Most online store owners suffer from the problem of managing products on the online store, especially if the store includes a large number of different products or classifications. This in turn is reflected in the user experience, for example in the difficulty of the customer reaching the desired product or reviewing all the available products related to the desired classification.
The solution is certainly to manage the products and categories on your online store correctly. It is worth noting that the steps to control and manage products on online stores are very simple, especially if you rely on adding WooCommerce to create your online store.
During today’s article, we will present to you a comprehensive guide that will help you manage the products and categories in your online store by dividing the store into main and sub-categories and organizing the display path, step by step, in a detailed and illustrated manner, so continue reading with us.
The importance of product management and organization of the online store
Managing the products and categories on your online store is one of the most important steps you need before starting to publish the online store. You should also take this step before you start uploading the products completely so that the reorganization process is not difficult or requires a lot of effort and time.
The process of managing products in the online store begins by dividing these products into main sections, then sub-sections, then secondary sections. For example, a main section is phones, a sub-section is iPhone phones, and a secondary section of the sub-section is the iPhone 14 phone. Therefore, when you upload the products to your online store, you choose the appropriate section. This, in turn, helps you organize your online store and easily sort, access and control the required products.
The same applies to the visitor when he enters your online store. He finds all the sections displayed in the main interface. He chooses the appropriate section and all the products related to this section are displayed. This in turn helps the visitor choose the most appropriate product and compare all the related products, thus improving the user experience. Certainly, improving the user experience works to increase… Percentage of sales on your online store.
It is worth noting that the steps of managing products and organizing departments at all levels do not require much experience, nor do they require much time or effort, especially since you organize the store only once when creating the online store and rely on it permanently after that when uploading the products, with some very simple modifications. Found.
After we learned about the importance of managing products on the online store, let us explain to you how to manage products in a practical way and with a pictorial explanation during the following paragraphs, so continue reading with us.
How to manage products on the online store
First of all, we need to understand the difference between categories, tags, and attributes so that you can organize the online store correctly.
- Categories : This is the basic way to divide products on your online store. It is a group of main sections with the possibility of arranging a group of sub-sections from the main sections.
- Tags or tags : They are a sub-method of dividing products on your online store and can be considered as keywords that link all similar products to one tag, for example a specific brand, model, etc.
- Attributes : It is a method used to determine the sub-characteristics of products and is relied upon to manage inventory as well as display all the options available to the customer of the same product, for example colors, sizes, etc.
Let us show you a practical example of the previous categories, where you can consider your desire to divide the online store into a main classification of clothing, including a sub-category of men’s clothing, while placing a group of tags related to clothing, for example, the Nike brand, and finally setting basic attributes for the products, for example, the colors black and blue, and starting sizes. From Medium to Large.
The previous example demonstrates the difference in practical terms between categories, tags, and attributes. Now let us explain in a practical explanation also the method of adding these sections to the online store based on the WooCommerce addition.
Adding categories to your WooCommerce store
First of all, we start adding the main categories to the online store. You enter the main WordPress panel, then choose the products from the side menu, and then choose the categories from the submenu thereof, as shown in the following image:
After that, you add the details of the classification. In the previous example, we need to add a main classification of clothing and a subcategory of men’s clothing. So we start with the main classification of men, and you write the following details:
- Name : The name of the classification that then appears in lists, sorting, etc. is written.
- Nice name : You specify the URL for the classification, preferably in English, because the Arabic language appears unclearly and with incomprehensible symbols on some browsers.
- Parent Classification : This option allows you to select the main classification if you want to add a subclassification. In the case of the main classification, you select None.
- Description : You write a brief description of the classification. It is not preferable to put a description in the subcategories that appear in the menus because it affects the appearance of the menus.
- Display type : You select the method of displaying products within the category and you will find four options: the default and here it depends on the traditional display method on the WordPress template that you rely on, or products and here only products related to the category or subcategories are displayed and here only products related to subcategories in this category are displayed. Or the option of both to display all products and subcategories, and it is preferable to choose the default mode that matches the template.
