Set Up and Optimize Magento 2 Nested Categories

• What are Magento 2 Nested Categories?

• 8 Key Concepts of Magento 2 Nested Categories

• 6 Benefits of Magento 2 Nested Categories

• 8 Advanced Properties for Magento 2 Nested Categories

• 7 Common Challenges and Solutions of Magento 2 Nested Categories

• FAQs

• Summary

What are Magento 2 Nested Categories?

Nested categories are a structured hierarchy where categories get arranged in parent-child levels.

The hierarchy enables store owners to organize products in a logical manner. It helps improve navigation and user experience. It is at the top of the root category. It is under which you can create main categories and various levels of subcategories.

Each nested level can contain products or further subcategories. The structure helps customers find what they are looking for. It also supports SEO by generating clean, keyword-rich URLs.

Magento’s admin panel allows you to create and manage nested categories. They also control their visibility and set display options.

Proper use of nested categories enhances catalog management and increases engagement. It is through better discoverability and relevance across the product hierarchy.

8 Key Concepts of Magento 2 Nested Categories

1. Root Category

• Magento requires at least one root category per store or store view. Only categories under the assigned root are visible on the Magento frontend.

• You can create various root categories for different websites or store views. One for retail and one for wholesale.

• Root categories are not visible in the menu themselves; they serve as containers.

2. Parent-Child Hierarchy

• Categories get structured as parent (main) and child (sub) relationships. You can create multi-tiered menus for better filtering and product grouping.

• Each child category inherits visibility from its parent unless you customize it. Changes to a parent, such as disabling and hiding from the menu, affect all child categories.

3. Unlimited Nesting Levels

• Magento 2 supports deep hierarchical levels without limit.

• Practical usability suggests two to three levels of depth. These are for optimal user experience and manageable navigation.

• Too many levels can complicate product discovery and hurt performance.

4. Catalog & Menu Visibility

• You can manage whether a category:

  1. Appears in the top navigation via "Include in Menu"

  2. Is it enabled or disabled

  3. It is visible only through a direct URL

• You can also use categories as landing pages without displaying them in menus. It is ideal for hidden marketing funnels or limited-time offers.

5. Clean, SEO-Focused URLs

• URLs reflect the nested path by default. Magento auto-generates URL keys from category names, but you can customize them.

• Clean URLs:

  1. Improve indexing

  2. Reduce bounce rate

  3. Increase click-through rates

• Use URL rewrites to manage complex changes without affecting existing links.

6. Product Assignment

• Products can belong to:

  1. A single category

  2. Various categories across different branches

• Assigning products to both parent and child categories improves discoverability. Magento uses category associations to generate breadcrumbs and layered navigation.

7. Drag-and-Drop Admin Interface

• Magento’s backend provides a visual tree with drag-and-drop controls. You can:

  1. Reorder categories

  2. Move subcategories between branches

  3. Preview structure in real-time

• Changes get saved but may need a cache refresh to take effect. It is helpful for fast restructuring during catalog updates or seasonal reorganizations.

8. Indexing and Caching

• Magento uses flat category indexing to improve performance with nested categories.

• Each change in the category structure may need:

  1. Reindexing (php bin/magento indexer:reindex)

  2. Cache flush (php bin/magento cache:flush)

• Deep or dynamic structures can increase page load time without proper optimization.

6 Benefits of Magento 2 Nested Categories

1. Improved Product Organization and Scalability

Nested categories create a logical tree structure that aligns with real-world product groupings. It helps manage large or complex catalogs.

Benefits:

• Catalog navigation for admins helps manage thousands of products by grouping them.

• It supports deep product lines.

• It assigns pricing rules or inventory settings by category or subcategory.

2. Enhanced User Navigation

When customers browse your site, nested categories serve as signposts. It guides the customers through the product discovery process.

Benefits:

• Shoppers can find the products with fewer clicks. They do not have to scroll or search much.

• Mega logical menus and layered navigation work better with nested categories.

• Nested drop-downs create touch-focused menus on mobile.

3. SEO Optimization and Rich URL Structuring

Magento uses the nested category hierarchy to generate SEO-focused URLs and metadata.

Key SEO Benefits:

• Keyword-rich URLs boost relevance. Search engines can understand the relationship between categories to improve crawl depth.

