How do I create a new category?

Overview

A category groups related opportunities together for marketing and reporting. It consists of a cover photo, a title and a description, and most organizations treat categories as their programs, events, locations or departments.

There are two places to create one.

1. From the Categories page

The most direct route when you are organizing your program rather than in the middle of building an opportunity.

Go to your Categories page.
Choose to add a new category.
Fill in the details below and save.

2. While adding an opportunity

Useful when you realise mid-build that the category you need does not exist yet.

Start Add Opportunity.
At the Category step, open the category selector.
Choose to create a category instead of picking an existing one.

If you have no categories at all yet, this step takes you straight into creating your first one.

3. What do I have to fill in?

Cover photo. Required. Select one of the supplied themes or upload your own.
Category title. Required.
Description. Optional, but it is what a visitor reads on your organization page, so it is worth writing.

4. What size does the cover photo need to be?

At least 820 pixels wide by 312 pixels high. Anything smaller is rejected.

It is a wide banner shape rather than a square, so pick an image that survives being cropped to a letterbox. Faces and text near the top or bottom edge tend to get cut.

If you upload your own photo, remember to select it from the list afterwards. Uploading alone does not apply it, and this is the most common reason a new category ends up with the wrong cover photo.

5. My category is not showing on my organization page. Why?

Because a category only appears there once it contains at least one public opportunity.

An empty category, or one holding only drafts and private opportunities, stays hidden from the public no matter how complete the category itself looks. Publish an opportunity inside it and the category appears.

6. Can I change it afterwards?

Yes. The cover photo, title and description can all be edited later. See How do I edit a category?

Summary

Create a category from the Categories page, or during Add Opportunity.
A cover photo and title are required; the description is optional but public facing.
The cover photo must be at least 820 by 312 pixels.
An uploaded photo has to be selected from the list before it applies.
A category appears on your organization page only once it holds a public opportunity.
Everything can be edited later.

Creating a category in Vome, and the cover photo requirement