# Organizing Stories with Categories
Source: https://support.exposure.co/en/articles/13403845-organizing-stories-with-categories/
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## Creating Categories
You can create and manage categories from **Settings → Categories** in your dashboard.
### To create a new category:
1. Click the **Add New** button in the top right
2. Enter a name for your category (up to 35 characters)
3. Click **Create Category**
The category URL is automatically generated from the name. For example, “Travel Photography” becomes `yoursite.com/categories/travel-photography`.
**Tip:** Press **Cmd + Shift + N** (or Ctrl + Shift + N on Windows) anywhere on the categories page to quickly open the new category dialog.
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## Assigning Stories to Categories
There are two ways to add stories to categories:
### From the Categories Settings Page
1. Go to **Settings → Categories**
2. Find the story you want to categorize in the “Recently Published” column on the right
3. Drag the story onto a category in the left column
4. The story is instantly added to that category
**Note:** A story can belong to multiple categories. Simply drag it to each category you want it in.
### From the Story Editor
When editing a story, you can also assign categories from the story options panel.
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## Setting a Category Cover
Each category can have a custom cover image that appears on your site. The cover is selected from one of the stories in that category.
### To set a category cover:
1. Go to **Settings → Categories**
2. Click the thumbnail or the image icon next to the category name
3. Select a cover from the available story covers
4. Click **Save Cover**
**Note:** Categories with no stories will not show the cover picker until you add at least one story.
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## Renaming Categories
### To rename a category:
1. Go to **Settings → Categories**
2. Click the **Rename** button (pencil icon) next to the category
3. Enter the new name
4. Optionally check “Update Category URL” if you want the URL to change
5. Click **Save Changes**
**About URL updates:** By default, renaming a category keeps the original URL to avoid breaking existing links. If you choose to update the URL, the old URL will automatically redirect to the new one.
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## Reordering Categories
The order of categories on your site matches their order in settings.
### To reorder categories:
1. Go to **Settings → Categories**
2. Grab the drag handle (≡ icon) on the left of any category
3. Drag it to the desired position
4. The new order is saved automatically
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## Deleting Categories
### To delete a category:
1. Go to **Settings → Categories**
2. Click the **Delete** button (× icon) next to the category
3. Confirm the deletion
**Note:** Deleting a category does not delete the stories in it—they simply become uncategorized.
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## How Categories Appear on Your Site
Categories appear on your member site based on your chosen theme. Each theme displays category cards with:
- The category name
- Story count
- Cover image (if set)
### Hover Preview
When visitors hover over a category card, they’ll see a preview that cycles through the covers of stories in that category—giving them a quick glimpse of what’s inside.
### Theme-Specific Layouts
Category thumbnails automatically adapt to match your site theme:
- **Standard themes**: Square aspect ratio
- **Mag theme**: Landscape aspect ratio
- **Zine theme**: Portrait aspect ratio
- **Broadcast theme**: Wide aspect ratio with story dots
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## Tips for Organizing
- **Keep it simple**: 5-10 well-defined categories work better than dozens of specific ones
- **Use descriptive names**: “Wedding Photography” is clearer than “Weddings”
- **Set covers thoughtfully**: Choose covers that represent the category’s best work
- **Review regularly**: As you publish more, revisit your category structure
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## Keyboard Shortcuts
Action
Shortcut
Add new category
Shift + N
Save changes in modal
Cmd/Ctrl + Enter
Close modal
Escape
Clear search
Escape (when in search field)
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## Need help?
Use the [Exposure contact form]().