If your store sells numerous products, you will probably find it convenient to classify your products by product type, brand, etc and divide the store into several sections so the products of one type would be sold separately from the others. X-Cart software can help you organize your products into categories. It will surely be appreciated by your customers as categories will enable them to find products more easily. When a customer is using your store, the category tree is displayed on the side pane (the side depends on the type of layout used in your store). Categories can contain subcategories which, in their turn, may also contain nested subcategories.
Note. For each of your categories you can add the so-called featured products list. For more information please refer to the topic Managing the Featured Products List.
The store admin manages the categories using the 'Categories Management' section. It can be accessed by clicking on Categories in the Management menu. When you enter the 'Categories Management' section for the first time, the 'Categories' form lists all the root-level categories in your store.
Picture 1: Categories form (Root level).
You can click on the name of a category to get a list of its subcategories.
Picture 2: Categories form ('Internet' and 'Software' subcategories inside the category 'Books').
The name of the current level in the category tree is displayed in the form above the categories list (For example, Current category: "Books"). You can use the navigation bar in the top area of the 'Categories' form to move between the levels of your category tree.
For your convenience the categories in the list are sorted alphabetically. The POS. column shows the order in which the categories are displayed on the storefront in the customer zone. PRODUCTS column shows the number of products located in the category outside of its subcategories (including featured products). ENABLED column demonstrates the status of the categories (enabled or disabled).
The buttons Modify, Products and Delete below the name of the current category pertain to the current category. For example, if we've looked into the category 'Books' (Picture 2), clicking on Modify enables us to edit the settings of the category 'Books'; clicking on Products enables us to see if there are any products stored in the category 'Books' outside its subcategories 'Internet' and 'Software'; clicking on Delete removes the whole category 'Books' (including all its subcategories and products).
The buttons below the list of categories (Update, Modify selected, Delete selected, Add new) pertain to the list of categories.
Update is used to update the position numbers and statuses of the categories in the list: just change the values in the POS. and ENABLED fields and click on Update.
Modify selected allows you to modify the category, the radio button of which is selected.
Delete selected allows you to delete the category, the radio button of which is selected.
Add new allows you to add a new category to the list.
Click on Categories in the Management menu. 'Categories Management' section will be opened. The list of all root level categories will be displayed in the 'Categories' form.
If you want to add a category on the current (root)
level, click on the Add new button
in the 'Categories' form.
If you want to add a subcategory, go to the location where it should
be created. Clicking on the name of a category opens the list of its subcategories.
As soon as you reach the desired level, click on the Add
new button.
This will open the 'Add category' form where you will be able to set
the parameters of the new category/subcategory.
Picture
3: Add category form.
Fancy Categories module allows you to have icons for categories. When you start creating a new category, in the 'Add category' form X-Cart shows the default image ("No Image Available") where the category icon should be displayed. If you do not want to use any icon for the new category, you can leave everything as it is. The default image will not be displayed in the customer zone, the category just will not have any icon. However, if you want to use an icon for the category, you should replace the default image by a picture of your own. Click on Change icon. 'Image selection' window will appear. Select the necessary image file (from the server, your local computer or the Internet) and click on Apply. The new icon will appear in the 'Add category' form. If you do not like the result, you can change the icon again or delete it completely. To delete the icon click on Delete icon.
Note. Recommended size for a category icon is 30x30 to 50x50 pixels, GIF or JPG graphical formats are supported.
Enter the category position number.
For example, if you want the
category to be displayed on the storefront between the categories Electronics (40) and Games
and toys (50) shown in Picture 1, you should enter any number between
40 and 50.
Enter the category name.
If needed, enter the category description. It will appear on the storefront helping your customers understand what kind of products are offered in the category.
Use the drop-down list to select the membership level for which the category will be available. For example, if you select Wholesale, only wholesale members will be able to purchase products from this category (the category will be concealed from the users of all other membership levels).
Select the availability of the category. If a category is disabled it will not be shown in the category tree.
Optionally you can enter META keywords and META description. This will get your pages to rank higher in the search engines' listings.
Click on Save.
Click on Categories in the Management menu. 'Categories Management' section will be opened. The list of all root level categories will be displayed in the 'Categories management' form.
Find the category/subcategory you want to modify and select the radio button next to it.
Click on Modify selected. The 'Modify category' form will appear.
Picture 4: 'Modify category' form.
Edit the category details.
Click on Save to save the changes.
If you need to move the category to another location, refer to the 'Category location' subsection of the 'Modify category' form. Use the drop-down box to select the location to which you want the category to be moved. Click on Update.
You can have international descriptions for your categories. To create a description in another language use the 'International descriptions' form: choose a language, enter a category name and a description and click on Submit.
Picture 5: 'International descriptions' form.
Click on Categories in the Management menu. 'Categories Management' section will be opened. The list of all root level categories will be displayed in the 'Categories' form.
Find the category/subcategory you want to delete and select the radio button next to it.
Click on Delete
selected. You will be asked to
confirm the deletion.
Picture 6: Category deletion
confirmation.
Make sure the category being deleted is the one you really want to delete. The deletion cannot be reverted! Answer if you want to proceed:
• Click on Yes to delete the category.
• Click on No to go back to the 'Categories' form.
Related topics:
Managing the Featured Products List