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I'm new to WordPress, but not to blogging. I moved from Blogger to Typepad, and now here. Some subtle differences are confusing me, but I'm trying to figure things out.
My categories do show up in the sidebar, but they don't show up in individual posts. Is that theme-based?
I hope I'm not asking a repetitive question. I did search for answers first.
Welcome to wordpress.com
Will you please link your wordpress.com blog to your username here rather than that commercial kaboodle blog?
I won't provide instructions for how to do that because as you have already linked the commercial one to your username that means you know how to edit and change that in your forum profile.
If we can see your wordpress.com blog we can provide better help because we will be able to see what you are referring to.
(1) Categories are assigned by the blogger to their blogs here => Dashboard => Manage => Categories = Categories (add new)
complete the fields as required and click "Add Category" to save the data.
(2) Categories are assigned by the blogger to each post they make.
(3) After the Category widget is configured and dragged and dropped into the sidebar and "save changes" is clicked Categories will be displayed in your sidebar. There must be at least one post assigned to a category before the Category displays in your sidebar.
(4) And this will help with the set up and configuring of widgets.
(5) This will help you understand blogrolls, links and categories and their relationships.
It's theme based but, as TT says, we should see it to make sure.
edit: User appears to be at http://cherylfree.wordpress.com/
The theme doesn't display the categories within the posts.
Friendly reminder that advertsing for profit and affliate codes are against the ToS here. I don't see any right off. Just want to remind you of such. :)
The Icebuurg theme does not have a sidebar. It has a footer. That's where Categories are displayed.
WordPress.com blogs are non-commercial free blogs. They are different from wordpress.org blogs and different rules apply to them. In a nutshell our Moderator told you "no" we cannot advertise on our blogs here.
There is an exception but unless you intend to attempt to qualify and pay for a VIP blog along with other very notable bloggers like Robert Scoble, etc. I'm afraid that is your answer.
If you wish you can confirm this advertising restriction and the only exceptions to it by reading the FAQs blog search box response
However do not despair for if you wish to have a commercial blog your desire can be accommodated here. That's where you can either download a free blog template that you self host or you can hire a web host to do this for you. There's a pink sticky post "please read me first before posting" at the head of the forum you may wish to consult as it clarifies the differences between wordpress.com and wordpress.org.
Timethief, they don't have a commerical blog. That's why I just reminded them of the rules. :)
I'm on my first cuppa coffee and not quite awake yet. I didn't read all the comments yet, but I appreciate everyone's help.
All of my categories weren't showing in the sidebar after all. I had one category as a sub-category. When I removed it as a sub-category and posted it just as a category they all showed up in the sidebar.
My Kaboodle blog isn't commercial. It's just a compilation of sites I'm interested in - mostly shopping, but yes, I'll update my profile. Listing my WordPress blog makes better sense. I didn't realize it doesn't automatically show up with my profile.
Thank you for the reminder about advertising. I do have some links for shopping at my Half.com store, as well as referral links for search sites like Blingo and Winzy. So those aren't allowed?
Thank you for all your help drmike and timethief. I'm not too familiar with the WordPress documentation yet. I didn't know what to look for in the .css for categories that would let me know they aren't or aren't included in the individual post. It looks like I have lots and lots of reading to do.
As I understand it you're allowed one affiliate link at maximum unless you are part of the VIP program.
Agreed. Granted this is a policy question and really only staff is supposed to answer those around here but the issue is Automattic is trying to set it self apart from other sites like Blogger that are filled with nothing but spam blogs. I posted an article recently where someone has spidered over 25k sites in blogger/blogspot that were nothing but interconnected spam sites. WordPress.com is trying to stay away from stuff like that.
You can also always grab a copy of the software from http://wordpress.org and find yourself a host. That way you can do anything you want with your blog.
The category listing is produced by the theme php files. You can't make changes to the CSS to get them to display.
Best bet would be to switch themes. Please remember though that the category listing within a post actually leads to the wp.com tag system.
Hope this helps,
-drmike
@cherylfree
Re: Categories
I really do not know what you are talking about above when you say: "All of my categories weren't showing in the sidebar after all. I had one category as a sub-category. When I removed it as a sub-category and posted it just as a category they all showed up in the sidebar."
If you are referring to the blog in the Icebuurg theme linked to your username then this statement above makes no sense at all. Icebuurg does not have a "sidebar". All widgets go into the footer on that theme. So perhaps you are referring to another blog?
I didn't mean to be confusing. I really do know the difference between a sidebar and footer. I'm just not used to seeing typically sidebar items in a footer. When I added the calendar widget the options did say sidebar, even though the theme actually places them in the footer.
I have a category called "Tickle Test" and I had it sub-categorized under the category "Journal". Neither were showing up in the footer until I removed it as a sub-category. When I was looking at widgets though - I saw the option to "show hierarchal structure" - and I think that was probably the problem. I could probably use the sub-category again and with that option checked it would probably show up. I'm going to leave well enough alone though :)
You've been very helpful drmike. Thanks again!
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cherylfree
