Anyone else suffer from categorizing/tagging/organizing anxiety?

[Nat]

I'm sure some of this is because I'm a noob. But I have serious stress over how to organize things and layout stuff. I've read the 'rule of thumbs' for using categories and posts, etc. But I still waste time freaking out about adding a category or using tags or using two categories. Or shit, maybe I need a custom post type. I'm legitimately trying to build something people will use, appreciate, and want to navigate through.

For instance, right now I've got a post written up and I'm deliberating over the taxonomy. Its a tutorial, and I don't have a tut category yet. Now that I think about it, I might have more tutorials. Should I tag it, or make a tutorial category preventatively. But, the way I've got my site set up, it definitely also falls under the category of resource. Oh, and the article is pretty specifically focused on a single niche topic that has its own category. And then there is one more category that makes sense.

How do you guys handle crap like that?

Is it bad to re-organize in like 6 months? (Besides being time intensive).

 

[Michael]

I've found that when creating the structure of a site, it's best to keep every category as broad as possible. So when planning from the top down, I ask myself can this category 'become broader'.

Say I wanted to review tablets and I had a structure like this:

• Reviews
  • Tablets
    • Wifi Tablets
    • Wifi + 3G Tablets

I know I want to review tablets, but should I really have a wifi & wifi 3G section? Probably not, because it limits future tablets from being categorized properly.

Instead I would rethink what I've done and see if it can become broader. Maybe something like this:

• Reviews
  • Tablets
    • Android
    • iOS
    • Windows

Now I have much broader categories which I know I will be always able to categorize easily because there are 3 main OS' for tablets. Then I can even drill down further, like the different brands of android tablets etc.

I made the mistake before of not planning my structure loosely enough that if I screw up down the road, or decide to expand I won't need to rearrange my site's structure.

You said you don't have a tut category yet either. I would know more or less every topic you want to cover beforehand, and structure the site in a way that you can slowly fill in each hole.

 

[Ryuzaki]

I plan it out before starting the site, mulling over it for days. In my last huge project what helped me first and foremost was setting some parameters around myself.

For instance, I chose to not use tags at all and let people use the on-site search engine.

I also set another rule: Each post belongs to one category only. The best fit wins. Later, this has led to considering the category before even beginning to write so that I can spin it in a way that it clearly is meant for the category.

Sub-categories are a life saver on big projects too in terms of organization.

Once I took these 3 considerations, everything was forced to fall in place. It doesn't leave wiggle room for indecision.

The most important part was the days of thinking about the vertical from every angle and mind set and writing down possible sub-categories. Then you can group them in a sensible way under main categories. It's far more important to get the architecture down first than anything else. If the skeleton is correct, then you can add meat on the bones at any time without having to change things.

In your specific tutorial case, if I wanted that sub-cat, I'd make it and then set out to create 2 or 3 more tutorials so that the category isn't empty, then get back to my regularly scheduled program.