# Change the order of articles and categories

_Category: Organize and publish_

Put your most important categories first, and arrange the articles in each category in the order readers should read them, such as setup steps from first to last.

**Who can do this:** Owners, Admins and Editors · **Plans:** All plans

## Reorder categories

1. Click **Articles** in the left menu.
2. In the **Categories** panel, drag a category up or down and drop it at the top or bottom edge of another category.

Drop it at the edge, not on top: dropping a category onto another one makes it a subcategory. The new order is saved right away, and your help center lists your categories in this order, for example on the home page.

## Arrange the articles in a category

1. In the **Categories** panel, click the category.
2. Set **Sort by** to **Custom order**.
3. Drag the articles into the order you want.

![Screen recording. Pick a category. Set Sort by to Custom order. Drag articles into the order you want.](https://helpcenter-io.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/self/Vvfx1taCFjeq3tEEXghd2TeRqGtNYLdsKjaMGYfV.gif)
Each drop saves the new order.

You'll see "Order saved" after each drop. Custom order works inside one category at a time, and you move one article at a time. It isn't available for **Any category** or **Uncategorized**.

## Show your order on the help center

Whether category pages follow your order depends on a setting of the Category page in the template editor. Compass, the theme new help centers start with, uses your order. The other themes list the most recently updated articles first. To check or change it:

1. Open **Template editor** from the left menu, click **Pages** and choose the **Category** page.
2. Find **Category articles** and set **Order articles by** to **Custom (drag to reorder)**, or pick another order.
3. If you pick **Alphabetically**, set the **Direction** to **A → Z**. It starts at Z → A.

![Screen recording. Open the Category page and find Category articles. Pick Alphabetically, or Custom to follow your own order. Set the Direction to A → Z.](https://helpcenter-io.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/self/EjWdIQEJDH0ACKocTi8MjasQZPloCwBB0PpO9ZEa.gif)
One setting orders the articles on every category page.

1. Click **Publish** so readers see the new order. See [Publish your design](https://self.helpcenter.io/content/publish-your-design).

| Order articles by | Direction |
| --- | --- |
| **Last updated** | **Newest first** or **Oldest first** |
| **Create date** | **Newest first** or **Oldest first** |
| **Alphabetically** | **A → Z** or **Z → A** |
| **Custom (drag to reorder)** | Your order from the Articles page |

The same order applies wherever your help center lists a category's articles, such as a content tree. Article lists you add to other pages have their own sort setting. See [Customize category and article lists](https://self.helpcenter.io/content/category-and-article-lists).

Owners and Admins open **Template editor** from the left menu. Editors can open it with **Customize** in the team toolbar that shows on your help center while they're signed in. Opened from a category page, it goes straight to the Category page's settings.

## Related articles

- [Create and organize categories](https://self.helpcenter.io/content/organize-categories)
- [Customize category and article lists](https://self.helpcenter.io/content/category-and-article-lists)
- [Publish your design](https://self.helpcenter.io/content/publish-your-design)