Product categories

Categories are groups of products that you wish to show on the same page in your store (for example, Women's Fashion, Men's Clothing, Bestsellers). They help customers to faster navigate through the store and find the products they need. The same product can belong to multiple categories at the same time. Read more about how to manage the categories in your store.

Creating categories and subcategories

The products from one category are listed on a separate page in the storefront. This page can have a description and a featured image. When adding an image, make sure that it represents well the content of the category.

Use the description to tell your customers what they will find in this category and what are the best things about the products there. Try not to make the description too long.

In store you can create a complex category structure with several levels. Categories of the first level are referred to as root categories. These are the categories your customers see in main navigation. You can also create categories of the second, third, etc. level within your root category. They are referred to as subcategories or child categories. The number of categories (and subcategories) you can have depends on the store plan that you are subscribed to.

Clear and concise category structure makes your store’s navigation intuitive. This allows your customers to find easily what they are looking for. That’s why we recommend planning your category structure before adding products.

Customers can navigate your categories and subcategories with the help of breadcrumbs – special links that show the path to the page they are currently viewing.

To create a new category of the first level:

From your store admin, go to Catalog → Categories.
Click Add Root Category.
Enter the Name of your category.

You can edit the name of a category anytime later. To do it, just change the text in the Name field and save the changes.

Click Choose file to upload an image for your category. You can upload an image that represents your category or an image of a product from the category.
Enter the description. You can describe what kind of products are in that category, or just leave it blank.
Click Save.

From your iOS app, go to Products.
Tap Categories.
Tap Edit → Create category.
Enter the name of the new category.
Tap Add image to upload an image for the new category. You can upload an image that represents your category or an image of a product from the category.
Tap Add to save the category.
To add a category description, tap on the created category and tap Add Description. You can describe what kind of products are in that category, or just leave it blank.

From your Android app, go to Products.
Tap Categories.
Tap on the plus icon in the right bottom corner.
Enter the name of the new category.
Tap Add description if you want to add a category description. You can describe what kind of products are in that category, or just leave it blank.
Tap on the tick icon in the right upper corner to save the changes.
Once the category is saved, tap on the camera icon to add an image for this category. You can upload an image that represents your category or an image of a product from the category.

To create a new subcategory:

From your store admin, go to Catalog → Categories.
Select the category into which you want to add a subcategory from the category tree on the left.
Click Add Subcategory.
Enter the Name of the new subcategory.
Click Choose file to upload an image for your category. You can upload an image that represents your whole category or an image of a product from the category.
Enter the description. You can describe what products are in that category, or just leave it blank.
Click Save.

From your iOS app, go to Products.
Tap Categories.
Tap on the category where you want to add a subcategory.
Tap Edit → Create subcategory.
Enter the name of the new subcategory.
Tap Add image to upload an image for the new subcategory. You can upload an image that represents your category or an image of a product from the category.
Tap Add to save the subcategory.
To add a category description, tap on the created category and tap Add Description. You can describe what kind of products are in that category, or just leave it blank.
Tap Done in the right upper corner to save the changes.

From your Android app, go to Products.
Tap Categories.
Tap on the category where you want to add a subcategory.
Tap on the plus icon in the right bottom corner and select Add new subcategory.
Enter the name of the new subcategory.
Tap Add description if you want to add a description. You can describe what kind of products are in that category, or just leave it blank.
Tap on the tick icon in the right upper corner to save the changes.
Once the subcategory is saved, tap on the camera icon to add an image for this subcategory. You can upload an image that represents your category or an image of a product from the category.

On the SEO tab of the category page in Catalog → Categories, you can add custom meta tags for your root categories and subcategories if you need.

Assigning products to categories

In store a product must belong to at least one category. So, when you add products without assigning them to any of your own categories, they are automatically assigned to the Store Front page category and appear as featured products on your storefront.

To show products in your own categories, you should assign them to these categories. You can add products to multiple categories at once. For example, an item that belongs to the Shoes category can be on sale and belong to the Sale items category as well.

