Vocabularies and taxonomies — organizing your content
A vocabulary is a controlled list of labels — categories, tags, regions — that editors pick from. Taxonomy is the general name for this kind of grouping.
In the last guide you built a Blog post content type. Now ask: how will you group those posts? "News", "Guides", and "Events" should not be free-text tags typed differently by every editor. A vocabulary gives everyone the same list to choose from — that is what Drupal calls a taxonomy, stored in a vocabulary.
Vocabulary vs taxonomy — same idea
Taxonomy is the concept (grouping content). A vocabulary is the named list (Categories, Tags, Departments). Terms are the items inside the list (News, Guides, Events).
Blog categories
Filter archives and navigation — visitors browse by topic, not by date alone.
Product tags
Cross-link related items without duplicating pages.
Regions or offices
Same content type, different locations — filter a store locator or team list.
Consistent spelling
Editors pick "Customer stories" from a list — not "Case Studies", "case-study", or "Clients".
Try it: create a vocabulary
Create Categories for your Blog posts. Add a few terms — you will connect this vocabulary to Blog post in the next guide.
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Add terms like News, Guides, or Events.
Control the labels
Free-text tags drift over time. Vocabularies keep navigation and filters reliable.
One vocabulary, many content types
The same Categories list can classify blog posts, case studies, and news — if you choose.
Terms can grow
Add new categories when the business needs them — editors see updates immediately.
Tip
Keep vocabularies short at first. Three to six top-level categories is easier to maintain than twenty.
