Category Best Practices
Guidelines for creating and maintaining an effective category structure in your knowledge base.
Planning Your Category Structure
Analyze User Needs
- Identify common user questions and tasks
- Map content to user journeys
- Consider different user roles and their needs
- Gather feedback from users
Information Architecture Principles
- Organize from general to specific
- Group related content together
- Limit hierarchy depth (3-4 levels maximum)
- Balance breadth and depth
Creating Effective Categories
Naming Conventions
- Use clear, descriptive names
- Be consistent in terminology
- Avoid jargon unless necessary for your audience
- Consider searchability
Category Descriptions
- Write concise descriptions for each category
- Explain what users will find in the category
- Include keywords for searchability
- Set expectations for content types
Maintaining Category Health
Regular Audits
- Review category usage statistics
- Identify underused or overcrowded categories
- Check for duplicate or overlapping categories
- Verify that content is in the right categories
Scaling Considerations
- Plan for content growth
- Create flexible structures
- Document category guidelines
- Train content creators on category usage
Common Category Structures
Product-Based Structure
- Organize by product lines
- Create subcategories for features
- Include troubleshooting sections
- Link related products
Task-Based Structure
- Organize by common user tasks
- Create how-to categories
- Focus on user goals
- Include step-by-step guides
Audience-Based Structure
- Segment by user roles
- Create specialized sections for different expertise levels
- Consider department-specific needs
- Maintain consistent navigation across segments
Measuring Success
- Track navigation patterns
- Monitor search behavior
- Collect user feedback
- Measure time to find information