• Structured breadcrumbs enhance internal linking and user experience.

• Canonical tagging control prevents duplicate content issues by defining primary paths.

4. Targeted Layered Navigation and Filtering

Each nested category can have custom filters based on relevant product attributes. It improves usability and reduces friction.

Benefits:

• It reduces decision fatigue by eliminating irrelevant choices.

• It enhances product discovery and speeds up the buyer journey.

• Enhances usability with a focused, user-friendly interface.

• Boosts conversion rates by helping users find desired products faster.

5. Flexible Content and Visual Design

Magento allows you to assign different CMS blocks and custom themes. You can assign them to each category or subcategory.

Benefits:

• It drives user engagement through appealing visual content.

• Reinforces brand identity and promotional themes across site sections.

• Allows context-sensitive storytelling through imagery and messaging.

• Supports A/B testing and personalized content strategies.

6. Simplified Inventory and Catalog Management

Nested categories enable more efficient backend management of the catalog. It is especially true when combined with rule-based logic.

Features:

• Mass actions include bulk moves or updates of items.

• Auto-assign products to categories based on attributes like "is_new" or "price"

• Assess stock per subcategory or brand.

Outcome:

• Faster catalog updates and fewer human errors.

• Smarter merchandising strategies.

8 Advanced Properties for Magento 2 Nested Categories

1. Custom URL Keys and Paths

• Magento allows each category to have a custom URL key, uplifting SEO and user readability.

• For example, instead of /category-1/subcategory-2, you can set it to /electronics/laptops.

• Admins can remove the parent path from the category URL for a cleaner structure via settings.

Benefits:

• It improves keyword relevance in URLs

• Enhances breadcrumb clarity

• Offers clean URL structures that are easier to index

2. Category Permissions

• Magento Commerce supports access control by customer groups. It is especially true for B2B modules or extensions.

• You can restrict categories to only logged-in users or VIP customers. It allows you to limit access to specific categories based on customer type.

Use Cases:

• B2B catalogs are exclusive to wholesale buyers

• Private or gated categories

• Region-based or loyalty-level visibility

3. Dynamic Product Rules

Some modules or custom logic enable you to automate product assignment to categories. It uses rule-based conditions.

For example:

• Assign all products where is_new = Yes to the "New Arrivals" subcategory

• Assign products with a price > 10,000 to the "Luxury Items" category

Benefits:

• Scales with large product catalogs

• Reduces manual errors

• Ensures always up-to-date listings

You can achieve it using Magento's indexing and cron capabilities. It helps re-evaluate category rules.

4. Layered Navigation Customization Per Category

• Magento’s layered navigation allows users to filter products by attributes. It includes color and brand.

• You can configure which attributes are filterable at each category level. Attributes marked as "Use in Layered Navigation" appear as filters.

Advanced Options Include:

• Positioning of filters

• Multi-select filters

• Dynamic attribute sorting per category

Benefits:

• Faster product discovery

• Improved site usability

• Tailored filters based on category type for electronics vs apparel

5. Content Staging and Scheduled Changes

Exclusive to Magento Commerce, the feature enables you to make changes to categories. You can preview and schedule edits like:

• Renaming a category

• Disabling or enabling a category

• Switching promotional banners or static blocks

• Updating category description during a campaign

Perfect for:

• Black Friday or holiday sales

• Scheduled launches

• Previews of seasonal categories

Staging ensures changes go live without manual intervention at odd hours.

6. Custom Design and Layout Updates Per Category

Magento allows you to assign a unique layout or theme to each category. You can:

• Use a 1-column or custom layout

• Insert specific CMS blocks above or below product listings

• Apply a completely different theme for a brand-focused category

You can also set design updates by date range for temporary campaigns.

7. Canonical Tags and SEO Control

Magento supports canonical tags to avoid duplicate content issues. Various paths pointing to the same product cause it.

In categories, you can:

• Choose whether canonical links reference the product's default URL or category-based URL

• Avoid thin or duplicate content signals by managing breadcrumbs and metadata.

SEO Tools:

• Canonical tag for product/category

• Meta title, keywords, and description

• URL rewrites

Use SEO modules for more precise control over meta tags and structured data.

