WooCommerce categories are used to organize products into groups, making it easier for customers to browse and find what they need. They help structure an online store by grouping similar items, and improving navigation, SEO, and the overall shopping experience. 

For example, a furniture store might have categories like Beds, Tables, and Couches, with subcategories for different styles or sizes. This makes searching faster and helps customers find products effortlessly.

Let’s help you create your first product category.

1. Creating a category

First, you need to go to the dashboard menu on the left-hand side and hover your mouse over products, and then click on categories.

You will then be presented with a list of categories that you already have and the option to add a new category as well.

You can start by entering the name of the category. It is best practice to make the name short around 1 or 2 words. The “slug” is the URL-friendly version of the name and is usually left out. 

Next, we have the parent category.

A parent category is a main product group, while a child category is a subcategory within it. For example, if you have a Furniture category, you could create child categories like Beds, Tables, and Couches to organize products more specifically. 

This hierarchy makes it easier for customers to navigate your store and find exactly what they need.

The category description is going to be displayed on the category page. Here you can write a short description of what this category is about.

You also have the option to add content below the products.

The display type, we leave as default.

You can also upload a thumbnail to the category that will be displayed at the top of the category page and on the category list.

Once finished, you can then click on the “Add new category” button. You will notice the category will be listed on the right-hand side under the parent category that you selected.

2. Editing and Viewing Categories

You can also change the order of the categories by dragging them around by clicking and holding on the hamburger icon. This will allow you to arrange the categories which will be displayed on the store page.

You will also notice that you have a category called Uncategorized. If you do not assign a category to a product, then it will go to this category. 

We have also created a sale category for you. All the products that are on sale will automatically be displayed here so you do not need to manually assign products to the sale category.

You can also edit and view each category by hovering over the name of the category and clicking on the link that you need. Let’s click on the view link to see what the category page will look like. Here is an example of how your category page might look like (View Example)

You will see the category name, description, image, the products underneath it, and also the short description below the products for more content.

3. Category URL structure

The category URL will also be displayed as the following:

yourstore.com/product-category/category-name/

Example:

yourstore.com/product-category/accessories/

yourstore.com/product-category/men/

yourstore.com/product-category/women/

yourstore.com/product-category/shoes/

If you have a child or subcategory, then it will look like this:

yourstore.com/product-category/accessories/testing/