Taxonomy Guides

Getting started with taxonomy

A taxonomy is a collection of keywords, created to categorize and group different pages together based on their content or information type. The solution comes with a  built-in taxonomy engine, making it possible to create unique keywords (tags) in different categories (tag collections) and then associate these keywords to pages to be able to create lists showing pages with a certain combination of keywords. This can automate related content and enables an different navigational experience based on topics and interests rather than a traditional menu structure.

Using taxonomy on your website requires a bit of preparation in terms of defining the tags available. There are no tags or page types defined for a new site by default, and it is highly recommendable to put an effort into defining which tags should be available on your site and creating them on beforehand to have them available when creating actual content pages. You need to associate the desired tags manually to each page,so it's easiest to associate them while creating the page, as you would otherwise have to revisit each page.

You can create as many unique tag collections containing any number of tags as you want. Be advised that too many or too few available tags can have a negative impact on the usability of your taxonomy, as too many tags might split the content into too many isolated topics, and too few tags might result in less effective filtering options.

How to create tags and page types

Tags can only be edited in the Sitecore Content Editor (backend). They are located within your site at [Your website] > Global > Taxonomy. In this folder you are able to create a number of Tag Collections, which function as a category for each collection of tags, and in each collection you can create as many tags as you need. By default, the folder is empty.

Page Types are connected to the taxonomy concept as well and can be used for additional filtering. They are located at [Your website] > Global > Page Types. When creating a new page in the solution, there is usually only the option of a Content Page, but by using Page Types, you can differentiate your pages further by assigning a specific page type to them. This has no effect on the page itself or the possibilities available on the page, but when setting up taxonomy lists, you can filter on specific page types. Created pages types are unique to your site. Examples could be Guide, Product, Feature Article.

The solution contains global (shared) tag collections as well, for instance Countries. These can be made available for your site if necessary. Since all other collections are local, you need to create them from scratch, and a list of countries would be too much of an effort to create with every new site. Global collections can be added to your site on the global collection itself in the solution global folder by an administrator.

How to add tags and page types to your pages

Tags and page types are added to a page through the Page Metadata button available in the component menu of the Content Header component, which is the topmost component on all pages.

1. Click the Content Header component to display the component menu.
2. Click the Page Metadata button to open the dialogue window.
3. Add the desired page type (only one) from the list available.
4. Add any number of tags from any number of available tag collections.
5. Click Okay and Save the page.

How to use tags on lists

You can create lists showing pages with a specific combination of tags and pages types. The following components support taxonomy filtering:

• Taxonomy List
• Contact People
• Taxonomy Dropdown

You can read more about the individual options for use of taxonomy on each component description.

How to configure the general Tag page

Every website in the solution has a generic Tag display page, located at [Your website] > Home > Tag. When clicking a tag somewhere on a page in your solution, the user will be directed to this page. The page is the same regardless of which tag is clicked, but the ID of the tag is included in the URL to the page, enabling the page to differentiate from tag to tag.

In the top of the page, the tag title and optional description is shown as part of the Content Header. Both texts can be added when creating the tag in the Global > Taxonomy folder.

All taxonomy-based components inserted on the generic Tag-page will identify the tag from the URL and add the specific tag to the filter settings. This means that all lists will only show pages associated with that specific tag - if any. Lists with no results are hidden. You edit the Tags page as any other page, adding a number of lists components to the page. Possibilities are many, but look to an existing site with taxonomy for inspiration. One way would be to create lists filtered on each page type and nothing else. This way, for example, you can have a list of Products, Guides, Feature Articles, each only showing pages of those specific page type AND the tag in question.