{"id":996,"date":"2026-03-18T17:59:57","date_gmt":"2026-03-18T17:59:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/doncept.com\/help\/?post_type=kb&#038;p=996"},"modified":"2026-03-18T17:59:57","modified_gmt":"2026-03-18T17:59:57","slug":"how-to-add-a-product-category-in-wordpress","status":"publish","type":"kb","link":"https:\/\/doncept.com\/help\/article\/how-to-add-a-product-category-in-wordpress\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Add a Product Category in WordPress"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Organizing products into categories makes it easier for customers to browse your store and find what they need. In WooCommerce, product categories help structure your catalog, improve navigation, and support better SEO.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This guide walks you through the exact steps to create a new product category from your WordPress dashboard.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>For PC<\/strong><\/p>\n<div style=\"width: 1280px;\" class=\"wp-video\"><video class=\"wp-video-shortcode\" id=\"video-996-1\" width=\"1280\" height=\"720\" preload=\"metadata\" controls=\"controls\"><source type=\"video\/mp4\" src=\"https:\/\/doncept.com\/help\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Adding-and-Editing-Product-Categories-PC.mp4?_=1\" \/><a href=\"https:\/\/doncept.com\/help\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Adding-and-Editing-Product-Categories-PC.mp4\">https:\/\/doncept.com\/help\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Adding-and-Editing-Product-Categories-PC.mp4<\/a><\/video><\/div>\n<p><strong>For Mobile<\/strong><\/p>\n<div style=\"width: 720px;\" class=\"wp-video\"><video class=\"wp-video-shortcode\" id=\"video-996-2\" width=\"720\" height=\"1280\" preload=\"metadata\" controls=\"controls\"><source type=\"video\/mp4\" src=\"https:\/\/doncept.com\/help\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Adding-and-Editing-Product-Categories-Mobile.mp4?_=2\" \/><a href=\"https:\/\/doncept.com\/help\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Adding-and-Editing-Product-Categories-Mobile.mp4\">https:\/\/doncept.com\/help\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Adding-and-Editing-Product-Categories-Mobile.mp4<\/a><\/video><\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2><b>Step 1: Log in to Your WordPress Dashboard<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Start by accessing your WordPress admin area.<\/span><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Open your browser and go to your website\u2019s login page.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Example: <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><code>yourwebsite.com\/wp-admin<\/code><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Enter your username and password.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Click Log In to access the dashboard.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Once logged in, you will see the WordPress admin panel where you can manage products, pages, posts, and settings.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>Step 2: Navigate to Product Categories<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Next, locate the product category settings.<\/span><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">On the left-hand side panel, find Products.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Hover over or click Products.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Select Categories from the dropdown menu.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This will open the Product Categories page, where you can view existing categories and add new ones.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>Step 3: Add a New Product Category<\/b><\/h2>\n<p data-start=\"1689\" data-end=\"1754\">In the <strong data-start=\"1696\" data-end=\"1716\">Add New Category<\/strong> section, enter the following details:<\/p>\n<ul data-start=\"1756\" data-end=\"2064\">\n<li data-section-id=\"j8a35o\" data-start=\"1756\" data-end=\"1818\">\n<p data-start=\"1758\" data-end=\"1818\"><strong data-start=\"1758\" data-end=\"1766\">Name<\/strong> \u2013 The category name (e.g., Electronics, Clothing)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li data-section-id=\"1rx8jyy\" data-start=\"1819\" data-end=\"1866\">\n<p data-start=\"1821\" data-end=\"1866\"><strong data-start=\"1821\" data-end=\"1829\">Slug<\/strong> \u2013 URL-friendly version of the name<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li data-section-id=\"1i6d3d9\" data-start=\"1867\" data-end=\"1925\">\n<p data-start=\"1869\" data-end=\"1925\"><strong data-start=\"1869\" data-end=\"1888\">Parent Category<\/strong> \u2013 Assign if creating a subcategory<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li data-section-id=\"aaqe97\" data-start=\"1926\" data-end=\"1977\">\n<p data-start=\"1928\" data-end=\"1977\"><strong data-start=\"1928\" data-end=\"1943\">Description<\/strong> \u2013 Summary of the category<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li data-section-id=\"wuri9e\" data-start=\"1978\" data-end=\"2029\">\n<p data-start=\"1980\" data-end=\"2029\"><strong data-start=\"1980\" data-end=\"1996\">Display Type<\/strong> \u2013 Controls how products appear<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li data-section-id=\"k8ppeo\" data-start=\"2030\" data-end=\"2064\">\n<p data-start=\"2032\" data-end=\"2064\"><strong data-start=\"2032\" data-end=\"2045\">Thumbnail<\/strong> \u2013 Category image<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>Step 4: Save the Category<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">After filling in the necessary details:<\/span><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Click the Add New Category button.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The new category will immediately appear in the categories list on the right side of the page.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Your product category is now ready to use.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2>Category Fields Explained<\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When creating a category, you will see several fields:<\/span><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Name: <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Enter the name of the category. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Example: <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Electronics<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Clothing<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, or <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Accessories<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Slug: <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The slug is the URL-friendly version of the category name. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It usually contains lowercase letters and hyphens. <\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Example: <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">electronics<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">men-clothing<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If left empty, WooCommerce will generate one automatically from the category name.<\/span><\/p>\n<ol start=\"3\">\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Parent Category: <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Use this option if you want to create a sub-category. <\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>Example:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Parent Category: <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Clothing<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Subcategory: <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Men<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Women<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, or <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Kids<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If the category is a main category, leave this set to None.<\/span><\/p>\n<ol start=\"4\">\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Description<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Add a short description explaining what the category contains.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Some themes display this description on the category archive page.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Display Type<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This controls how products appear on the category page.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Available options typically include:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Default \u2013 Uses the theme\u2019s default layout.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Products \u2013 Displays only products in that category.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Subcategories \u2013 Displays only subcategories.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Both \u2013 Shows both products and subcategories.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ol start=\"6\">\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Thumbnail<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Upload an image that represents the category.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This image may appear on your shop page or category listings, depending on your theme.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<h2><b>Best Practices<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">To keep your store organized and user-friendly:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Use clear, simple category names<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Avoid too many top-level categories<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Group similar products under subcategories<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Add good category descriptions<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Use thumbnails for visual browsing<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A well-structured category system helps customers navigate your store faster and can improve how search engines understand your product catalog.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Organizing products into categories makes it easier for customers to browse your store and find what they need. In WooCommerce,<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":123468,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"kbtopic":[22],"kbtag":[],"class_list":["post-996","kb","type-kb","status-publish","hentry","kbtopic-adding-products"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/doncept.com\/help\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/kb\/996","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/doncept.com\/help\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/kb"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/doncept.com\/help\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/kb"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/doncept.com\/help\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/123468"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/doncept.com\/help\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=996"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/doncept.com\/help\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/kb\/996\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1003,"href":"https:\/\/doncept.com\/help\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/kb\/996\/revisions\/1003"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/doncept.com\/help\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=996"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"kbtopic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/doncept.com\/help\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/kbtopic?post=996"},{"taxonomy":"kbtag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/doncept.com\/help\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/kbtag?post=996"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}