Wordpress Parent / Child Category Links Going To Wrong Place? WTF?!

[KirstyM]

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Greetings Wordpress experts!

I've got a new site that I've just tried to re-arrange the category structure on, introducing 3 main parent categories to help sort out the many different categories on the blog. The site is: -

Grooming Brands : Skincare Male Grooming : Beauty Products UK

For about half of the posts, this has worked no bother. For the other half, something very strange indeed is happening!

For example, under the parent category "cosmeceuticals" I've popped a post for Acnese products. However, instead of the right post which would be this: -

Acnease Skincare UK : Acne Treatment : Buy Acnease Skincare

However, what comes up is this: -

AcnEase Maintenance Treatment for Acne and Rosacea

Which is a news item about Acnese from another site section! This is happening for about half of the posts I'm trying to categorise. I can't for the life of me work out why this would happen? The posts that are being pulled up are all relevant to the brand in question. Its really odd!!!

Any insights Oh great Wordpress gurus? cos we are about buggered to know what's going on!

[Paul Wright]

Hey Kirsty

Do the articles have mulitple categories? By defulat WP will take the category which has been assigned the lowest ID number. Perhaps something to do with that?

Cheers
Paul

[KirstyM]

No, that's what's odd. The articles are only in one category "grooming brands news".

Also, every brand has at least 3 articles, all posted in the news category... I can't work out why this would be happening?

[ChristopherB]

Im not sure whats up but all your child categories are displaying what seems to be the last post in a particular section.

for instance;

Hylexin Skincare

goes to;

Hylexin Skincare

Which is a post not a category

This is exactly the same for all your categories.

I would also not expect this to be a category: Cosmeceuticals

As wordpress categories need a base /categories/ or /whatevername/ so they are not associated or linked with a page which also would have the same url structure.

Im not sure of the issue but ill have another look later.

[sgpratley]

Also, just clicked on the 'shop' link on this page and it takes you to one that's still got your lingerie brands heading on it
Cosmeceuticals

One thing I found weird about Wordpress categories is that you can have posts in your bottom level categories, but also choose whether they appear in categories further up the tree, so you can have a category that includes subcategories AND posts.

E.g.
Skincare
---------anti aging skincare
-------------------------------wrinkle cream

You could have a post about Gatineau Melatogenine and have it appearing under anti-wrinkle cream, plus either or both of the categories above it. Wreaks havoc with your duplicate content!

Try playing around with that and see if it makes any difference?

[KirstyM]

TBH, because there are so many Grooming Brands around Duncan and I thought it would improve the site usability (and cross linkage) if we put them under parent / child categories.

However, there seem to be just too many issues with duplicate content (which we'd tnought about combating with a robots.txt file), and the categories doing funny things. I've no idea why this funny is happening.

All the erroneously displayed posts are only in one category, and what's being displayed is always the right brand (but we've done nothing to associate the bloody post with the brand!!).

Gah... back to a big bland list of categories for me!