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Product categories

Categories help the buyer navigate the shop. If the structure is clear, the buyer finds the needed product faster and gets less confused on the storefront.

Open the needed shop in the seller cabinet and go to Product categories.

Category list​

The category list shows the catalog tree for the selected store. Here the seller manages category structure, statuses, and order.

On this page you can:

  1. switch between Drafts, Published, and Archive;
  2. search for a category by name;
  3. create a root category or subcategory;
  4. open the category edit form;
  5. publish, return to drafts, archive, or restore a category;
  6. change category order when search is not active and an archive list is not open.

If a category is not visible on the storefront, first check its status and the status of every parent category. The full path must be published for the public catalog.

Next step: if there is no structure yet, create the first root category. If the category already exists, open its form and check the name, parent, and status.

Category and subcategory​

A category is a group of products. For example, Flowers, Gift sets, or Home textiles.

A subcategory is a category inside another category. For example, inside Home textiles, there may be Blankets, Towels, and Bedding.

A category without a parent is called a root category. A nested category is inside another category.

When the structure is clear​

A good catalog structure helps the buyer answer the question: "Where should I look for this product?"

Before creating categories, check that:

  1. category names are short and clear;
  2. similar products are not split across too many places;
  3. one category does not contain completely different products without a reason;
  4. subcategories are not created only for decoration;
  5. the buyer can open the category from a phone and quickly understand the choice.

Category form: what to fill in​

In Product categories, choose Add category or Add subcategory.

Fill in these category fields:

  1. Name - the seller sees it, and the buyer may see it.
  2. Parent category - shows whether the category is root or nested.
  3. Category status - the form allows Published or Draft.

Published is selected by default for a new category. If the category is not ready yet, select Draft before saving. You can create a published subcategory only under a fully published parent path. If a parent or one of its parents is still a draft, publish the categories from the top down first or save the new subcategory as a draft. Creation under an archived parent is unavailable until you restore it.

Archive is not part of the regular status selection. Archiving and restoring use separate actions with their own consequence warning.

In edit mode, a category may have Main, Category fields, and Choice variants tabs. If the category is in archive, the form may be view-only until you restore the category.

Next step after saving: return to the category list, make sure the category has the needed status, then add or review products in this category.

Choice variants in a category​

On the Choice variants tab, you can prepare templates for future products in this category, for example Size, Color, Material, or Packaging.

A category template is a starting point, not a public product setting. When the seller creates a new product in this category, the cabinet may add templates to the product card. After saving, they become separate options of that specific product.

If you change a category template, the change affects future new products and future manual additions from the category. Existing products are not updated automatically.

If you need to remove a size or color only for one product, open that product and edit its Choice variants tab. Do not change the category template just to fix one card.

Category statuses​

The category form offers two statuses:

  1. Published - the category is ready to participate in the catalog when all of its parents are also published.
  2. Draft - the category is being prepared and is hidden from buyers.

The category list also has an Archive tab. An archived category cannot be used as a regular active category. If you need to work with it again, restore it through the separate action first.

What happens with subcategories and products​

A category can contain subcategories and products. The consequences depend on the action you choose.

When you change a published category to Draft, the cabinet checks the impact first. If the change affects published subcategories or products, you will see the total counts and the list of products. Open a product from this list in a new tab if you want to review it beforehand.

If a product must remain in the catalog, return it to draft first, select another category with a fully published path, and only then publish the product again. You cannot simply change the category of a published product. If you cancel the warning, no statuses change.

After confirmation, the selected category, published subcategories in its active branches, and published products in those branches become drafts and disappear from the storefront. Whole archived branches are not changed; they use the separate archive recovery flow. If no subcategories or products are affected, the cabinet changes the status without showing an empty confirmation window.

Publishing the selected category again does not restore earlier statuses automatically. To restore an active branch, first publish the selected category, then the affected subcategories from parents to children, and only then publish the products. Each product needs its full category path to be published.

Archiving remains a separate action. Before confirmation, the cabinet warns that the selected category, its subcategories, and products in the branch will move to archive. You can return them to active work only through the separate restore-from-archive action; do not confuse this flow with the regular return-to-draft change.

If a category contains products and subcategories at the same time, this is allowed, but the structure may become overloaded. Check whether it is better to move products into more precise subcategories so the buyer can choose more easily.

How category status affects the storefront​

If a category or one of its parents is returned to draft, a published product in the active branch also becomes a draft and disappears from the storefront. The cabinet will not let you publish the product again until the full category path is published. Publish categories from the top down, then republish the product. Restore an archived branch through its separate action first.

Before checking a product on the storefront, make sure that:

  1. the category is published;
  2. all parent categories are also published;
  3. the product belongs to the needed category;
  4. the shop is active and the storefront opens.

An empty published category does not create a buyer-visible section by itself: it needs a suitable published product.

What to do if...​

The category is not shown on the storefront​

Check the category and all of its parents. If the path contains a draft, publish categories from the top down. Restore an archived category through its separate action first. Then check the shop status and open the storefront again.

You cannot choose a category as a parent​

Check whether it is archived. Archived categories may be visible in the cabinet, but unavailable as active parent categories.

The category became too complex​

Check whether it contains both products and subcategories. If the buyer may struggle to navigate it, move products into more precise subcategories.

You cannot change the order​

Clear search and check that the archive status is not open. During search, some categories are hidden, so changing the order may be unavailable.