Metadata Example
This fictional draft post has four metadata problems. Use it with the metadata task in the Storytelling training.
This is a practice page. Below is a fictional draft post that’s ready to publish, except for four problems in its metadata. Open the Storytelling training’s metadata task, find each problem, and note how you’d fix it. Then check your answers in the answer key at the bottom of the page.
The draft post
Title: Example Department Researchers Map Urban Heat in 30 North Carolina Towns
Story:
Post settings:
| Field | What the draft has |
|---|---|
| Categories | Uncategorized |
| Tags | news, story, 2026, update |
| Featured image | bus-sensor-screenshot.png, 800 × 600 pixels |
| Excerpt | (blank) |
Answer key
Show the answers
- Categories: “Uncategorized” isn’t a real category. Categories are how your site builds archives, how feed blocks filter content and how the Newswire knows which posts to pull. Choose one or two of your site’s categories, such as Research. If your site contributes to the Newswire, also assign the category it monitors, which is usually called Newswire.
- Tags: these don’t describe the story. “news”, “story”, “2026” and “update” could fit any post. Tags should name what’s in this one: people, places, research topics or programs. Better tags: Climate Adaptation Lab, Sam Rivera, urban heat, climate adaptation.
- Featured image: wrong format and size. The featured image appears on your news homepage, in feeds, in social media shares and on Newswire republications. Use a JPEG at 1500 × 844 pixels. A screenshot is also rarely the strongest image for a story. A photo of the sensors on a bus, or of the researchers, would work better.
- Excerpt: it’s blank. Without one, WordPress generates an excerpt automatically, and it often cuts off awkwardly. Write two or three strong sentences, for example: “Some North Carolina neighborhoods are up to 10 degrees hotter than others just blocks away. Example Department researchers mapped summer heat in 30 towns, and planners are using the maps to decide where to add shade.”
Before you publish any post, check these four fields: category, tags, featured image and excerpt.