Magento categories are key to organized and effective catalogue management. Magento allows you to create multiple categories, assign different products to them, add CMS blocks to category pages, etc.
And since categories are usually created before adding products, let's start here. In this guide, you'll learn how to create Magento 2 categories one by one and add them in bulk. We'll also share how you can create dynamic categories in just a few clicks.
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How to Create Categories in Magento?
Since Magento has a default category all the following ones are assigned to it. So once you press Categories in the admin panel you are directed to the Default Category.
To create a new category in Magento 2:
1. Navigate to Catalog > Categories and press the Add Subcategory button.
2. Fill out a new category Information.
- Enable your category.
- Choose whether to Include it in the Menu.
- Set a Category Name.
- Upload a Category Image.
3. Set the new category Content.
- Add category Description.
- Choose whether you want to Add CMS Block on the category page above products.
Note: it will be displayed just in case you set the Static block and products option in the Display Mode field below.
4. Configure the Display Settings.
Here, you define how to arrange products in the category.
- Choose what to display in the category: products only, static block only or both of these combined in the Display Mode field.
- Enable the Anchor option if you want to enable layered navigation on the category page. Or if you want all product subcategories to be automatically displayed while you hover over the category.
- Choose what customers can sort products by in the Available Product Listing Sort By field.
- Set the default sorting that is applied to the products in the Default Product Listing Sort By field.
- Set the price step customers can sort products by (e.g. 20, 40, 60, etc.) in the Layered Navigation Price Step.
5. Set the URL Key and Metadata such as Meta Title, Meta Keywords and Meta Description for the category in the Search Engine Optimization section.
6. Edit Products in Category.
That's where you can see all products in the category (once you add them). You can easily filter them by the Name, SKU, Status, Price, etc. If you want to remove some products from the category you can just remove the checkmark and save the category.
7. Configure Design and Schedule Design Update by disabling the Use Parent Category Setting option.
- Choose the category Theme.
- Select the Layout and set the Layout Update XML.
- Choose whether to Apply Design to Products.
Finally, schedule the design update by setting the time for the update.
Don't forget to Save the category once you finish and check it in the list of categories.
Then, when you look at the storefront, the newly created category will be displayed in the menu, along with other categories.
If you want to follow the process in real time, check out our short video on how to create Magento categories step by step.
Except for the traditional way, you can also create Magento 2 categories programmatically. So, if you're good at coding, you are free to try this option, too.
How to Create Magento Categories in Bulk?
There are no rules on how you should create Magento 2 categories. You can categorize products by type of apparel, brand, price or colour, etc. Whatever you choose, it will take a while to create different categories.
So, if your categories are based on some product attribute, you can create categories by pattern.
This saves you tons of time since you create multiple categories in bulk. But that's not the only benefit. You can create multiple categories at once and add products to them automatically at the same time.
How to Add Products to Categories Automatically?
If you think creating categories takes ages, forget it. Adding products to categories is the real-time eater. Fortunately, there is a solution — Magento 2 Dynamic Category.
As the name implies, it adds products to categories and removes them automatically under certain conditions. All you need to do is to create a dynamic category rule and set what product attributes you want it to be based on.
The extension then adds and removes products from categories according to the conditions you set.
How to Edit Categories in Bulk?
The management doesn't stop once you create categories and add products to them. You need to constantly add products, remove products from all categories, etc.
In Magento you can change categories directly on the product page. At the same time, you can remove products from a category on a category page. In either case, it takes time.
So, to optimize the process you can update categories in bulk directly in the grid or via mass actions.
Alternatively, you can also bulk remove product from all categories and assign it to the new ones.
If you have a lot of products on your website, the best way to organize them is to group them by category. This not only improves the website's navigation but also helps customers find the products they need faster.
At the same time, using the right tools allows you to manage Magento categories way easier. So once you create different products, you can start adding them to categories in a more effective way.
