Add a Category

Categories are the long-term, broad buckets your content lives in — think "Product Updates" or "Weekly Teaching," not a single teaching series. If you're deciding whether something should be a Category or a Series, ask: will we still use this label in three years? If yes, it's a Category.

Adding a Category

1. To add a Category, locate the Categories link on the sidebar. It can be found under “Metadata.”

2. In the upper right corner, click on “Add Category”

A modal will appear. Enter in the following information:

• Name: A name for the category. This field is required.
• Description: Create a description of the category. This description can let other users or viewers know that this category is for.
• Release Date: Enter in a release date for the category, if one applies.

When you have finished entering the above information, click “Create.”

Editing Category Metadata

Much of the metadata shown here will be reflected on Sardius Channel Layouts (such as Collection) and Mobile/TV apps. Using all fields will maximize the viewer experience.

• Name: Required. Cannot exceed 100 characters. This is the Category's display name across the Control Panel and (unless overridden) your public site.
• Release Date: Optional. Relevant if the Category itself has a specific start date — most Categories can leave this blank since they're ongoing.
• Subtitle: Optional short line shown alongside the Name in some layouts.
• Images: Click Add Image to upload artwork for this Category. See Recommended Image Sizes for Collection Layout for the image sizes used here.
• Description: The full description shown on the Category's page.
• Short Description: A condensed version used in space-constrained layouts (cards, previews) where the full Description would be too long.
• Category Tags: A multi-select field for tagging the Category itself — separate from the Tags you apply to individual assets. Use this to make the Category discoverable in searches or filters that key off Category-level metadata.
• Category Artists: A multi-select field linking Bios to this Category — speakers, hosts, artists, or contributors, depending on your content. Collection uses shared, generic field names across different types of content, so this field is labeled "Artists" regardless of what your team actually calls them.
• Approved: Toggle. Controls whether this Category is live. An unapproved Category — like an unapproved asset — will not display on your site even if everything else is configured correctly. If a Category seems to be missing from your live site, check this toggle first.

Naming conventions

Before creating your first Category, agree on a consistent naming convention with your team — capitalization style, singular vs. plural, and avoiding duplicate or near-duplicate names (e.g., "Episode" vs. "Episodes"). Applying your convention consistently from the first Category you create will save significant cleanup work later.