Ask HN: Category structure for a directory of side projects

I am thinking of creating a web directory of side projects (as a weekend side project of my own).

TL;DR: Inviting category structure suggestions for a web directory of side projects

All will be able to submit their side projects to this directory (and the listings will go live immediately upon submission).

I'm sure it would make (a lot of) sense to have a category structure on the directory so that projects can be listed/browsed under relevant categories.

I'm currently setting up the basic directory (site, using the WordPress CMS and some suitable plug-ins) but I am not able to think up a category structure. While I am configuring the project submission form so that users can suggest categories, I would prefer to seed the directory with (at least) a decent category structure ab initio.

I invite and welcome any/all category structure suggestions from all here. (All other suggestions welcomed too.) TIA :-)

(Those willing to take a sneak peek, here is the [barely] working URL - nothing listed yet, but you should be able to submit/list projects: http://sideprojects.tk/)

Edit: When fully done, I'll do a Show HN thread here.

5 comments

[ 3.1 ms ] story [ 18.7 ms ] thread

partisan 9y ago ↗

You might consider using tags instead of categories. People might look at categorizations in different ways. So you might tag your projects with languages, industries, etc. You can seed these values without a lot of thought and without painting yourself into a corner.

webtechgal 9y ago ↗

Thanks for the useful input and suggestion. I'll try and incorporate tagging (although I'm not sure if it would be a good idea to do away with categorization altogether - any other thoughts on this?).

I'm sticking with my initial suggestion. If you want to make certain tags mandatory then those could be the ones you might categorize by so that you have a way of letting people explore your content through browsing. Still, the decision is easier than choosing your categorization criteria and then populating all of the values.

stevekemp 9y ago ↗

Just look over recent ShowHN entries and imagine what categories to sort each entry in will show that your categories have to be so broad as to be useless, or too specific.

e.g. "Development", "Promotion", "SaaS".

At least with my own project I know what tags to suggest: "git", "DNS". But where I'd file it otherwise I'd have no idea.

> Just look over recent ShowHN entries...

That's a great idea indeed... I'm sure it'll turn out to be a good starting point. Thanks.