Feed Source Categories vs WordPress Post Categories

This is one of the most common questions we face about the Categories add-on, so here is what you need to know.

1. The categories created for WP RSS Aggregator Feed Sources, by WP RSS Aggregator, are not the same as the WordPress Post categories.
2. You can not use WordPress post categories for imported feed items unless you are using the Feed to Post add-on, in which case, the feed items are in fact imported as WordPress posts.

And here is why...

• A feed source is a custom post type set up by WP RSS Aggregator.
• In WordPress, any custom post type can have its own taxonomies.
• The Categories add-on is just that. It creates a taxonomy, in this case, categories, for the Feed Source custom post type.
• This is unrelated to the default Post categories, where Post in itself is a post type.

Which means...

1. If you are using the free core WP RSS Aggregator plugin alone, or alongside any of the below add-ons, the Categories add-on can be used to categorize Feed Sources.
   1. Keyword Filtering
   2. Excerpts & Thumbnails
   3. Widget (does not integrate with the Categories add-on, but the two can work alongside each other)
2. If you are using the Feed to Post add-on alongside any other add-ons, and you are importing the feed items as Posts, then you do not need the Categories add-on. 
   1. This is because the feed items are being imported as Posts, which in turn have their own categories taxonomy.
3. If you are using the Feed to Post add-on, but you are using the Legacy Feed Items option to use the shortcode display for certain feed sources, you can use the Categories add-on to categorize those feed sources which are importing into the Feed Items custom post type.

If any of this is unclear, you are still unsure of how it works, or you have some other questions, please contact us here.