How to Add Sub Collections in Shopify: A Step-by-Step Guide for Streamlined Store Navigation

Table of Contents

  1. Introduction
  2. The Significance of Sub Collections
  3. Establishing Your Collection Hierarchy
  4. Method 1: Creating Sub Collections via Navigation Menus
  5. Method 2: Featuring Collections Within Collections
  6. Method 3: Leveraging Coding for Advanced Customization
  7. Conclusion: Enhancing Your Store’s Navigation
  8. FAQ Section

Introduction

Have you ever landed on an online store and felt thoroughly impressed by how effortlessly you could navigate through its categories and find exactly what you were searching for? This seamless experience is often a result of well-structured product categorization, including the use of subcategories or subcollections. In the realm of Shopify, effectively organizing your products into collections and subcollections can significantly enhance user experience, making your site more intuitive and navigable. Whether you're a seasoned Shopify store owner or just starting out, understanding how to add sub category in Shopify is crucial. This blog post not only delves into the importance of subcollections but also provides a comprehensive guide on creating them, ensuring your store stands out in both organization and customer satisfaction.

The Significance of Sub Collections

Sub collections, or subcategories, play a pivotal role in structuring your e-commerce store. Their primary benefit lies in improving the overall user experience (UX) by making it easier and faster for customers to find the products they're interested in. This compartmentalization not only enhances site usability but also contributes to better site design and aesthetics, encouraging visitors to explore more of your offerings. Furthermore, well-defined subcollections can aid in SEO performance, ensuring your products are easily discoverable on search engines.

Establishing Your Collection Hierarchy

Before diving into the technicalities, it's essential to visualize how your product hierarchy will look. This involves distinguishing between parent categories and their corresponding subcategories.

For instance, if you're selling apparel, your structure could look something like this:

  • Men’s Clothing (Parent Category)
    • T-Shirts (Sub Collection)
    • Jackets (Sub Collection)
  • Women’s Clothing (Parent Category)
    • Dresses (Sub Collection)
    • Skirts (Sub Collection)

Understanding this hierarchy is crucial for organized and efficient sub collection creation.

Method 1: Creating Sub Collections via Navigation Menus

One of the simplest ways to create subcollections in Shopify involves utilizing the navigation menu, which can be done without any coding knowledge.

Steps:

  1. Log into your Shopify store and navigate to the 'Navigation' section.
  2. Access the 'Menus' option where you’ll either create a new menu for your parent category or choose an existing one to edit.
  3. To establish a parent category, add a new menu item and link it to the desired collection.
  4. For subcollections, add them as menu items under the relevant parent category, ensuring they are correctly nested in the menu hierarchy.
  5. Save your changes.

Pros and Cons:

  • Pros: Straightforward and doesn't require coding skills.
  • Cons: Limited customization options for deeper categorization.

Method 2: Featuring Collections Within Collections

This approach is slightly more complex but offers a higher degree of customization, enabling you to create dedicated pages for your parent categories that feature their subcollections.

Steps:

  1. Create a new page in your Shopify admin that represents the parent category.
  2. Use a specific template, such as page.list-collections, to structure the parent page.
  3. Link subcollections to this page by editing the menu in the 'Navigation' section, ensuring each subcollection is properly nested under the parent category.

Pros and Cons:

  • Pros: Allows for a more tailored appearance and the inclusion of additional content on parent collection pages.
  • Cons: Requires a solid understanding of Shopify’s templating language, Liquid.

Method 3: Leveraging Coding for Advanced Customization

For those comfortable with HTML and Liquid, creating a custom template or modifying your theme’s code to add subcollections can unlock the full potential of Shopify’s customization capabilities.

Steps:

  1. Add or edit tags for your products to reflect your desired subcategories.
  2. Enable a theme option to filter collections by tags, if available.
  3. For themes without this feature, edit your theme's code to incorporate tag filtering manually.
  4. Create custom templates and code structures that facilitate the display and organization of subcollections according to your specific needs.

Pros and Cons:

  • Pros: Offers unmatched flexibility and customization options.
  • Cons: High complexity, requiring coding knowledge.

Conclusion: Enhancing Your Store’s Navigation

Implementing subcollections in Shopify is a powerful strategy to enhance your online store’s navigation, making it more user-friendly and visually appealing. Whether you choose a straightforward method or opt for advanced customization, the key is to maintain a clear and logical structure that resonates with your audience. Remember, the easier it is for customers to find what they’re looking for, the more likely they are to make a purchase. By following this comprehensive guide, you’re well on your way to creating a Shopify store that not only looks great but also delivers a fantastic shopping experience.

FAQ Section

Q: Can I create sub-subcollections in Shopify? A: Yes, although Shopify doesn’t natively support deeply nested subcollections, creative use of navigation menus, custom coding, or third-party apps can achieve similar functionality.

Q: How can I ensure my subcollections are SEO-friendly? A: Use clear, descriptive titles for your subcollections, incorporate relevant keywords, and ensure your website’s architecture is logical and easily navigable.

Q: Do I need to know how to code to create subcollections in Shopify? A: Not necessarily. Methods 1 and 2 above can be implemented without any coding knowledge. However, for more advanced customization, familiarity with HTML, Liquid, and CSS will be beneficial.

Q: Will adding subcollections affect my store’s loading speed? A: Properly implemented subcollections should not significantly impact loading speeds. However, heavily customized pages or those with large numbers of nested collections might require optimization to maintain performance.

Q: Can I use third-party apps to create subcollections? A: Yes, several Shopify apps can simplify the process of creating and managing subcollections, offering various features and customization options to suit different needs.