Three Category Ideas for the New Year

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Happy 2024!

We hope you enjoyed a happy and relaxing holiday season and that you’re ready for the year ahead.

To kick things off, we’re sharing a list of three categories that have caught our eye recently on client sites. They all have a few things in common – they’re easy to update, they’re fun and engaging, and they’ll (hopefully) provide a little boost in site traffic. We hope you and your staff will take inspiration from this list to brainstorm some new content ideas for this year.

#1: Top 5 (or 10) Lists

Inspiration: The Wildcat Chronicle (West Chicago Community High School)

How To Implement: 

  • Create a category (or sub-category) for your “Top 5” or “Top 10” lists.

  • Publish your lists via a story and make sure to select your new category.

  • Make sure you have a spot for your Top 5 or Top 10 category somewhere on your site – either in your menu, in a widget, or both.

  • Publish as often as you’d like (but try to do it regularly).

SNO Recommends: Get creative! The more interesting the topics, the more likely that visitors will check back regularly to see your staff’s hot takes.

#2: Photo(s) of the Day/Week

Inspiration: Spartan News Network (Lakewood High School)

How To Implement: 

  • Create a “Photo of the Day” or “Photo of the Week” category.

  • Publish your photo of the week in a story and make sure to select your new category. Alternatively, you can set up just one story with a Photo Gallery, add your new photo to the Photo Gallery every day/week, and update that individual story.

  • Make sure you have a spot for the category’s contents somewhere on your site – either in your menu, in a widget, or both. If you opt for the Photo Gallery option, consider utilizing the SNO Photo Gallery widget.

  • Remember to publish a new photo daily or weekly.

SNO Recommends: Whenever possible, feature members of your school community in the photos. People are much more likely to view photos featuring themselves and/or their friends. We also love The Spartan News Network’s idea of allowing your audience to submit photos for consideration!

#3: Quizzes

Inspiration: The Horizon (Westwood High School)

How To Implement: 

  • Create a category (or sub-category) for your Quizzes.

  • Create and publish your quiz first. If you have the SNO Site Booster, you can use the SNO Quiz option in your dashboard. If you do not have the SNO Site Booster, you can explore and install a quiz plugin (note that we may not be able to provide technical support on third-party plugins) or use a third-party platform to create and embed a quiz.

  • Once your quiz is published, add it to a story on your site. Be sure to select your new Quizzes category.

  • Feature your Quizzes category in your menu, in a widget, or both.

  • Publish as often as you’d like (but try to do it regularly).

SNO Recommends: If possible, allow visitors to retake the quiz multiple times for a more fun and engaging quiz-taking experience.