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Organising Products with Categories and Sub-Categories

Structure your online shop for easier browsing and better customer experience.

Louise Dollimore avatar
Written by Louise Dollimore
Updated over 2 weeks ago

Overview: Categories, Sub-Categories & Flagship Products

Ooooby’s new product organisation tools let you control how items appear and are navigated in your shop. Using Categories, Sub-Categories, and Flagship Products, you can manage:

  • The shop menu customers see

  • How products are classified

  • Whether a navigation menu appears at all

🗂 What Are Categories?

Categories are the top-level way to organise your products. If the shop menu is active, categories determine how it appears to customers.

When the Menu Appears

✅ At least one product is marked as “flagship” → The shop menu appears on the left-hand side, showing those products as Bestsellers.


📋 All active categories then appear in the menu, in the order you've set.

Example "Product Category Menu"

🚫 No flagship products → The menu is hidden. Customers scroll through the page, viewing products by categories and sub-categories.

💡 Why hide the menu?
This layout is ideal for those with smaller product ranges, where adding categories might feel excessive.
It keeps the browsing experience clean, simple, and easy for customers to scroll through.

Creating or Editing a Category

  1. Go to: Products → Categories → Manage Categories

  2. Click Add Category, or click Edit on an existing one

  3. Fill in:

    • Name: e.g. Fresh Produce, Pantry Staples

    • URL Name: Auto-filled based on name

    • Order: Sets the order that categories are displayed in the menu

  4. Click Save

"Product Category Management Table Showing Group Order"

🏷️ What Are Sub-Categories?

Sub-Categories sit within categories to further organise products—e.g. Bread under Bakery, or Cheese under Dairy & Alternatives. They help customers browse by type.

"Product Category Table Showing Categories and Product Counts"

Creating or Editing a Sub-Category

  1. Go to: Products → Categories

  2. Click Add Sub-category, or Edit an existing one

  3. Fill in:

    • Name: e.g. Preserves, Flowers

    • URL Name: Auto-fills based on name

    • Category: Select from dropdown list

  4. Click Save

⭐ What Are Flagship Products?

Flagship products determine whether the shop menu appears and which products are featured as Bestsellers.

  • ✅ At least one flagship product = Menu appears

  • 🚫 No flagship products = Menu is hidden

  • 🏅 All flagship products appear under the Bestsellers section

Once the menu is triggered by any flagship product, all categories appear in the order you’ve set.

Setting a Product as Flagship

  1. Open the product’s settings

  2. Select Flagship from the visibility drop-down

  3. Click Save

✅ Final Tips

  • Use Categories to segment your shop into broad sections (e.g. Fresh Produce, Pantry, Drinks)

  • Use Sub-Categories to organise similar items within each Category

  • Set at least one flagship product to activate the menu and show Category names

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