Key Steps to Categorizing and Uploading Your Products

While planning how to build your ecommerce site is exciting, it can also feel a bit overwhelming at times. With so much freedom, it can be hard to determine the basic elements needed to launch your online store.

To streamline the process of building your BigCommerce site, we’ve compiled the six essential components needed to successfully get your ecommerce store up and running.

In Part 4 of this blog series, we’ll cover how to build category structures, upload products, and create search options in your store.

Category structure

Categories determine how customers will navigate your online store to find the products they’re looking for. Strategically building categories creates a stronger user experience, leading to more sales. It also makes your site easier for search engines to crawl, improving its visibility among shoppers. 

Categories are the default navigation for most BigCommerce themes. Whether you choose a template from the Theme Marketplace or build a custom site, you have the ability to edit your category structure to best suit your business.

Below are the different categories for organizing your products.

• Parent category: This is the top navigation in your site menu. It’s typically a broader term that encompasses a wide range of products.

• Subcategories (child categories): These are nested below the parent category to filter out unwanted products. Subcategories can also exist underneath higher-level subcategories.

When building your site, we recommend starting with a basic category structure. After launching, you can create a more advanced structure that helps shoppers navigate your site more effectively. This includes placing a product in multiple categories so shoppers can find it in all relevant areas they might search.

We recommend having no more than three category levels for new stores looking to launch. If you're re-platforming to BigCommerce and already have an intuitive site navigation, try to replicate it as closely as possible to minimize confusion for shoppers. However, this is also a good time to make improvements to your category structure if you feel adjustments are needed. It’s important to use your best judgment on what will create the highest-quality customer experience.

Having an intuitive category structure that gets shoppers to checkout in the fewest clicks is essential. This can secure more sales and ultimately grow your business. When building your structure, it’s important to think about how your customers want to shop. For example, a CBD brand on BigCommerce structures its products based on the specific problems they solve. If a customer is looking for an item to help them sleep, they can hover over that parent category and shop by product type.

Product upload

Before uploading products, determine the must-have items for your site that will attract the most customers. Importing these products should be your top priority, as they generate the most revenue. 

Afterward, decide what steps you can complete post-launch, such as importing less popular items and creating product descriptions. This will allow you to focus on uploading your “cash cow” items and minimize any potential issues you could encounter. 

Below are the different ways to import products.

• Individually: This method allows you to import products one by one. We recommended this option for catalogs with less than 50 items.

• Bulk import: A CSV import lets you upload a more extensive catalog of products at once. This method works best for businesses with a larger product line that isn’t too complex.

• Migration services: BigCommerce and third-party providers offer data migration apps and teams that can assist with data transfers for brands with large, complex catalogs.

It’s important to note that product upload is often one of the most difficult steps in setting up your store. We encourage you to reach out to our Support team to guide you through this process if you encounter difficulties.

Product search

Businesses looking for more advanced product filtering functionalities can integrate BigCommerce’s faceted search tool. This is a native feature for Pro and Enterprise plans that allows shoppers to filter items based on aspects like size, color, and product type. Brands that implement this tool have the potential to increase conversions by up to 50%.

Brands can also incorporate third-party apps like Klevu or Searchspring to offer a more robust search experience and eSSENTIAL Accessibility to make site navigation accessible for those with disabilities.

The final word

Successfully importing your products and intuitively organizing them is critical to generating online sales. To help you launch faster, we recommend building a basic category structure and prioritizing uploading your most popular products. Once you’ve launched, you can add new elements to enhance your site.

View our Launch Foundations: Categories and Products video for a more detailed look at how to build categories, upload products, and create search functionality. To learn about the other essential components of an ecommerce store, watch our Launch Foundations webinar series.