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Create Shopify categories - how to do it right
Reading time: 5 minutes
The larger your product range, the more difficult it is to keep your online store clearly organized. Comprehensible categories are therefore essential for a good customer experience. Creating Shopify categories is very easy, but there are a few points to bear in mind. I'll show you how to create categories and what you should pay attention to.
Difference between manual and automated Shopify categories
If you want to create a new category, click on "Products" in the Shopify admin area, then on "Collections" and then on "Create collection" in the top right-hand corner.
Now you have two options. You can choose between a manual or an automated (now intelligent) Shopify category.
First, let's talk about the difference between manual and smart Shopify categories.
Manual categories
As the name suggests, the manual category is filled with products by hand. You must therefore add each product to the category individually.
This means that you must also ensure that newly created products are assigned to the correct categories.
Manual categories give you full control over the organization of your products, but above a certain size the process becomes very labor intensive.
Intelligent (automated) categories
This is where automated Shopify categories come into play. Here you define the conditions at the beginning. All products that meet these conditions are then automatically added to the category.
Even if you add new products in the future, they will be automatically assigned to the appropriate categories. This will save you a lot of work if your store continues to grow.
Create smart Shopify categories and set conditions
This is how you define the conditions for your smart categories:
- Define conditions: First decide whether all or only one of the defined conditions must be met. This has an influence on how specific the assignment becomes.
- Define rules: Then add tags or other criteria, such as product types, price ranges or stock. Each rule further narrows down the selection of products.
- Use product tags: In most cases, it is sufficient to use a product tag, e.g. the product type. This keeps the category clear and flexible.
Example: If you want to create a category for "summer dresses", you can use the condition "product type = dress" and the tag "summer". Shopify will automatically add all products that match these criteria.
Other category Settings
In addition to the conditions, there are a few other settings that you need to make. These are crucial for the search engine optimization of your categories. To do this, you need to know which keywords are relevant for the category.
You can contact us for an SEO consultation for your Shopify store. Alternatively, you can find our overview of Shopify SEO here.
Title and description
You should give each of your categories a meaningful title and a detailed description. Potential customers should immediately understand what the category is about. Also make your unique selling proposition (USP) clear.
Search engine listing
Here you define the page title, the meta description and the trade.
Page title: is the title that is displayed in Google. Ideally, the page title is identical to the title or an addition to the title. Try to make full use of the 70 characters to attract customers to your site.
Meta description: The meta description is just below the page title on the Google results page. Here you have 160 more characters to convince potential customers of your offer.
Handle: The handle is part of the URL and should also reflect the topic. Ideally, you should use your main keyword as the handle.
Category picture
A category image represents your entire product category. For example, you could use an image of a popular summer dress for the "Summer dresses" category.
Distribution channels and time of publication
Here you specify the distribution channels for which the category should appear. You can also plan the time of publication in advance.
Theme template
If your Shopify theme has different designs for category pages or you have an individual design from a designer, you can select the preferred theme template here.
Meta fields for categories
To provide additional information, you can customize your categories with Shopify meta fields meta fields. This allows you to add further relevant information for visitors, which can also have a positive effect on search engines and the conversion rate.
How to add meta fields to your Shopify categories:
- - Create meta fields:
- - Go to Settings > Meta fields > Collections.
- - Click on Add meta field, define name, type (e.g. text, image) and save.
- - Assign meta fields to a category:
- - Go to Products > Collections, select a category.
- - Scroll down, enter the values for the meta field and save.
- - Show in theme:
- - Go to Themes > Customize, select the collection template.
- - Add "Dynamic content" and select the meta field.
- - Save the changes.
SEO importance of Shopify categories
Category pages are often overlooked by beginners when it comes to search engine optimization. The focus is often on the product pages and content marketing in the Shopify blog of the online store.
However, category pages can be extremely interesting for SEO. Categories often have very high search volumes on Google, which increases the traffic potential.
Furthermore, category pages are often preferred by Google, as searchers are more likely to find what they are looking for here.
So don't underestimate the SEO relevance of your categories, define keywords for each of your categories and stick to best practices.
Conclusion on Shopify categories
Well-structured categories are essential to make your online store clear and customer-friendly. While manual categories give you full control, smart categories save you time and adapt automatically. With the right settings, meaningful titles, descriptions and images, you can not only improve the user experience, but also increase the SEO relevance of your categories.
Don't forget to also use meta fields and SEO optimizations to exploit the full potential of your category pages. A clear structure and strategically optimized category pages will help you to inspire customers and make your store successful in the long term.
Do you want to structure your Shopify store optimally and are looking for support?
As an experienced Shopify agency we help you to make your categories clear and user-friendly - including intelligent structures, optimized navigation and SEO strategies. This will make your online store a real success not only for customers, but also for search engines!
Contact us now for a no-obligation consultation and take your e-commerce to the next level!
FAQ about Shopify categories
What are categories in Shopify and why are they important?
In Shopify, categories (also known as collections ) are crucial for the organization of your Shopify store. They help to group products and make navigation easier for customers. A well-structured category can improve the user experience and also has a positive impact on your online store's search engine optimization (SEO) by making it easier for search engines to index your products.
How do I create a new category in Shopify?
To create a new category in Shopify, go to the Shopify admin area. Select "Products" and then "Collections". Click on "Create collection". Here you can enter the name of the category, add a description and set the conditions under which the products will be automatically added to this category. Don't forget to save the category after you have entered all the details.
What are subcategories and how do I create them?
Shopify does not support classic subcategories, but offers options for creating similar structures. For example, you can simulate main and subcategories using automated conditions by using tags such as "clothing" for the main category and additionally "women" or "men" for subcategories. In the navigation, you can then create drop-down menus with subordinate menu items. Alternatively, Shopify 2.0's filter options allow you to narrow down products according to criteria such as price, size or color, which also creates a clear organization. This allows you to achieve a clear structure without having to resort to complex hierarchies.
