Categories and category structures

On ShopWired, a category can be one (or both) of the following:

• A parent category (a category that contains other categories (subcategories))
• A subcategory (a category that is assigned to a parent category)

Both parent categories and subcategories are created as categories on ShopWired.

In the following example category structure:

Sportswear → Fitness Tops → Ladies Fitness Tops → Vest Tops

• Sportswear is a parent category
• Fitness Tops is a subcategory of Sportswear, and also a parent category
• Ladies Fitness Tops is a subcategory of Fitness Tops, and also a parent category
• Vest Tops is a subcategory

When building a new website on ShopWired, it's important to plan your category structure carefully. Ask AI to help you or contact support.

1. Categories can be both parent categories and subcategories as shown in our example above
   • A category becomes a subcategory when it is assigned a parent category
2. Categories can have multiple parent categories
3. Parent categories that have subcategories assigned to them cannot contain products
   • A category can either contain subcategories or products, not both
4. Products can be assigned to multiple categories

ShopWired's product filters feature can and should be used where possible to reduce the need to have a large number of categories on your website.

Using filters can significantly improve the experience of visitors to your website. It simplifies navigation and makes it easier to manage your categories.

Some examples of where you can use filters instead of categories:

• On a website selling food, use filters to allow visitors to browse products by their dietary requirements, for example by creating filters for gluten-free and vegan
• On a website selling clothing, use filters to allow visitors to browse products by style, for example by creating filters for casual and formal
• On a website selling footwear, use filters to allow visitors to browse products by brand, for example by creating filters for Nike and Adidas

• All ShopWired themes are built to display a menu showing your categories
• Only the top-level parent categories are displayed in the first layer of the menu
• Top-level parent categories are those categories that don't themselves have a parent
• By default, ShopWired category menus show one further level of subcategories
• Selecting a parent category from the menu will reveal the subcategories it contains
• The appearance and layout of your website's category menus are determined by your website's theme and therefore can be customised to your requirements
• This includes showing a third layer of categories in the menu (e.g. Sportswear → Fitness Tops → Ladies Fitness Tops)
• For assistance with making customisations to your category menu, contact theme support

When you visit a category page on your website, it will either display subcategories or products assigned to the category.

The design, layout and display of the category page is determined by your website's theme. Depending on your theme, certain settings can be applied to adjust the design and display of the category page. Consult the help guides on customising themes for more information.