Categories & tags

Build your catalog hierarchy with categories and use tags for cross-cutting labels. Both are assigned to products from the same editor.

Categories and tags organize your catalog in complementary ways. Categories are hierarchical: a product lives at a specific place in your menu tree. Tags are flat labels that cut across categories for collections, filters, and promotions.

Categories at a glance

A category answers: "where in my shop does this product live?" They form a tree:

Electronics
  ├── Phones
  │   ├── Smartphones
  │   └── Accessories
  └── Laptops

Each category gets its own storefront landing page (/categories/phones), breadcrumb trail on product pages, and optional navigation menu entry.

Go to Products → Categories in the sidebar to see all your categories with Name, Parent, Active status, Tax setting, image thumbnail, and which platforms each is published to.

Don't see it in the sidebar? Categories is a module, and it can be switched off for a store; some store types start with it off. Turn it back on under Settings → Modules.

Categories list showing 48 categories with Name, Parent Category, Active, Tax, Image, and Platforms columns

Creating a category

Click Create Category. The dialog has these fields:

Create Category dialog with Category Name, Parent Category, Active toggle, Tax dropdown, Category Image upload, and Publish to Platforms section

Field	What it does
Category Name	Required. Shown on the storefront and in navigation menus.
Parent Category	Leave as "None (Root Category)" for top-level. Pick a parent to nest this as a sub-category, and child categories appear indented under their parent in the tree view.
Active	Toggle OFF to hide the category from storefront navigation and product selection without deleting it.
Tax	"Taxable" or a custom tax class. Products in this category inherit the tax treatment unless overridden per-product.
Category Image	Optional image shown on the category landing page.
Publish to Platforms	Syncs the category to connected sales channels (Shopify, TikTok, etc.). Toggle on per channel after creation.

Creating a sub-category

Set Parent Category to any existing category. There is no depth limit, so you can nest as deeply as you want, but 2 or 3 levels is usually enough for clear navigation.

Rules of thumb

A product usually belongs to one category. Multi-category creates duplicate navigation entries.
If removing the label would leave the product without a home in your menu → it's a category.
Keep categories stable. Tags are the right place for things that change seasonally.

Categories vs Tags: the quick rule

Question	Answer
Does the product need a permanent home in the navigation menu?	Category
Would I want a collection of products around this label that cuts across categories?	Tag
Is it seasonal or promotional?	Tag
Is the hierarchy important (Electronics → Phones → Smartphones)?	Category

Worked example

A "Vintage Leather Wallet" by Bellroy on sale this month:

Field	Value
Category	`Accessories → Wallets`
Tags	`leather`, `summer-sale`, `gift-for-him`, `under-100`

The category puts it in the right menu. The tags power a Summer Sale collection page and a "Gifts for Him under $100" filter. Without touching the product when the sale ends, just deactivate or remove the tag.

What's next?

Add a product to assign categories and tags during product creation.
Brands are the manufacturer or label that made the product.
Attributes cover size, color, material and other variant-generating properties.

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