To rename a WordPress category, go to Posts > Categories, edit its name, and save. If you want to keep the category archive URL unchanged, leave its slug alone: the name is the displayed label, while the slug is used in the URL.
Rename a category in WordPress
- In the WordPress dashboard, open Posts > Categories.
- Find the category. Choose Quick Edit for a simple change, or select Edit to view all its fields.
- Change the Name. WordPress requires category names to be unique.
- Keep the Slug unchanged if the archive URL should stay the same. Change it only if you intend to change that URL.
- If needed, review the category’s parent and description, then save using Update Category or Update, depending on the screen.
The category screen lets you edit the name, slug, parent, and description independently. WordPress’s Posts Categories screen documentation describes these fields and the editing options.
Will changing the category name change its URL?
Not if you change only the name and leave the slug alone. The name is the human-readable label; the slug is the URL-friendly identifier. WordPress uses the slug in the category archive URL, so changing the slug changes the archive path. Category names and slugs must be unique. WordPress documents the category fields and URL behavior.
An archive URL typically combines the site’s category base with the category slug. WordPress illustrates this structure as example.net/category_base/category_name and describes permalinks as permanent URLs. Customize permalinks.
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Before changing a category slug
- Record the existing archive URL and confirm that changing it is intentional.
- Check menus, internal links, external references, and analytics that may use the old URL.
- Check your site’s redirect configuration if visitors using the old URL should reach the new one. WordPress’s documentation explains the relationship between the slug and URL, but does not establish that changing a category slug automatically creates a durable redirect.
- Do not change the site-wide category base when you mean to change only one category. The base is a separate setting under Settings > Permalinks. WordPress’s permalink documentation explains category bases; the Settings Permalinks screen documentation covers the setting.
- If you are also moving the category within the hierarchy, confirm its intended parent. WordPress supports parent categories, and permalink structures using
%category%can represent subcategories as nested directories. Category editing documentation and permalink documentation.
Name, slug, and category base: what each controls
| Setting | What it controls | Where to edit it |
|---|---|---|
| Category name | The human-readable category label | Posts > Categories |
| Category slug | The URL-friendly identifier used in that category’s archive path | Posts > Categories |
| Category base | The site-wide prefix used in category URLs | Settings > Permalinks |
For a label-only rename, edit the name and preserve the slug. If you intentionally alter the slug, account for the old URL and verify your redirect setup rather than assuming WordPress will preserve it.
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