Categories

What it is for

The Categories screen sorts products so the customer can find their way around the offer. Categories have two levels: a Parent category (for example Clothing) and Child categories under it (T-shirts, Hoodies). A product can belong to several categories at once. Which categories show in the shop's top bar is chosen in Settings, section Shop navigation.

Where to find it

In the left menu click Sales, then Categories. The list opens with the heading Sales / Categories.

Before you start

Categories on the Categories screen are worth creating before the products — moving dozens of products afterwards is wasted work.

• Plan the tree: create the parent categories first, then the child ones, because a child category is attached to a parent that already exists.
• Check Supported languages in Organization → Settings → Localization — the category name must be filled in for each of them.
• You need the Sales → Categories → Create permission (see Who can do this).

What I see in the category list

The Sales → Categories list has tabs with counts above the table:

Tab	What it shows
All	every category
Visible	categories the customer sees
Hidden	categories hidden from the customer
Parent	first-level categories
Child	subcategories

Next to the tabs is the Search... button, which opens a search by name.

Table columns:

Column	Meaning
Name	category name
Type	Parent or Child
Parent category	which category it belongs under; - for a parent
Visible	Yes / No
Created	date and time of creation

Clicking a row opens it for editing. The … menu at the end of the row offers Edit, More info (columns hidden on a narrow screen) and Delete. Below the table are Rows per page and paging.

How to create a category

1. In the left menu click Sales → Categories.
2. Top right, click Create category.
3. The Sales / Categories / Create page opens with the Details and Translations cards.
4. In the Details card fill in the fields as in the table below.
5. In the Translations card fill in Name in every language, and optionally URL slug.
6. In the top right, click Create category.

After saving you see Category created successfully! and the app takes you back to the Sales → Categories list, where the new category appears.

Fields in the Details card:

Field	Required	Meaning	Limits / default
Name	yes	internal category name	must be unique in the organization
Sort order	no	number the categories are sorted by; lower number = higher in the list	0 or more; default 0
Parent category (switch)	no	on = a first-level category others can go under	off by default
Visible (switch)	no	off = the customer does not see the category	on by default
Select parent category	no	which parent category it belongs under	shown only while the Parent category switch is off; lists only categories marked as parent

Fields in the Translations card (Translated names and descriptions per organization languages), one block per supported language:

Field	Required	Meaning	Limits
Name	yes, in every language	name the customer sees	an empty name stops the save: Translation name is required for all locales
URL slug	no	part of the category address	not sent when empty

How to create a subcategory

On the Categories screen you create a subcategory by attaching it to a parent category:

1. Make sure the parent category exists and has the Parent category switch on.
2. In Sales → Categories click Create category.
3. In the Details card leave the Parent category switch off.
4. In Select parent category pick the parent.
5. Fill in Name and Translations and click Create category.

The tree has only two levels — a subcategory cannot have subcategories of its own, because the select offers only parent categories.

How to put a product into a category

A product is put into a category in the product form, not on the Categories screen:

1. Open Sales → Products and click the product.
2. In the General section open the Category field and tick one or more categories.
3. Click Save.

Details are in the Products chapter.

How to edit a category

1. In Sales → Categories click the category row (or … → Edit).
2. Change the fields in the Details and Translations cards.
3. Click Save.

After saving you see Category updated successfully!. If you turn Parent category on for a category that had a parent, the link to its parent is removed on save.

How to hide a category

Hiding on the Categories screen is gentler than deleting: the category stays, the customer just does not see it.

1. Open the category for editing.
2. In the Details card turn the Visible switch off.
3. Click Save.

Products in a hidden category stay and keep selling. A hidden category cannot be picked for Shop navigation in Settings.

How to change the order of categories

The order on the Categories screen comes from the Sort order field:

1. Open the category for editing.
2. Enter a number in Sort order (lower = higher in the list).
3. Click Save and repeat for the other categories.

The order of categories in the shop's top bar is set separately, by dragging in Sales → Settings → Shop navigation.

How to delete a category

1. In Sales → Categories open the row's … menu and click Delete — or click Delete while editing the category.
2. Confirm Are you sure you want to delete this category?.

After deleting you see Category deleted successfully!. Products stay and only lose this category. Child categories of the deleted category are not deleted. If deleting fails you see Failed to delete category.

How to check categories work

1. In Sales → Categories check in the Type and Parent category columns that the tree is right, and in Visible that the category is Yes.
2. In Sales → Products use the Category filter — it shows the products that belong to it.
3. If the category should be in the shop's top bar, add it in Sales → Settings → Shop navigation and then click Open shop in the Shop address section.

Who can do this

An administrator sets the permissions in the permission matrix on the Sales → Categories row:

Permission	Allows
View	the Categories menu item and the list
Create	the Create category button
Edit	opening and saving a category
Delete	Delete in the row menu and in the edit page

Common questions and problems

I don't see the Create category button. You lack the Sales → Categories → Create permission.

The Select parent category field is empty. No category has the Parent category switch on. Create one first or turn its switch on.

I don't see the Select parent category field at all. The category has Parent category switched on — a parent category cannot have another parent.

Saving shows Translation name is required for all locales. A Name is missing in some language in the Translations card; the empty field is marked This field is required.

Error A category named "…" already exists. The name must be unique — choose another.

The customer does not see the category. Check the Visible switch and whether the category is added to Shop navigation.

Related

• Products — putting a product into a category
• Attributes — product options and variants
• Settings — categories in the shop's top bar