- Taxonomy Featured Image : This option helps you add a taxonomy thumbnail that appears next to the taxonomy option in the main interface menus, inside taxonomy options, etc.
After entering all the previous information, you scroll down and click on Add a new category, as shown in the following image:
After that, you repeat all the previous steps in order to add all the main categories to your online store. As for the subcategories, they do not differ completely except at the parent classification point, where you specify the primary classification in the parent classification option, as shown in the example of the men’s clothing subcategory and the main classification. Clothes in the following picture:
After that, you will find all the main and subcategories in the side categories list, and you will notice a small dash next to the subcategories. You can easily rearrange those categories by dragging and dropping, but you must take into account that the subcategory is always below the main category without any breaks, as shown in the following image:
In this way, you can manage the products and organize them well on your online store by adding and controlling the categories. The next step is to control the tags and hashtags, as we will explain in the next paragraph, so continue reading with us.
Add tags or tags to your WooCommerce store
After adding categories to your online store, you need to add tags or tags. You can do this by returning to the main WordPress panel, then choosing products from the side menu, and then choosing tags from the drop-down list.
After that, you start adding the details of the tags. In the previous example, we need to add a tag for the Nike brand, so you do the following:
- Name : You write the main name of the tag, which will appear to your website customers.
- Nice name : You write the URL of the tag and it must be in English, as we did in the categories.
- Description : You write a brief description of the tag.
After writing all the previous information, you click on Add a new tag, as shown in the following image:
Then you repeat these steps until you upload all the tags you need to manage the products and organize them on your online store. The third and final step is organizing the main features on the store, and that is what we will explain during the next paragraph, so continue reading with us.
Add themes to your online store
As we explained previously, themes are more related to how you present the available options in an organized manner to your online store visitors and also help you better manage the products in inventory.
The attributes are divided into main attributes and sub-attributes. For example, colors are main attributes, while white and black are sub-attributes within the main attributes, so you must first add main attributes and then go inside them and add sub-attributes.
You can add the main themes to your online store by returning to the main WordPress panel, then again choosing products from the side menu, and then choosing themes from the drop-down menu.
After entering the Features section, you begin adding the main features as follows:
- Name : You write the main name of the touch, which will appear to the visitor, for example, the colors or sizes in the previous example.
- Nice Name : You write the URL hyperlink from the main title of the theme, preferably in English as well, as we did in the previous categories.
- Activate archiving : This feature helps to archive products related to the same attribute on one page. Thus, you can include the attribute within the search filter, or you can include a special page on the site related to the attribute.
- Default order : This option helps you control the order in which sub-themes are displayed within the main theme, for example colors or sizes. You will find four options: custom order, which you can control by dragging and dropping from the side menu, or by ordering by name, by numbers, or by the theme ID number. It is preferable to choose a custom arrangement for the flexibility of controlling the arrangement manually.
After entering all the previous information, you click on Add Attribute, as shown in the practical example of colors in the following image:
You can repeat these steps until you add all the main themes to your online store, and after that you need to add the sub-themes within the main themes, for example, the white color and the black color within the main color theme, so you select the main theme and choose to configure the elements, as shown in the following image:
After entering the configuration of the main attributes, you add the details of the sub-attributes as follows:
- Name : You write the general name of the sub-attribute that will appear to the visitor, for example the color black.
- Nice name : You write the URL link of the child theme, preferably in English as well, as we did in the previous categories.
- Description : You write a brief description of the sub-attribute.
After entering the previous information, you click on Add New Attribute, as shown in the following image:
After that, you repeat these steps until you add all the sub-options within the main features of your online store. You will find all the sub-features in the side menu. You can easily control their order by dragging and dropping, as shown in the following image:
In this way, you can manage and organize the products on your online store by adding the main features and sub-options within them. The next step is to start uploading the products according to the organizational structure that was prepared during the previous steps.
How to raise a new product based on the new organizational structure
After completing the preparation of the new organizational structure for your online store, you begin adding products by returning to the main WordPress menu and choosing the Products option from the side menu, then choosing from the drop-down menu Add a new product, as shown in the following image:
After entering the add new product page, you begin adding the product name and then write a complete description, as shown in the following image:
Then you scroll down and select the product type and you will find 6 types as follows:
- Simple product : It is the default and most used type on online stores, which are individual physical products.
