Categories & their Structure
How Categories Work
Categories organize your webstore products into a browsable tree structure. They are what your customers see when they navigate your store — clicking from broad sections like "Parts & Accessories" down to specific areas like "Engine > Pistons."
Category Tree Structure
Categories are arranged in a parent-child hierarchy. Each category can have subcategories nested underneath it, forming a tree:
Parts & Accessories (root/top-level category)
Engine (subcategory)
Pistons (subcategory of Engine)
Gaskets (subcategory of Engine)
Suspension (subcategory)
Shocks (subcategory of Suspension)
Riding Gear (another root category)
Helmets (subcategory)
Gloves (subcategory)
- Root categories have no parent — they appear at the top level of your store
- Subcategories are nested under a parent and can have their own subcategories
- A product can belong to multiple categories simultaneously
- Categories are displayed on your webstore's landing page, navigation, and category browsing pages
What Categories Control
| Area | How Categories Are Used |
|---|---|
| Webstore landing page | Top-level categories are displayed with images and product counts |
| Category browsing | Customers navigate the tree to find products |
| Search results | Products can be filtered by category |
| Product detail pages | Breadcrumb navigation shows the category path |
| Brand exclusions | You can exclude specific brands from individual categories |
| URL structure | Each category generates a URL slug (e.g., /parts/engine/pistons ) |
Where Categories Come From
Categories are not pre-loaded when your account is created. They are generated from your product catalog data.
What This Means
- Your category tree is driven by the products in your catalog
- When you subscribe to new distributors, new categories may appear as their products are added
- When you unsubscribe from a distributor, categories that become empty may be cleaned up
- Products with no category path in the catalog are placed in a default "Other" category
How Products Are Assigned to Categories
Products are linked to categories through a mapping table that supports many-to-many relationships. This means:
- One product can belong to multiple categories (e.g., a universal oil filter might appear in both "Engine > Oil Filters" and "Maintenance > Fluids & Filters")
- One category can contain products from many different brands and distributors
Automatic Assignment
The Catalog Management Worker assigns products to categories based on the category_path provided by the published catalog. This happens automatically during regular background processing.
Manual Recategorization
Products can be manually moved to different categories. When you recategorize a product:
- The Catalog Management Worker respects this flag and will not override your manual placement on future runs
- The product stays where you put it, even as catalog data refreshes