To assign multiple products to a category:

From your store admin, go to Catalog → Categories.
Select the category to which you want to assign a product from the category tree on the left.
Switch to the Category products tab.
Click Assign Products to Category:
Select the necessary items in the list. You can filter the products by SKU and Name.
Click Add products to assign items in bulk (or click the Plus icon to assign products one by one):

Also, you can assign a product to categories and move a product from one category to another right in the product's editing page.

From your iOS app, go to Products.
Tap Categories.
Tap on the category that you want to assign products to.
In the right upper corner tap Edit → Assign products to the category.
Tap Choose Products from Catalog.
Tick products that you want to assign to the selected category.
Tap Done to assign selected products.
Tap Done to save the changes.

From your Android app, go to Products.
Tap Categories.
Tap on the category that you want to assign products to.
Tap on the plus icon in the right bottom corner and select Add existing products.
Tick products that you want to assign to the selected category.
Tap on the arrow in the left upper corner to save the changes and go back to the category details.

You can also assign and remove categories in bulk for selected products right on the Catalog → Products page in your store admin.

To assign a product to a category:

From your store admin, go to Catalog → Products.
Open the product that you want to update.
At the bottom on the page, see the Categories section and click Manage Categories.
Select one or multiple categories that you want to assign the product to.
(optional) Disable the Feature on the store’s front page toggle if you do not want this product to be featured in the store.
Click Save.

From your iOS app, go to Products.
Open the product that you want to update.
Tap Edit → Categories.
Tap Assign Products to Categories.
Tick categories that you want to assign the product to.

Uncheck the Store Front page category if you do not want this product to be featured on the store home page.

Tap Done to save the changes.

From your Android app, go to Products.
Open the product that you want to update.
In the right upper corner, tap on the pen icon to edit the product and choose Categories.
Tick categories that you want to assign the product to.

Uncheck the Store Front page category if you do not want this product to be featured on the store home page.

In the left upper corner, tap the back arrow to save the changes and go back to product details.

You can see how many products are assigned to a category in the category tree in your store admin in Catalog → Categories:

It may take several minutes for the numbers to update in the category tree.

If one product is assigned to two or more categories, one of the categories will be marked as Default. The default category will be shown in the breadcrumbs on your product's page. For instance, if you assigned a coffee mug to the "Coffee" and "Mugs" categories and selected the "Mugs" category as default, breadcrumbs for the item on the products page will look like this: Home / Store / Mugs.

To change the default category:

From your store admin, go to Catalog → Products.
Open the product you want to change the default category to.
Scroll down to the Categories section.
Choose the category you want to make default and click the three dots:
Click Make default and click Save:

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Moving products from one category to another

You may need to rearrange products in your store and move them to another category. You can do this by exporting the products and importing them to a new category or by editing categories manually.

Exporting products and re-importing them to a new category

To rearrange many products, you can import them with new parameters. You need to export the products you want to change, edit them in a spreadsheet and then re-upload them to your store using the import feature. Please refer to the articles about exporting and importing your products.

Editing categories manually

You can manually rearrange categories for several products on the Catalog → Products or on the Catalog → Categories pages in your store admin. The first option allows you to assign and remove categories in bulk.

To rearrange products on the Products page:

From your store admin, go to Catalog → Products.
Tick all the products you want to update (you can click Filter in the left upper corner to use filters and make the search faster).

You need to create at least one category in your store (on top of the default Store front page category) before it becomes possible to assign or remove categories.
Click Mass Update → Manage Categories → Assign or Remove Categories.
Tick or untick the categories in the list:
Click Apply.

The changes will be saved automatically. The categories will be assigned to/removed from all the selected products.

If you need to add featured products to the Store front page or remove featured products from the Store front page in bulk, you can also do that on the Catalog → Products page.

To rearrange products on the Categories page:

From your store admin, go to Catalog → Categories.
Find the desired category in the left panel and click it.
Open the Category products tab:
Click Remove All. They are now uncategorized and will be listed on the storefront page much like featured products.
Open the category where you want to move the products.
Open the Category products tab.
Click Assign Products to Category.
In the popup, select the products to add.
Click Add products:
These products are now listed under the desired category.

