Model the catalogue before drawing navigation
Start with a product inventory containing the current name, type, attributes, audience, price band, stock state and relationships to other items. Mark which values are reliable and which are missing. A navigation redesign cannot compensate for inconsistent underlying product data.
An published 2022 Reddit post from someone building a Shopify grocery store describes a 3,000-plus-product catalogue. They say a search for milk also returned butter and egg products because broad category tags were shared across items. The original page could not be opened during this check, so this is limited to text reproduced in the search result; it is one account, not a typical Shopify behaviour or detail of prevalence or UK demand.
Collect the terms shoppers use in search, support and sales conversations. Compare those terms with the language used by suppliers and internal teams. The taxonomy should help a customer browse, not expose the organisation chart or the way the warehouse happens to group stock.
Separate categories from product attributes
Categories answer broad ‘what kind of item?’ questions. Attributes distinguish products within or across those groups, such as material, size, compatibility or intended use. One product may need a primary category and several filterable attributes without being duplicated into many near-identical category pages.
For example, a fictional grocery tree might be Food → Chilled → Dairy → Milk, with fat level and pack size treated as filters. If “Milk, Butter & Eggs” is a useful parent route, keep that browse label distinct from any search term or product tag that could make milk queries return unrelated items. Confirm the behaviour in the store's actual search and navigation.
Write down rules for borderline products and decide who can add or rename a category. Without a controlled definition, teams may create overlapping labels that make the same item appear in inconsistent places.
Test labels and depth with typical browsing tasks
Give a participant a concrete task, such as finding an item for a stated use or comparing two sizes. Observe whether the category words make sense, whether the path is predictable and where an attribute should become a filter. Record the task and result rather than claiming a broad usability finding from a small exercise.
Keep the category tree shallow enough for users to understand the next step, but do not force unrelated items together simply to reduce the number of menu entries. A plain label is often more useful than another level of nesting.
Connect category pages through ordinary links
Provide an understandable route from the main navigation to category, subcategory and product pages. Google explains that it uses page link relationships to understand ecommerce structure and recommends making product pages reachable through navigation links.
Do not rely on a search box or client-only interaction as the sole route to important products. Make sure the chosen category URL, breadcrumbs, internal links and sitemap use a consistent canonical address.
Govern empty, overlapping and seasonal categories
Decide what happens when a category has no available products, when two categories overlap or when a seasonal range returns next year. A temporary stock gap may not justify removing a useful category; a discontinued group with no replacement may need a different treatment.
Before moving a live category, check its links, traffic and existing URL. Treat redirects and publication decisions as part of the change plan rather than assuming the new taxonomy is invisible to search engines.