Categories, brands and collections
GrandNode groups products in three ways. Categories form a tree and are the main navigation of the storefront. Brands say who makes a product; each product has at most one. Collections are curated groupings that cut across categories, such as "Autumn essentials" or a gift guide. All three share the same editor shape, so once you know one you know the others.
Categories
Open Catalog → Categories. The list shows the full path of every category (for example Fashion >> Men), whether it is on the home page, in the menu, visible, and its display order.
Add a category
- Click Add new.
- On Category Info enter the Name, a Description shown above the product list and optionally a Bottom description shown below it (useful for longer SEO text).
- Choose the Parent category to place it in the tree; leave it empty for a top-level category.
- Set the switches described below, then click Save or Save and Continue Edit.
| Field | What it does |
|---|---|
| Parent category | Places the category in the tree. The path appears in breadcrumbs and in the admin list. |
| Picture, Icon | An image for category tiles and an icon for menus, where the theme uses them. |
| Category layout | The template used to render the category page (grid, list, or a theme's own layouts). |
| Page size, Allow customers to select page size, Page size options | How many products a page shows and which sizes a shopper may pick, for example 6, 12, 24. |
| Default sort, Available sort options | The initial ordering (position, name, price, newest) and which orderings shoppers can choose. |
| Show on home page | Adds the category to the home page category block. |
| Featured products on home page | Shows the category's featured products on the home page. |
| Include in menu | Shows the category in the top menu. |
| Hide on catalog | Keeps the category out of the catalog navigation while its page stays reachable, for landing pages. |
| Show on search box | Offers the category as a filter in the search box, ordered by Search box display order. |
| Flag, Flag style | A short label such as "New" or "Sale" shown next to the category name. |
| Published, Display order | Whether shoppers see it, and its position among its siblings. |
The other tabs: SEO (page name, title, meta description - as for products), Products (map products with a search popup and set their order and featured flag), Discounts (discounts of the type "assigned to categories"), Documents and User fields. Access by customer group and store limits appear when those features are in use.
Brands
Catalog → Brands lists the makers of your products with the same home page, menu and visibility columns.
A brand has a name, description, picture, layout, page size and sort options, SEO fields and a Discounts tab - the same fields as a category, without the parent. A product gets its brand on the product's General tab. Shoppers can browse all brands at /brand/all and each brand has its own page.
Collections
Catalog → Collections works exactly like brands, but a product can belong to any number of collections, mapped on the product's Mappings tab or from the collection's Products tab. Use collections for merchandising themes that should not change the category tree: seasonal edits, "Staff picks", or products of one designer.
Import and export
The category, brand and collection lists have an Export button that downloads an Excel file and an import action that reads the same format back. An imported row with an existing Id updates that record; a row without one creates a new record. This is the quickest way to translate or reorganise a large tree - see Import, export and bulk edit.
Tips and common mistakes
- Keep the tree shallow. Two or three levels are easier to navigate on a phone than five.
- Turning off Published hides the category, not its products; they stay reachable through search and their own addresses.
- If a category does not appear in the menu, check Include in menu, Published, the store and customer group limits, and that its parent is visible too.
Related
- Pictures, SEO and category mappings
- Content management - page and category layouts
- Marketing and promotions - discounts on categories and brands
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