What is the ideal way to allow users to choose a category for their post

Question

I'm working on a website where users are able to create a post in a specific category.

Would the best approach be to do something similar to craigslist where you're shown a page with main categories (you pick one), then the sub categories (you pick one) and then you are shown the fields for your post.

or

A full form where you have dropdowns (you choose your main category and then the subcategories fill in the second dropdown) for your main category/subcategory along with the rest of your post fields.

Any input would be appreciated.

Answer 1

It depends on the number of choices and the rest of the workflow. Dropdowns are hands-down faster than multiple pages because of the loading times. However, if there're too many choices (the scrolling tracker is tiny & people get annoyed when looking for their choice) you'll have to consider doing it through multiple pages.

At the same time, if creating a posting is more than just one page already, then selecting categories through multiple screens is just a part of the overall (tedious) experience.