Manage categories
Categories group your products so people can find them, and so reports can total them up by group. A category can sit inside another category, building a tree.
Where: Catalog → Categories
Who: view catalog.category.view; create .create; edit .update; delete .delete.
Plan the tree first
Keep it shallow (two or three levels) and group by how people look for things.
| Good | Avoid |
|---|---|
| Clothing › T-shirts | A category per colour ("Blue T-shirts"): colour belongs on the variant |
| Kitchen › Mugs and cups | Very deep trees: Home › Kitchen › Drinkware › Mugs › Ceramic › Large |
Short codes: TSHIRTS, MUGS | Codes that describe stock levels or seasons, which change |
Create parents first: a category can only choose a parent that already exists.
Create a category
- Go to Catalog → Categories and select Create category.
- Fill in the three sections:
Category details
| Field | What to enter | Example | Rules |
|---|---|---|---|
| Category code | A short unique code | TSHIRTS | Required; at least 2 characters; saved in capitals; unique |
| Category name | The name people see | T-shirts | Required |
| Description | Optional help for choosing | Short- and long-sleeve T-shirts |
Structure and status
| Field | What to enter | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Status | Active or Inactive | Active |
| Parent category | Type part of the name or code; up to 5 matches are shown. Leave empty (No parent category) for a top-level category. | Clothing (CLOTHING) |
Notes
| Field | What to enter | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Category notes | Internal notes for your team | Includes polo shirts from 2027 |
- Select Create category. You'll see "Category created successfully".
Example: building the Bright Home Supplies tree
| Order | Code | Name | Parent |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CLOTHING | Clothing | (none) |
| 2 | KITCHEN | Kitchen | (none) |
| 3 | TSHIRTS | T-shirts | Clothing |
| 4 | MUGS | Mugs and cups | Kitchen |
Find categories
The Category register lists every category with ID, Code, Name, Description, Status, Parent category, Notes and Actions. Type in Search categories to filter. The count shows, for example, "4 of 12 categories".
Edit a category
Select the pencil (Edit category) on its row, change the details, and select Save changes ("Category updated successfully").
| You can | Example |
|---|---|
| Rename it | "Mugs" → "Mugs and cups" |
| Move it under another parent | Move Hoodies from Clothing to a new Outerwear category |
| Make it top-level | Choose No parent category |
| Make it inactive | Status Inactive |
A category can't be its own parent: the form leaves it out of the list, and the server refuses with "Category cannot be its own parent". Avoid loops such as A inside B inside A.
Delete a category
Select the bin (Delete category) and confirm Delete category "T-shirts"?.
- Products lose this category. If products are assigned to the category, deleting it removes the link, and those products become Uncategorized. Move them to another category first (edit each product).
- Child categories block the delete. A category with categories inside it can't be deleted; the delete fails with an error. Move or delete the child categories first.
- There is no undo. If you might need it again, set it to Inactive instead.
Status
| Status | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Active | In use |
| Inactive | No longer used. Keep it for history instead of deleting it. |
Status is for people: the system doesn't stop you assigning products to an inactive category, so tell your team.
Messages
| Message | What to do |
|---|---|
| "Category code is required." / "Enter at least 2 characters." | Enter a code of 2 or more characters. |
| "Category name is required." | Enter a name. |
| "Category code already exists: TSHIRTS" | Codes are unique (ignoring capitals). Use the existing category, or another code. |
| "Category cannot be its own parent" | Choose a different parent. |
| A delete fails with an error | The category probably has child categories. Move them first. |