Discussion: Using tags instead of categories for regular post types on make.wordpress.org/test

[juanmaguitar]

Summary

During the Test Team Meeting on January 22, 2026, we discussed the possibility of using tags (instead of or in addition to categories) to organize recurring post types on the Test Team blog (https://make.wordpress.org/test/).

Context

The current challenge is that when posts are duplicated or created from templates on make.wordpress.org/test, categories are not automatically copied, which leads to:

• Posts being published without proper categorization
• Inconsistent organization across the blog
• Some posts defaulting to the misconfigured kibble category

Tags, however, are preserved when duplicating posts or using templates, making them more reliable for maintaining consistency.

Proposed Solution

Inspired by how the Core team uses tags (e.g., gutenberg-new, dev-notes), the proposal is to:

1. Create specific tags for recurring post types (e.g., week-in-test, test-chat-summary, test-chat-agenda)
2. Add prominent links to these tags in the sidebar (only for worthy/important tags)
3. Include explanatory text at the top of each recurring post explaining the post type and linking to the tag archive (similar to this example)

Potential Example:

Test Chat Agenda posts (labeled with the #test-chat-agenda tag) are published before each bi-weekly Test Team meeting to outline discussion topics of the following Test Team weekly meeting. Meetings take place in the #core-test channel of Make WordPress Slack and are open to all contributors. Learn more about the Test Team in the Test Team Handbook

4. Consider automatically triggering category assignment when specific tags are added

Benefits

• Consistency: Tags are automatically preserved when duplicating posts or using templates
• Discoverability: Clear links help new contributors and readers discover related content
• Onboarding: Explanatory text in posts helps people understand the purpose and find similar posts
• Reduced friction: Less manual work required to maintain proper organization

Concerns Raised

• Accessibility: Tags are not as visible as categories (no default sidebar widget)
• Consistency risks: Tags can be used too liberally, leading to inconsistent tagging
• Migration effort: Would require retroactively tagging previous posts
• Category attachment: The team is currently strongly attached to using categories

Questions to Resolve

1. Should we migrate to tags completely, or use both tags and categories?
2. If using both, how do we ensure categories are added when specific tags are used?
3. Which specific tags should be created and linked prominently?
4. How do we retroactively tag existing posts?
5. Should we remove or modify the categories sidebar widget?

Examples from Other Teams

• Core team: Uses tags like gutenberg-new and dev-notes successfully
• Training & Hosting teams: Suggested as references for organizational best practices

Related Discussion

• Original Slack suggestion
• Follow-up discussion

Next Steps

We need to reach consensus on:

• Whether to proceed with this approach
• Which specific tags to create
• How to implement sidebar links
• Migration strategy for existing posts

[juanmaguitar]

Alternative Approach

After reflecting on this discussion, I think what I really like about the "What's new in Gutenberg" posts is the message that appears on top of each post, because it clarifies the purpose of the message.

Example:

“What’s new in Gutenberg…” posts (labeled with the #gutenberg-new tag) are posted following every Gutenberg release on a biweekly basis, showcasing new features included in each release. As a reminder, here’s an overview of different ways to keep up with Gutenberg and the Editor.

Maybe instead of changing categories to tags, what could be an improvement is adding such an explanatory message at the top of each one of the periodical posts.

This would provide:

• Clear context for first-time readers
• Better onboarding without requiring organizational changes
• Maintained consistency through templates (which preserve content)
• No migration effort for existing posts
• Works alongside our current category structure

This could be a simpler, more focused solution that addresses the core need (helping people understand and discover recurring content) without the complexity of reorganizing our taxonomy.

Examples:

Test Chat Agenda posts (filed under the agendas category) are published before each bi-weekly Test Team meeting to outline discussion topics of the following Test Team weekly meeting. . Meetings take place in the #core-test channel of Make WordPress Slack and are open to all contributors. Learn more about the Test Team in the Test Team Handbook

[SirLouen]

Maybe we could figure out a way to assign categories when using a template?

[juanmaguitar]

When having a look at WordPress 6.9 Development Cycle posts I realized it has links to tag-based archives (i.e: dev-chat+agenda+6-9, dev-chat+summary+6-9, ...)

Dev Chat Agendas | Dev Chat Summaries | Roadmap | Bug Scrubs Schedule | Dev Notes | Field Guide | Help Test 6.9 | All Posts Tagged 6.9 | 6.9 Release Leads Channel

There are similar links for for WordPress 7.0

So, it seems this tag system is working pretty well for core (maybe it makes sense to also being able to filter meetings per major WordPress release)

[juanmaguitar]

Maybe we could figure out a way to assign categories when using a template?

That would be a great step forward.