Title: Uncategorized?
Author: joshua
Published: July 21, 2022
Last modified: July 21, 2026
---
1. [Installation resources](https://docs.parse.ly/installation-resources/)
2. [Parse.ly Integration](https://docs.parse.ly/installation-resources/parsely-integration/)
3. [Test Integration](https://docs.parse.ly/installation-resources/parsely-integration/test-integration/)
4. [How to check metadata](https://docs.parse.ly/installation-resources/parsely-integration/test-integration/how-to-check-metadata/)
5. Uncategorized?
# Uncategorized?
When reviewing your Dashboard, you might see the word “Uncategorized”. This appears
with your [post listings](https://docs.parse.ly/posts/), [post details](https://docs.parse.ly/post-details/),
[sections page](https://docs.parse.ly/sections/), in the section [filter](https://docs.parse.ly/using-dashboard-filters/),
and everywhere else we’re displaying Section metadata. What is a section? Why are
we saying it’s Uncategorized? And how can you update your section metadata to reflect
anything but Uncategorized? That’s what we’ll cover in this guide. Let’s take a
look at an example post listing that has an Uncategorized value.
[⌊A post listing in Parse.ly with properly formatted metadata except for the section
value, which we've filled in with "Uncategorized".⌉⌊A post listing in Parse.ly with
properly formatted metadata except for the section value, which we've filled in
with "Uncategorized".⌉[
Post listing 8 has a thumbnail, headline, publication date, and author name, but
no section value.
## What is a Section?
Sections are a piece of metadata that you can use to categorize your content. Think
of your post as an original document on paper. You now need to file that paper somewhere,
so you have to decide which on which folder to place it in. And it can only go into
one folder because it’s a single piece of paper.
## Why is my Section saying Uncategorized?
This is because your team has not specified what the section value should be. There
could also be some issue with your metadata. Anytime we can’t locate this piece
of metadata we will display `Uncategorized` in its place. We do something similar
for unknown authors and we will use the `Staff` placeholder. While this doc is all
about Uncategorized Sections, the same principles apply to author names.
## How to specify a Section
This will depend on how your team has set up your site. But somewhere in the HTML
of your Uncategorized url, there should be a piece of metadata that we’re looking
for. We’re looking for that metadata in the format of JSON-LD or repeated meta tags.
We’re going to see what that looks like and the go through what this can look like
in practice.
### JSON-LD
Here is an example block of JSON-LD with an `articleSection` specified with an example
section value of `Reviews`. Unlike `creator` and `keywords`, you’ll see that there’s
only one value associated with `articleSection`.
```lang-html
```
### Repeated Meta Tags
Here is an example set of repeated meta tags expressing the same information as
the JSON-LD block, above. In this case we’re using the meta name `parsely-section`
to specify our section value of `Reviews`. Again, we can only specify a single `
parsely-section`.
```lang-html
```
### I’m not a developer, how do I get rid of Uncategorized values?
[⌊WordPress Post editor settings with Categories expanded. Selecting a category
prevents Uncategorized section values.⌉⌊WordPress Post editor settings with Categories
expanded. Selecting a category prevents Uncategorized section values.⌉[
Hey! I wrote _this_ article, let’s review how I’m going to set a section value.
Since Parse.ly is now part of WordPressVIP, WPVIP hosts this site. So, I’m writing
this from within WordPress. Within the post editor, Settings > Post, there is a
place to select Categories.
Here, I’ll use this category of `Dashboard`.
With the [wp-parsely plugin](https://docs.parse.ly/wordpress-plugin-setup/), it
can read my selected category out of WordPress and generate the metadata code for
me, automatically.
If I’m writing a brand new article, then I’ll have correct metadata from the start.
But if I’m editing an older article, then I may need a [recrawl](https://docs.parse.ly/whats-a-recrawl/).
### WordPress lets us specify multiple categories, how’s that going to work?
The wp-parsley plugin lets you customize the behavior regarding category to section
mapping. Start by visiting `/wp-admin/options-general.php?page=parsely#recrawl-section`
and review the options for the setting called `Use Top-Level Categories for Section`.
[⌊The "Use Top-Level Categories for Section" setting in the wp-parsely plugin.⌉⌊
The "Use Top-Level Categories for Section" setting in the wp-parsely plugin.⌉[
### We use custom taxonomies can we use those for Sections?
Yes! You can specify a custom taxonomy in lieu of WordPress categories. Start by
visiting `/wp-admin/options-general.php?page=parsely#recrawl-section` and review
the options for the setting called `Use Custom Taxonomy for Section`.
[⌊The "Use Custom Taxonomy for Section" setting in the wp-parsely plugin.⌉⌊The "
Use Custom Taxonomy for Section" setting in the wp-parsely plugin.⌉[
### I still want my extra categories as metadata, but how?
That’s okay! We can keep those extra categories somewhere. Start by visiting `/wp-
admin/options-general.php?page=parsely#recrawl-section` and select `Yes...` from`
Add Categories to Tags`. We have another piece of metadata called `Tags` . Unlike
the confinements of selecting a single `Section` value, you can specify up to 100
tags! So we’ll take all your categories (or custom taxonomies) and duplicate those
values as tag values. It’s like photocopying your document and filing it in a bunch
of places so you’ll always be able to find it somewhere.
### I use [Yoast](https://yoast.com/) to specify a “Primary Category.” Why isn’t it working for me here?
Our [crawler](https://docs.parse.ly/crawler/) doesn’t read the metadata in OpenGraph,
so we aren’t seeing that information. But we do have a workaround to respect your
Primary Category selection. As mentioned [here](https://docs.parse.ly/plugin-common-questions/#h-can-the-rendered-metadata-be-customized-or-disabled),
you may use a filter to adjust the metadata output of the WordPress Parse.ly plugin.
We’ve written one such filter below:
```lang-php
add_filter( 'wp_parsely_post_category', function ( $category_name, $post_obj, $parsely_options ) {
if ( ! function_exists( 'yoast_get_primary_term' ) ) {
return $category_name;
}
$primary_category = yoast_get_primary_term( 'category', $post_obj );
return strlen( $primary_category ) ? $primary_category : $category_name;
}, 10, 3 );
```
Test this out in a pre-production environment to ensure it does not conflict with
any of your customizations.
## How to disable Sections to remove Uncategorized
Your team might not even use section values and you don’t care for my paperwork
filing metaphors. Ultimately you still have the same need: removing `Uncategorized`
from your Dashboard. We have this covered too. If you’re an [Admin](https://docs.parse.ly/user-roles-permissions/),
then go to your 👤 [Account settings](https://docs.parse.ly/account/) > [Preferences](https://docs.parse.ly/site-network-preferences/)
and then de-select the `Sections` aspect as seen below.
[⌊Parse.ly preferences depicting the Enabled Aspects. The box next to Section is
unchecked. Unchecking this box is one way to hide Uncategorized section values.⌉⌊
Parse.ly preferences depicting the Enabled Aspects. The box next to Section is unchecked.
Unchecking this box is one way to hide Uncategorized section values.⌉[
## Additional Resources
If you’ve read the above and would still like help getting rid of Uncategorized
values, then please contact [Parse.ly Support](https://support.parse.ly/hc/en-us)
for investigation.
Last updated: July 21, 2026