8. XML Sitemap Inclusion for Nested Categories

Magento generates XML sitemaps that include nested categories. It ensures the indexing of deep structures by search engines.

Control options include:

• Include or exclude categories

• Set priority and frequency for updates

• Submit sitemap to Google Search Console

Benefits:

• Improved crawlability for nested categories

• Boosts site SEO health

• It helps search engines understand your site hierarchy

7 Common Challenges and Solutions of Magento 2 Nested Categories

1. Duplicate Content and SEO Conflicts

Products assigned to various categories can create duplicate URLs and SEO dilution.

Solution:

• Enable canonical tags for products.

• Set a default category path and disable unnecessary rewrites.

• Use custom metadata for each category to distinguish them.

2. Slow Performance with Large Category Trees

Massive nested category trees can slow down page loads and admin panel performance.

Solution:

• Use Varnish cache and Redis for frontend performance.

• Reindex category-product relations using Magento CLI.

• Enable flat catalog category. These get deprecated but are still useful in some cases.

• Optimize database indexes and consider splitting categories across various store views.

3. Inconsistent Product Assignments

Products get assigned to incorrect or irrelevant subcategories. It leads to poor catalog hygiene.

Solution:

• Use dynamic product rules via attributes or third-party tools.

• Conduct regular category audits using Magento reports or extensions. These include Mirasvit Advanced Reports.

• Use product import templates with proper category mapping.

4. Improper Category Permissions

Incorrect visibility settings expose restricted categories to the wrong users.

Solution:

• Use Magento Commerce’s Category Permissions or Amasty’s access control module.

• Test with different customer groups before launching.

• Segment categories by store view if needed for region or customer-specific offerings.

5. Design Limitations Across Category Levels

Designing unique layouts or promotional blocks for every category can become overwhelming.

Solution:

• Use shared CMS blocks and design inheritance from parent categories.

• Apply conditional widgets or banners based on category ID.

• Leverage Magento’s Scheduled Design Updates to rotate content.

6. Lack of Reporting Per Category/Subcategory

Magento’s native reports don’t break down sales or traffic by nested category.

Solution:

• Use custom analytics dashboards or reporting extensions.

• Tag products in Google Analytics by category using Enhanced eCommerce tracking.

• Group SKUs in BI tools by category ID or name.

7. Redundancy Between Categories and Filters

Merchants sometimes create subcategories that duplicate layered navigation options. It makes the structure bloated.

Solution:

• Rely on filters for attributes, not subcategories.

• Reserve subcategories for actual product themes or intents.

• Educate merchandising teams on proper category-filter balance.

FAQs

1. How do I create nested categories in Magento 2?

Go to Catalog → Categories in the Magento Admin. Select the root category or any existing parent category, then click "Add Subcategory." Configure its name, URL key, visibility, and save the structure.

2. How can I fetch all subcategories of a parent category in Magento 2?

Use Magento’s CategoryRepository or a custom model in the code. Call $category->getChildrenCategories() or load by parent ID using CategoryCollectionFactory. Ensure to enable the subcategories and set them to "Include in Menu" if needed.

3. How do I filter products by various categories in Magento 2?

Use layered navigation with multi-select filters enabled via attribute settings. Or apply custom filtering using the catalog_category_product table in SQL or custom modules. Third-party extensions can provide advanced multi-category filtering on the frontend.

4. How do I enable layered navigation for nested categories?

Navigate to Stores → Attributes → Product and select the attribute. Then, enable "Use in Layered Navigation." Apply it to relevant categories and ensure products have the attribute set. Magento will display filters if the attribute options match the products.

5. How many levels deep should my category structure go?

Limit to 2–3 levels deep for best usability and performance. Too many levels can confuse users and slow down navigation. Use filters or search instead of excessive nesting to simplify UX.

Summary

Magento 2 nested categories allow merchants to organize products into a multi-level hierarchy. The article explores the key points of the feature, including:

• Use root categories as containers and build multi-tiered parent-child relationships.

• Assign products to various categories for better discoverability and navigation.

• Customize SEO-focused URLs, metadata, and canonical tags to boost rankings.

• Apply design, permissions, and filters per category to optimize UX and marketing.

Enhance your store's performance and category structure with nested categories. Pair it with managed Magento hosting for faster load times.