From your iOS app, go to Products.
Tap Categories.
Tap on the category that you want to update.
In the right upper corner tap Edit.
Tap on the minus icon to remove products from the category.
To assign products to the category, tap Assign products to the category → Choose Products from Catalog.
Tick products that you want to assign to the selected category.
Tap Done to assign selected products.
Tap Done to save the changes.

From your Android app, go to Products.
Tap Categories.
Tap on the category that you want to assign products to.
Tap on the plus icon in the right bottom corner and select Add existing products.
Tick products that you want to assign to the selected category and un-tick products that you want to remove from the category.
Tap on the arrow in the left upper corner to save the changes and go back to the category details.

Sorting products in categories

You can choose in what order to show the products in the storefront to your customers. Products can be automatically sorted by date added, by price or by name. Or you can set a custom order of products within a category and arrange the products manually in the desired way.

For detailed instructions, please visit Sorting products.

Changing categories order

If you wish to show some categories first, you can easily change the order of categories and subcategories.

To change the order of categories and subcategories:

From your store admin, go to Catalog → Categories.
Drag and drop categories in the category tree:

From your iOS app, go to Products.
Tap Categories.
Tap Edit.
Hold the three lines next to a category and drag & drop it to a desired place in the list of categories.
Click Done to save the changes.

There is currently no option to sort categories on the Android app. Please, follow the instructions on how to sort categories on the desktop.

Adding alt texts to category and subcategory images

Alternative text allows you to describe images for search engines and visually impaired users. It also displays if the image fails to load. This way, alt texts help users decide on a purchase and improve your site ranking, making it easier to find your products via images online.

By default, a category/subcategory name is used as alt text for each category/subcategory image. You can provide your own text instead.

To add alt text to a category or subcategory image:

From your store admin, go to Catalog → Categories.
Click on the category or subcategory you want to edit.
Hover over the image.
Click Actions → Edit Alt Text:
Enter your alt text. For example, “White table in daylight with makeup and nail products lying all over it.”
Click Save.

That’s it. You’ve added alternative text to a category or subcategory image.

Disabling and deleting categories

If you wish to remove a category from your store, you can disable it or delete permanently.

Disabling a category

When you disable a category, it stops showing in your store. At the same time, you can see it in your store admin and enable it back anytime when needed.

To disable a category:

From your store admin, go to Catalog → Categories.
Select the category you want to disable.
Click Disable:

From your iOS app, go to Products.
Tap Categories.
Tap on the category that you want to disable.
Tap Edit Category Details.
Switch the availability toggle.
Click Close to save the changes and go back to the category details.

From your Android app, go to Products.
Tap Categories.
Tap on the category that you want to disable.
Tap Edit Category Details.
Change the Status to Disabled.
Tap the back arrow in the left upper corner to save the changes and go back to the category details.

If a disabled category has enabled products, these products won't show in your catalog in the storefront, but they will still be available by a direct link and in search results.

Deleting a category

If you wish to remove a category completely, you can delete it.

To delete a category:

From your store admin, go to Catalog → Categories.
Select the category that you want to remove in the category tree on the left.
Click Delete category:

From your iOS app, go to Products.
Tap Categories.
Tap Edit in the right upper corner.
Tap the red minus icon next to the categories that you want to delete.
Click Delete to confirm the deletion.

From your Android app, go to Products.
Tap Categories.
Tap on the category that you want to delete.
Tap Edit Category Details.
Tap Delete category.
Tap Delete to confirm the deletion.

The products that were assigned to the deleted category will not be deleted. They will be moved to the Store Front page category.

Hiding category images

When you add a category in your store, you can upload your own category image, keep a default gradient image (it appears if no category image is added), or you can hide the category images across your store.

If you hide the category images, only category names will be displayed. Example:

To hide category images in your store:

From your store admin, go to Design.
Scroll to Category name position.
Choose Hide category images.

The changes will be autosaved.

You can also hide product images.

Expanding categories

You can unfold root categories and display products from these categories right on the store front page. This category view is perfect for restaurants as it gives a menu-like look to the storefront. It also suits good the stores with small catalogs because customers can see all offered products at once.

Here is an example of how the expanded categories could look like:

To expand categories:

Go to Design.
Scroll to Storefront navigation & colors.
Select Expand categories.