How Do I Work with Taxonomy Terms and Topics?

Navigate to Our DX Training Video Guide

For further visual guidance, refer to our DX Training Video Guide.

Understanding Taxonomies and Vocabulary Terms

All sites benefit from structured vocabularies, which allow different terms to be used site-wide. For example, a vocabulary might be Fruit Types, with terms such as Citrus, Berries, and Stone Fruit.

Think of it like the aisles of a grocery store:

  • Bread is the vocabulary (aisle).
  • Within that aisle, there are terms: Buns, Loaves, Baguettes.

[Learn more about taxonomies and how they work.]

For example, the Contact Type vocabulary might include the following terms:

  • Administrative Staff
  • Appointed Official
  • Elected Official
  • Emergency Contact
  • Support and Maintenance Staff

Example of Taxonomy Vocabulary:

Topics may be assigned by the taxonomy manager

Example of Taxonomy Contact Type Terms:

example of taxonomy content type terms
1

Log in to your site

You can login to your site from login.iowa.gov.

how to login to DX website

Each person on your agency team has a specific user role for the website. These roles set permissions. They control who can edit, review, and publish content. You can ask for a role change or remove a role. Just submit a ServiceNow support ticket if you need help.

Login using login.iowa.gov
2

How to add taxonomy terms

Note: Only users with the Agency Manager role can adjust or edit taxonomies.

There are two ways to add taxonomy terms:

Method 1: Using the structure button

  • Navigate to the Structure button.
  • Hover over Taxonomy to reveal a dropdown with available vocabulary types.
taxonomy term dropdown
  • Click on the vocabulary type you want to add a term to (e.g., Contact Type).
  • Click the blue "Add Term" button.
example of taxonomy term list

Method 2: Using the Taxonomy Button

  1. Click directly on the Taxonomy button.
  2. A list of vocabulary names will appear.
  3. To add a term, click the arrow beside the "List Terms" button and select "Add Term."
how to add terms to taxonomy types

Editing Taxonomy/Division

To add, delete, or edit terms:

  1. Navigate to "List Terms" for a full list of available options.
  2. Click Edit in the Operations row to change the term’s name.
  3. The Edit Page will appear, allowing you to make changes.
  4. Once saved, all content tagged with that taxonomy will automatically update across the site.
Taxonomy example
3

How to use row weights

You can manually adjust the order of terms by selecting a number in the Weight row:

  • Example: If Appointed Official has a weight of -5, it will appear below Administrative Staff, which has a weight of -6.
  • Alternatively, you can hide the Row Weight column by clicking the eye icon, revealing the drag-and-drop crossbars to reorder terms manually.

Example:

how to use taxonomy weight

Example: Appointed Official term with the weight of -b is above Administrative Staff term with the weight of -5

moving weight taxonomy term up

Example: Row Weight Unhidden

example of unhidden taxonomy row

Example: Row Weight Hidden so that the crossbar can be used to reorganize taxonomy terms

example of row weight hidden
4

How to add taxonomy child terms

There are two ways to add child terms:

Method 1: From the Taxonomy Type Page

  1. Click the arrow next to the Edit button.
  2. Select "Add Child" from the dropdown.

Example:

example how to add child taxonomy term

Method 2: From the Term Page Under Relations

  1. Click the blue "+ Add Term" button.
  2. Navigate to the "Relations" tab.
  3. Select the Parent Term you want to associate the child term with.

Example: Add a child term from the term page under relations dropdown

example of adding child term from term page
5

Next steps

Now that you understand how to create taxonomy vocabulary and terms, it's time to put them into action. You can now categorize your content correctly using the relevant taxonomy type.

Learn the difference between Content & Microcontent

Create your first Micro-Content Create your first piece of Content