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Categories

Shop categories should be viewed as the spring board to launch all products. Some of the best print catalogues dedicate a small region on a category's introduction page to announce the products showcased within the category. The introduction is typically short, but it's job is to quickly engage its audience and to create excitement in the reader. Learn more about building effective product categories.

Text isn't the only important component on your shop category pages. Elements such as product image size, add to cart buttons, price, description, etc. all play a part in how your customers interact with your shop. Your customers can also control how the category page displays within their web browser, with Grid, List and Mini View options available. This section discusses those elements and how to apply them to your category pages.

On this page

  1. Display settings
  2. Specify the display behaviour of product thumbnails

FAQs

  1. Why can't I see the 'Wish List' or 'Star Ratings' elements in my shop category views?
  2. Why won't the 'Add to Cart' button appear in my shop category views?

 


 

Display Settings

Your customers can choose their preferred method of browsing through your products, with Grid, List and Mini views provided (refer to the illustration below).

Shoppers choose the way they browse your store.

Tip: Preview Changes

The options within Display Settings can have a major impact on how your prodjucts display to customers. Always preview changes before publishing your website.

Tip: Product Options & the 'View' button

If you have chosen to display the 'Add to Cart' button in either display view, and a product uses Options, the 'Add to Cart' button will be replaced with a 'View' button instead. This is because the product requires an Option to be selected before being added to cart.

  1. Go to Dashboard > Design > Categories  
  2. Select either the Grid View, List View or Mini View navigation tabs and set each preference as outlined below.
  3. After making any changes, press the Save Changes button before navigating to the next View navigation tab.

Display Settings - Grid Layout and List Layout options:

  • Category Image: Display the category image that represents the category.
  • Product Image: Display product thumbnail images.
  • Product Title: Display each product's title.
  • Price: Display each product's price.
  • Recommended Price: Display each product's recommended retail price. If a recommended price field has not been activated from Preferences, the field will not appear regardless of the setting you choose here.
  • Breadcrumbs: A 'breadcrumb' refers to the URL path that displays at the very top of category pages. Online shoppers use breadcrumbs as a reliable form of navigation. A typical breadcrumb will appear as such: shop > category > subcategory > productname
  • Add to Wishlist: If the Wishlist module has been activated on your website, this option provides an 'add to wishlist' icon similar to the 'add to cart' button.
  • Add to Cart: Provide regular shoppers with the means to add products to their cart without first having to navigate into a product page.
  • Star Reviews: Product ratings provided by customers and visitors alike can work towards establishing credibility to your business. When selected, this option displays the familiar "5-Star" rating icons beneath each product. We recommend that you activate this option once you have built a fair level of product ratings within your shop.
  1. From the Category Preview window provided on each Display Settings page you can view how changes will appear.
  2. Each time you make an adjustment, press the Save Changes button before previewing your changes.

Display Settings - Mini View options:

  • Category Image: Display the category image that represents the category.
  • Product Image: Display product thumbnail images.
  • Price: Display each product's price.
  • Breadcrumbs: A 'breadcrumb' refers to the URL path that displays at the very top of category pages. Online shoppers use breadcrumbs as a reliable form of navigation. A typical breadcrumb will appear as such: shop > category > subcategory > productname
  • Product Title: Display each product's title.
  1. Once you're satisfied with your changes, go to > Publish .
  2. Press either the Preview or Publish buttons to make changes take effect.

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Specify the display behaviour of product thumbnails

This section allows you to set the size of your product thumbnail images as they're presented in each shop category View.

  1. Go to Dashboard > Design > Categories
  2. Select either the Grid View, List View or Mini View navigation tabs to set the product thumbnail preferences for each view.
  3. Each time you make an adjustment, press the Save Changes button before previewing your changes in the Category Preview window.
  4. Once you're satisfied with your changes navigate to > Publish.
  5. From the Publish page press the Publish button to make changes take effect or the Preview button to first preview changes before sending your website changes live to the Internet.
  • Dimensions: Enter a numerical value in pixels for the preferred image dimensions of width and height. Leaving one field blank will prevent your product thumbnail images from being cropped.
  • Crop & Resize:
    • Cropped to Size: Recommended for most shops, this option will shrink the image and crop it down to the exact dimensions entered into the Dimensions numerical input fields for width and height.
    • Fixed Proportions: If the product's image aspect ratio is important, this option will shrink your product thumbnail so that it's no bigger than the specified dimensions.
    • Padded: Shrink the image so that it is no bigger than the given dimensions while retaining the same aspect ratio, and then pad the image so it exactly matches the requested dimensions.
  • Flags: Product Flags help further promote products by placing a visual promotion flag over the product's thumbnail image. For Product Flags to appear in each Display View, select the appropriate checkboxes. Learn about Product Flags.

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Why can't I see the 'Wish List' or 'Star Ratings' elements in my shop category views?

Both features are optional and may not have been provided during your website build. If in doubt contact your sales consultant or a member of your support team (contact phone numbers are provided at the bottom of this page).

Why won't the 'Add to Cart' button appear in my shop category views?

When a product is provided with compulsory Product Options such as size or colour, an option must first be selected before the product can be added to the customer's shopping cart. For this reason, the 'Add to cart' button is replaced with a 'View' button.


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