Product categories
Categories group your products so customers can browse your store by section, such as "Women", "Shoes" or "Gifts". You manage them in Products > Categories, where you create main categories and subcategories, set their order in the store, and choose which products each one holds.
You need the staff permission to manage categories to open this page. The Search engine optimization card on the category form depends on your plan.
The categories list
The list shows your categories as a tree: main categories first, with their subcategories nested under them.
Use the tabs All, Published and Hidden to see every category or only the visible or hidden ones.
Type in Search to find a category by name. Matching subcategories appear too, not only main categories.
Select the + button next to a category to expand its subcategories, and - to collapse them.
More categories load as you scroll.
| Column | What it shows |
|---|---|
| Category name | The category's name. Select it to edit the category. |
| Product count | How many products are in the category. |
| Status | A switch that publishes or hides the category in your store. The change is saved straight away. |
| ⋮ | The category's actions menu. |
Category actions
Open the ⋮ menu on a category to:
| Action | What it does |
|---|---|
| Add subcategory | Adds a new subcategory row under this category. Not available on a third-level category. |
| Edit information | Opens the category form. |
| Manage products | Opens the category's product list, where you add, remove and sort its products. |
| Preview in store | Opens the category page in your store in a new tab. |
| Delete category | Deletes the category after you confirm. |
Arrange categories and subcategories
Categories can be nested up to three levels: a main category, a subcategory and a sub-subcategory. For example, an optics store could have "Lenses" as a main category, "Prescription lenses" under it, and "Colored prescription lenses" under that. The order in the list is the order customers see in your store.
Go to Products > Categories.
Drag a category by its handle:
Drag it up or down to change its position.
Drag it sideways to move it under another category or out to a higher level. This changes its parent category.
A bar appears at the bottom with Unsaved changes detected and the number of changes. Select Save to apply them, or Discard to undo them.
If you try to leave the page before saving, the dashboard asks you to confirm.
Add a subcategory quickly
Open the ⋮ menu on the parent category and select Add subcategory.
Type the name in the new row (Add a subcategory title).
Select Save in the bar at the bottom.
The name you type is used for both the Arabic and the English name. Open the subcategory with Edit information to change either name, add an image or fill the other fields. An empty row disappears when you click away from it.
Create a category
Go to Products > Categories and select Create. While you have no categories, you can also select Create a new category in the middle of the page.
The green boxes mark the path in the sidebar: Products, then Categories.Personal details are covered. Fill in the fields described below.
Select Save. You return to the list, where the new category appears.
To edit a category later, select its name or Edit information in its ⋮ menu, change the fields and select Save. The edit page also has a Manage products button.
Category fields
Category name card:
| Field | Rules |
|---|---|
| Category name | Required in at least one language (Arabic or English). |
| Category image description | Optional, per language. Describes the image for customers who can't see it. |
| Category image | Optional. PNG, JPG or JPEG. |
| Category cover image | Optional. PNG, JPG or JPEG. |
When you edit an existing category, a new or removed image is saved as soon as you upload or remove it. On a new category, images are uploaded when you save.
A square category image of 500 × 500 pixels suits most themes, for main categories and subcategories alike. Where the category image and cover image appear, and whether the cover shows at all, depends on your store's theme. In themes that show the cover as the category page background, such as the default theme, a repeating pattern in JPG at 877 × 2046 pixels works best.
Main category card:
| Field | Rules |
|---|---|
| Parent category | Optional. Choose a parent to make this a subcategory. You can only set it when you create the category; afterwards, drag the category in the list to move it. |
| Category description | Optional, per language. |
Search engine optimization card:
| Field | Rules |
|---|---|
| Category page title | Optional, per language. If you fill it, 3 to 70 characters. |
| Category page description | Optional, per language. Up to 320 characters. |
SEO settings for categories aren't available in the free plan. If your plan doesn't include them, the card shows an upgrade message instead of the fields.
Google shortens a title longer than about 70 characters to fit the space it has and ends it with dots (…), so put the words customers search for at the start of the page title. If you leave the title and description empty, search engines use the category's name and description. Search engines take time to visit your store: it usually takes at least three months to notice an improvement in search results.
Create link card:
| Field | Rules |
|---|---|
| Link | Optional. The last part of the category's address in your store, shown after your store address and categories/. |
Custom fields card: appears when you have created custom fields for categories. Fill in their values here, or select Custom fields settings to manage the fields. See Custom fields.
Manage the products in a category
Select Manage products in a category's ⋮ menu, or on its edit page, to open Update category products.
Add products to the category
Select Add products.
In Select products, search for products or filter them with All categories. Turn on Hide products that are out of stock to leave them out.
Tick the products you want and select Save.
Only published products appear in the list. Products already in the category are shown but can't be selected.
Sort the products in the category
The order on this page is the order customers see in the category. To change it:
Drag a product by its handle.
Type a position number in the box next to the product, then click outside the box.
Select Move to top or Move up by 1.
A bar appears with Unsaved changes detected. Select Save to apply the new order, or Discard to undo it. Searching or opening Add products discards an order you haven't saved.
To go back to the automatic order, select Reset product arrange, then Confirm. After resetting, the newest products come first.
Remove or move products
To remove one product from the category, select Remove from category on its row and confirm. The product stays in your store; it only leaves this category.
To act on several products, tick them and open Actions:
Move products opens Move the selected products to another category. Search with Search by category name, tick one or more target categories and select Move.
Delete removes the selected products from this category straight away, without asking for confirmation. The products themselves are not deleted.
Delete a category
Open the ⋮ menu on the category and select Delete category.
Confirm the deletion.
Categories have no trash bin, so a deleted category can't be restored. Check its subcategories and products before you delete it.
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