item be classified differently in each language?

Not with the built-in tools. In Jahia, classification applies to the content item rather than to each translation. The French and English versions of an article therefore share the same categories and tags. Lists and search results thus stay consistent from one language to another. What gets translated is the category labels.

Do we need to classify content twice, once for search and once for personalization?

Values entered once already serve both, since page tags and categories are passed to jExperience in page view events. To avoid entering both tags and interests, a developer can also create a rule that automatically copies tag values into interests. This is best settled when the project is scoped.