How to organize products into categories

A TeleportHQ store groups products into categories, which can be nested, for example Breads › Sourdough. Categories power the category menus, mega menu and filters on your site. To set them up, open the E-Commerce panel, click Manage next to the category filters above your products, and build the tree. Then pick categories for each product in its Categories field, and publish.

Before you start#

• The store must be turned on, and you need at least one product to assign. See How to add a product.

Steps#

1. Create your categories#

1. In the editor's left sidebar, click E-commerce (the card icon). The E-Commerce panel opens.
2. Above the Products list, at the end of the category filters, click Manage (tooltip Manage categories). The Manage Categories panel opens.

3. Click Add category (or Create category when the list is empty). A new row opens with its name field ready.
4. Type the name, for example Breads, and press Enter. A row you leave named "New category" is discarded.
5. To add a category inside it, click + on that row (tooltip Add sub-category), type its name, for example Sourdough, and press Enter.
6. To give a category a picture, click its image tile (tooltip Set image) and choose an image.
7. To add a short description for the mega menu, click + Add description under the category's name.

To rename a category, double-click its name or click the pencil (tooltip Rename). To move a category, drag it by its grip onto another category (it becomes a sub-category) or between rows (to change the order). To make it a top-level category again, drop it on Move to top level, which appears at the top while you drag.

2. Put products in categories#

1. In the Products list, click a product.
2. In Categories, click Add category.
3. Search for a category, for example Sourdough, and click it. To create a new one, type its name and click Create "…".
4. Click Save Changes.

A product can belong to several categories.

3. Publish#

At the top right, click Publish. Category menus and filters on your live site update after you publish.

Check that it worked#

Above the Products list, a filter button appears for each top-level category, with the number of products in it in brackets, after All. Click one to see only its products. On your published site, category menus and filters show the new categories.

To show categories on a page, add Category Menu, Category Mega Menu or Category Filter from Elements → E-Commerce. See How to show products on your pages.

Translate your categories#

If your TeleportHQ site has more than one language, the Manage Categories panel shows a language switcher.

1. Pick a language, for example French.
2. Click Translate [number] with AI to translate all missing names and descriptions, or double-click each name to type it.

The panel shows your progress, for example "3 of 5 fully translated". You can change the tree's structure and images only in your main language, because images and structure are shared by every language.

Troubleshooting#

I deleted a category by mistake Deleting a category (the trash icon, tooltip Delete (undo to restore)) happens right away, with no confirmation. Its sub-categories move up one level. Press Ctrl+Z (Cmd+Z on a Mac) to undo.

A product shows a category chip with the tooltip "This category was removed from the taxonomy" That category was deleted. Remove the chip from the product, pick another category and click Save Changes.

"Could not translate the categories into [language]. Please try again." The AI translation failed. Try again, or type the translations by hand.

My live site still shows the old categories Categories are saved in the project, not in the store's database, so they reach your live site only after you publish.

Good to know#

• No depth limit. You can nest categories as deeply as you like, but two or three levels are easiest for shoppers.
• AI can create categories. When you fill in product details with AI or build a store with AI, new categories may be added for you.
• Categories vs tags. Categories build menus and filters. Tags in the product form are extra labels.