- Virtual Product : It is a subtype of simple products, but it is used to sell intangible or virtual products, for example, services, subscriptions, etc.
- Downloadable Product : It is also a subtype of simple products but is used to sell downloadable digital products, for example e-books, etc.
- Grouped product : A grouped product is a group of simple products that have been previously uploaded to your online store, and these products are linked to a single price or discount.
- External/Affiliate product : This type is used to display products from external third-party platforms directly on your online store.
- Variable product : This type is used for products that have more than one different shape or type, and the customer is given the freedom to choose the most appropriate one among the available options.
After selecting the appropriate product type, you select the product details from the default price, the price after discount, stock, and shipping options, then choose the main product images, and then add all the product images from the product image gallery option, as shown in the following image:
Now you begin to place the product within the organizational structure of your online store in order to manage the products and categories correctly after that. You choose the attributes from the list of internal product data and all the attributes that you previously prepared will appear to you. Then you choose the appropriate attribute for the product, for example the colors, as shown in the picture. next:
After that, all the themes and sub-options will appear within the main theme that you chose. For example, colors. You choose the available colors, such as white and black, which you prepared previously, as shown in the following image:
There are no restrictions on using a number of main or sub-attributes on products in the WooCommerce store. After that, you go to the top and start selecting the main or sub-product classification from the side product classification list. The same applies to selecting the appropriate product tag from the side product tag list as shown in Next picture:
After completing all the previous settings, you go up and click Publish in order to publish the product on your online store. In this way, the product has been uploaded correctly and the product has been included within the organizational structure prepared in the previous steps, and you can manage and organize the products correctly on your online store.
You can review the article explaining WooCommerce to create an integrated online store – step by step, especially the part about uploading products so that you become familiar with all the features available in the different types of products on WooCommerce.
Search and sort products by basic categories
As we mentioned previously, product management is one of the main goals of organizing and dividing the online store, as you can rely on it simply to sort and control the products on your online store directly.
You can do this by entering the main WordPress panel, then choosing products from the side menu, and then choosing the All Products option from the drop-down list to enter the products section on the online store.
You will then find a column for categories and another column for tags. You can also sort the products by clicking on Select Category, choosing the desired category, then clicking on Filter, as shown in the following image:
You will then find that only the products related to the specific classification are displayed, and this in turn helps facilitate the management and control of products quickly and concisely.
Adding categories and tags to the main menu of the online store
In order to get the full benefit of the categories and tags, you need to include these categories in the main online store lists so that the visitor can access them directly.
You can do this by entering the main WordPress panel, then choosing Appearance from the side menu, and then choosing the Menus option from the drop-down menu.
After entering the menus section, you click on the screen options from the top and activate the product categories and product tags option, as shown in the following image:
After that, you will find the options for product classifications and product tags have appeared in the list of lists. For example, we choose the product classifications, specify the main and sub-categories, and add them to the online store, as shown in the following image:
After that, you arrange the subcategories below the main categories by dragging and dropping, then you select the subcategory, click on a sub-option for the main section, then click on Save List, as shown in the following image:
In this way, the main and subcategories have been added to your online store, and you can add all the categories and control their order in order to display the organizational structure of the website in the lists in an organized and clear manner for the customer and make it easier for him to access the products he needs.
Conclusion
Online store owners need to manage the products and all main categories on the online store before starting to upload products or publish the online store, so that the online store appears organized and professional in front of the visitor and so that he can access the required product easily and clearly and provide the best user experience for him.
Therefore, you need to prepare an integrated organizational structure for your online store, including all main and sub-categories, as well as tags, main features, available options, etc.
Then you follow the previous explanation steps gradually, as we explained to you in the previous steps how to add the organizational structure and manage products completely on the online stores and apply the practical explanation to the WooCommerce store.
If you have a special question or inquiry regarding managing products and categories on the WooCommerce store and it was not answered in today’s article, you can comment below the article and the technical support specialists will respond to you as soon as available, God willing.
