Group your products so shoppers find them
Categories build your store's menu, brands let shoppers browse by maker, and collections are hand-picked lists like "New arrivals". Device models are for products like tempered glass that buyers split by phone model.
Categories, brands, collections: what each is for
You need "Manage categories", "Manage brands" or "Manage collections" for each page. Models needs "Edit products".
- Categories: the main groups of your store, like Kurtas or Chargers. Every product is in exactly one category. They make up your store's menu and category pages. A category can sit inside another (a sub-category).
- Brands: who makes the product. Optional. Shoppers can open a brand's page and see all its products.
- Collections: your own hand-picked lists, like "Diwali specials" or "New arrivals". A product can be in many collections. A featured collection shows on your home page.
- Models: phone models your store serves. Only for products like tempered glass or covers, where a buyer orders 50 pieces split across models.
Create your first category in 5 steps
- 1
Open Categories and click New category
Catalog → Categories → New category
A small form opens.
- 2
Type the name
Use the word your shoppers use, for example "Kurtas" or "Mobile chargers". The web address of the category page is made from it.
- 3
Add a picture (optional)
"Image (shown on category tiles)" is the picture on the category's tile in your store. Upload a clear photo of a typical product.
- 4
Choose where it sits
Leave "Parent category" on "No parent (top level)" for a main group. To make a sub-category, like Cotton under Kurtas, pick Kurtas as the parent. Set "Sort order" to place it: lower numbers come first.
- 5
Click Save
The category is ready. Now choose it when you add a product.
Category fields
- Name
- What shoppers see in the menu and on the category page.e.g. Kurtas
- Image (shown on category tiles)
- The picture on the category tile in your store.e.g. A photo of one kurta
- Phone image (optional, landscape)
- Used only on phones when this tile shows as a wide band (the last of an odd number of categories). Leave it empty to use the main image.e.g. A wide photo
- Sort order
- Where the category appears. Lower numbers come first; categories with the same number are sorted by name.e.g. 1 for your best seller, 10 for the rest
- Status
- Active shows the category in your store. Inactive hides it, but its products stay in it.e.g. Inactive for a season you are not selling
- Parent category
- Makes this a sub-category of another one. "No parent (top level)" makes it a main group.e.g. Kurtas → Cotton
- Require model split
- For categories like tempered glass: buyers must split their quantity across your device models. A product can override this in its own Model allocation.e.g. On for Tempered glass
Deleting a category
Delete works only on a category with no products in it. If it still has products, Slaby refuses, for example "still has 12 product(s); reassign or remove them before disabling it." Move the products to another category first; Bulk edit's Category column is the quickest way.
A deleted category is switched to Inactive and hidden from your store, along with its sub-categories. It stays in your list, so you can switch it back to Active later.
Products in Trash don't block a delete.
Brands
Click "New brand", type the Name (for example Anker), add a Logo if you have one, and save. Then choose the brand on a product's Brand field.
Active brands show on your store's brands page, each with its own page of products. Set a brand to Inactive to hide it.
Delete works only when no product uses the brand. Otherwise you see "Cannot delete brand: N product(s) still reference it." Change those products' brand first, or pick "No brand". A deleted brand is switched to Inactive.
Make a collection
- 1
Click New collection
Catalog → Collections
Type a Name, like "Summer sale", and an optional Description shown at the top of the collection page.
- 2
Add a cover image and choose where it shows
Tick "Feature on the home page" to show it on your home page. "Active (visible on the storefront)" must be ticked for shoppers to see it at all.
- 3
Add products
Search under Products and click a product to add it. Use the arrows to change the order, and the cross to remove one.
The search lists your 200 newest products. To put older products in a collection, use Import with a Collections column.
- 4
Click Create collection
The collection page is ready at once.
Collection fields
- Display order
- Where the collection appears among your collections. Lower numbers come first.e.g. 1
- Cover image
- A wide picture for the collection.e.g. A banner-shaped photo
- Feature on the home page
- Shows this collection on your home page. The star in the list marks featured collections.e.g. On for "New arrivals"
- Active (visible on the storefront)
- Off hides the collection from shoppers but keeps it saved.e.g. Off until the sale starts
Device models (for products split by phone model)
Some products sell in one lot but for many phone models, like tempered glass: a dealer orders 50 pieces as 10 × Realme 11 and 40 × S23 Ultra. Models is the list of phone models your buyers can choose from.
Type the "Model name" and an optional "Brand (optional)", and click "Add model" (or press Enter). Use the search box to find a model in a long list. Switch Active off to hide a model from buyers.
Then turn the split on: for a whole category with "Require model split", or for one product with Model allocation → Required. On a product you can also limit which models are allowed.
- Two models can't have the same name.
- Deleting a model removes it for good. Orders already placed keep the split they were given.
Leave gaps in your sort numbers Use 10, 20, 30 instead of 1, 2, 3. Later you can slot a new category in at 15 without changing the others.
Read next
Common questions
- Why can't I delete a category?
- It still has products. Move them to another category (Bulk edit → Category column), then delete it.
- I deleted a category but it is still in the list. Why?
- Delete switches the category to Inactive. It is hidden from your store but kept, so you can turn it back on by setting Status to Active.
- How do I make a sub-category?
- Create the category and pick its main group under "Parent category", for example Cotton with parent Kurtas.
- How do I change the order of categories in my store?
- Edit each category and set "Sort order". Lower numbers come first.
- What is the difference between a category and a collection?
- A product has one category, which places it in your menu. A collection is a list you pick by hand, and one product can be in many collections.
- How do I show a collection on my home page?
- Edit it and tick "Feature on the home page" and "Active (visible on the storefront)", then save.
- I can't find a product to add to a collection.
- The search lists your 200 newest products. For older ones, import a file with SKU and Collections columns.
- Do I need Models?
- Only if you sell products that buyers split across phone models, like tempered glass. Most stores never use it.
- Can a product have two brands?
- No. Each product has one brand or "No brand".