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Shop by Category

Summary: The Shop by Category page provides customers with an organized way to browse products based on categories such as Item Groups, Brands, or other Website Item fields. Categories are configured from E-Commerce Settings and help users discover products without relying solely on search or filters.

ERPNext includes a built-in Shop by Category page available at:

Page URL:
/shop-by-category

Instead of immediately applying filters, customers can browse products through predefined categories, making navigation easier and improving the shopping experience.

Prerequisites

  • Create and publish Website Items.
  • Configure E-Commerce Settings.
  • Enable Field Filters (Categories).

Configuring Shop by Category

To configure the categories displayed on this page:

Navigation
E-Commerce Settings → Filters and Categories

Steps

  1. Open E-Commerce Settings.
  2. Navigate to the Filters and Categories section.
  3. Enable Field Filters (Categories).
  4. Add the Website Item fields that should appear as categories.
  5. Save the settings.
Result: ERPNext automatically creates category tabs on the /shop-by-category page using the selected Website Item fields.

Supported Categories

The Shop by Category page uses the fields configured in the Website Item Fields table.

Common categories include:

  • Item Group
  • Brand
  • Manufacturer
  • Custom Website Item fields
  • Any linked DocType configured as a field filter
Tip: Choose categories that your customers commonly use while browsing products to improve product discovery.

Adding a Banner Slideshow

The Shop by Category page supports an optional slideshow banner.

Configuration

  1. Open E-Commerce Settings.
  2. Navigate to the Shop By Category section.
  3. Select the desired Slideshow.
  4. Save the settings.
Result: The selected slideshow appears at the top of the Shop by Category page.

Fetching Category Records

ERPNext uses different methods to retrieve records depending on the category type.

Item Groups

Because Item Groups follow a hierarchical tree structure, ERPNext only displays Item Groups that satisfy specific conditions.

An Item Group is displayed only if all of the following conditions are met:

  • Show in Website is enabled.
  • The Item Group is one of the following:
    • The top-most parent group (Is Group enabled and parent is All Item Groups), or
    • The top-most leaf node (Is Group disabled and parent is All Item Groups).
Behavior: Each Item Group card links directly to its corresponding Item Group page where customers can browse related products.

Other Categories

Categories such as Brand or other linked records are retrieved without hierarchical restrictions.

Optional Visibility ControlIf you want to hide certain records from appearing as categories, add a custom checkbox field named Show in Website to the respective DocType.

Only records with this checkbox enabled will be displayed on the Shop by Category page.

Using Custom Categories

ERPNext also supports custom linked DocTypes as categories.

You can include:

  • Custom DocTypes
  • Linked records
  • Industry-specific classifications
  • Product collections
  • Seasonal categories

The only requirement is that the custom DocType is linked to the Website Item through a Link field.

Typical Configuration Workflow

  1. Create Website Items.
  2. Open E-Commerce Settings.
  3. Enable Field Filters (Categories).
  4. Select Website Item fields as categories.
  5. Configure an optional slideshow banner.
  6. Enable Show in Website for Item Groups.
  7. Save the configuration.
  8. Browse products through the /shop-by-category page.

Key Benefits

  • Provides intuitive category-based product browsing.
  • Reduces dependence on manual filtering.
  • Supports Item Groups, Brands, and custom categories.
  • Includes optional promotional slideshow banners.
  • Supports custom visibility using Show in Website.
  • Works seamlessly with Website Items and E-Commerce Settings.
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