Your Online Store's Category Tree Widget

What is the Category Tree and how do I change what shows there?

Matthew Schwartz avatar
Written by Matthew Schwartz
Updated over a week ago

What is it?

The Category Tree is a list of inventory categories which are displayed on your CrystalCommerce store website. It allows your e-commerce customers to see and browse through the different categories of products you are offering. 

Like a real tree, the Category Tree has main, primary branches (the top-level categories, such as Magic Singles), and progressively more detailed branches (the subcategories which get more specific as you drill down, such as “Rivals of Ixalan”).

The category tree will vary in appearance and layout depending on which website theme you have, and what settings are applied to the tree in the setup phase.

Here are a few examples:

Dropdown category tree

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Truncated Category Tree with Flyout Subcategories

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Offcanvas category tree (Mostly used for mobile browsers)

What are the benefits?

  • Quickly indicate to new site visitors what your primary focus is

  • Allowing curious customers to poke around and explore without a specific product in mind

  • Helping customers easily find general types of products they may want to browse

What are the features and options?

  • The heading / title, colors, and other attributes will vary

  • The category tree will automatically switch over to Buylist Categories when the customer is in the Buylist mode on your website.

How do I use it?

In most cases, you can control which categories show in the tree, and in what order they show, by editing the “Inventory” > “Categories” section of your admin panel.

Keep in mind that individual categories, or entire branches of categories, can be hidden from the category tree (and buylist category tree) by adjusting the appropriate options for those categories.

The category tree type, styles, and features are all determined during the initial setup of your site. Some options may be changed at a later time by paying for additional design work; in those cases we will let you know if your desired changes are supported by your current theme.

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