What are product categories?
A category is a way of grouping products, like a folder or a section. When a user clicks on a category, any products associated with the category will be displayed. A product can be in more than one category. Categories are also hierarchical, meaning you can have categories within categories (i.e. sub-categories).
How are categories different from tags?
Categories have nested sub-categories while tags have a flat structure and are meant for labelling products across categories. For example, you could organise shoes under a parent category of 'Shoes' with sub-categories of 'Casual', 'Dress' and 'Sport' but any of the shoes in any of the categories could have a tag added like 'New season' or 'Clearence'.
How do I add a category?
Go to Commerce > Products.
Click on Categories in the left-hand menu.
Click the Add button in the top right.
Select an option from the drop-down menu under the Parent category heading.
Enter a title under the Title heading.
Optionally, enter a description (including text, photos & video) under the Description heading.
Optionally, enter a page title (SEO) under the Page title heading.
Optionally, enter a page description (SEO) under the Page description heading.
Select an option from the drop-down menu under the Website status heading.
Click the Add button.
How do I view a category?
Go to Commerce > Products.
Click on Categories in the left hand menu.
Find the category you are looking for and click the View button in the Options column.
On the top right are buttons to Delete or Edit the category.
Below the category title are tabs for Category (general information) and Media (images).
How do I edit a category?
Go to Commerce > Products.
Click on Categories in the left hand menu.
Find the category you are looking for and click the View button in the Options column.
Click the Edit button in the top right.
Update the category's details
Click the Update button.
How do I move a category?
Go to Commerce > Products.
Click on Categories in the left-hand menu.
Find the category you are looking for and select the Move option from the drop-down menu under More in the Options column.
Select an option from the drop-down menu under the Move category heading.
Click the Move button.
How do I re-order a category?
Go to Commerce > Products.
Click on Categories in the left-hand menu.
Find the category you are looking for and select the Nudge up or Nudge down option from the drop-down menu under More in the Options column.
How do I publish/unpublish a category?
Go to Commerce > Products.
Click on Categories in the left-hand menu.
Find the category you are looking for and select the Publish or Unpublish option from the drop-down menu under More in the Options column.
How do I delete a category?
Go to Commerce > Products.
Click on Categories in the left-hand menu.
Find the category you are looking for and select the Delete option from the drop-down menu under More in the Options column.
Click the Delete button.
How do I add images to a category?
To learn how to add an image and a hero image for product categories, see Product category media.
How do I add a product to a category?
To add a product to a category, you must have added at least one category.
Go to Commerce > Products.
Click on Products in the left hand menu.
Find the product you want to add to a category and click on it.
Click the Edit button in the top right.
Scroll down to the Categories heading.
Tick the categories you want to add the product to.
Click the Update button.
How do I remove a product from a category?
Go to Commerce > Products.
Click on Products in the left hand menu.
Find the product you want to remove from a category and click on it.
Click the Edit button in the top right.
Scroll down to the Categories heading.
Un-tick the categories you want to remove the product from.
Click the Update button.
How do I add multiple products to a category?
Go to Commerce > Products.
Click on Products in the left hand menu.
Tick the box next to the products you want to add to a category.
Click the drop-down menu below the product list.
Scroll down to the Add to category heading.
Select the category that you want to add the products to.
Click the Go button.
How do I remove multiple products from a category?
Go to Commerce > Products.
Click on Products in the left hand menu.
Tick the box next to the products you want to remove from a category.
Click the drop-down menu below the product list.
Scroll down to the Remove from category heading.
Select the category that you want to remove the products from.
Click the Go button.
How do I display sub-category navigation?
For your top level categories, you may want a user to first choose a sub-category before seeing a list of products:
Go to Commerce > Products.
Click on Categories in the left-hand menu.
Add an image to each of the sub-categories that you want to display, see 'How do I add an image to a category?'.
Find the category that you want to show the sub category navigation (parent category) and click the View button in the Options column.
Click the Edit button in the top right.
Tick the Show sub category navigation box under the Display options heading.
Click the Update button.
If you want the very top category to display sub-category navigation, you must ensure the organisation page automatically starts on that category. You can do this by making it the default category:
Go to Website > Pages
Find the page which displays the products and click on it.
Click the Edit button in the top right.
Select the top category from the drop-down menu under the Default category heading
Click the Update button.