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How to create category mappings

Category mappings are essential for ensuring your products appear in the correct sections of your sales channels. They connect the categories from your source system (e.g., a supplier or an ERP) to the categories in your target system (e.g., Shopify, WooCommerce, or a Marketplace).

Why map categories?​

  • SEO: Products in correct categories are easier for customers to find via search engines.
  • User Experience: Helps customers navigate your store efficiently.
  • Marketplace Compliance: Many marketplaces (like Bol.com or Amazon) require specific category mappings to list products.

Category Import Filters​

Import Filters allow you to control which products are imported into StoreLinkr from your source systems based on their categories. This is a proactive way to keep your catalog clean and manage your product limits.

Why use Import Filters?​

  • Relevance: Only import categories that you actually want to sell in your store.
  • Plan Limits: Avoid hitting your Product Export Limit by excluding large categories of irrelevant items.
  • Quality Control: Skip categories known for having poor data or low stock.

How to use Import Filters​

  1. Navigate to Catalog > Categories and select Import Filters (or go to Selection & Markup > Import Filters in some versions).
  2. Select a Source: Choose the integration you want to configure.
  3. Scan Categories: If you haven't done so, trigger a scan to fetch the latest category list from the source.
  4. Toggle Allowance:
    • Allow (Checked): Products in this category will be imported and updated.
    • Skip (Unchecked): Products in this category will be ignored during import.
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Automatic Archiving: If you disable a category that already has products in StoreLinkr, those products will be automatically archived during the next sync.

Limits on Active Categories​

Depending on your integration (e.g., BigBuy or VidaXL), there may be a limit on the number of Active Main Categories you can have enabled at once. StoreLinkr will display your current usage (e.g., "5 / 10 categories used") at the top of the Import Filters page.

Category Mappings​

  1. Prepare your Destination: Ensure the categories you want to map to already exist in your sales channel (e.g., your Shopify store).
  2. Connect a Source: Make sure you have connected at least one import source (e.g., a supplier feed).
  3. Navigate to Categories: Go to Catalog > Categories in the StoreLinkr sidebar.
  4. Identify Unmapped Categories: Look for categories under "Unmapped" or "Imported Categories".
  5. Create the Link:
    • Click on an imported category from your source.
    • Select the corresponding destination category from the dropdown or search field.
    • Save the mapping.

Managing Mappings​

Invalid Mappings​

If a category is deleted in your source or destination system, StoreLinkr will flag it as an "Invalid Mapping". You should regularly check the Invalid Mappings section to fix or remove these links.

Syncing​

You can manually trigger a category sync using the Sync Now button:

  • Import: Refreshes categories from your source systems.
  • Export: Pushes mapping updates to your sales channels.
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Category synchronization is managed by automated background tasks. You can monitor the status of these tasks in the Background Tasks settings.

PIM Categories (Advanced)​

If you are using the StoreLinkr PIM (Product Information Management) features, you can also create, rename, and reorder categories directly within StoreLinkr without relying solely on your source system's structure.

Reusing your webshop categories for PIM products​

Products you create yourself in StoreLinkr can go straight into the categories your webshop already has. You don't need to build the same tree again.

  1. Open the product under Catalog > Products and go to the Categories card.
  2. Open the Category dropdown. Below your own PIM categories you see Existing webshop categories: every category your sales channel already has, such as Bikes > E-Bikes in WooCommerce.
  3. Pick the category and save the product.

When you pick an existing webshop category, StoreLinkr:

  • adds that category to your PIM categories, so you can select it right away next time;
  • maps it to the webshop category for you, so you don't have to do that under Catalog > Categories.

The product is exported to that same webshop category. No new or duplicate category is created in your webshop.

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Do your imported products (for example from CycleSoftware) already end up in a webshop category such as Bikes > E-Bikes? Pick that same webshop category for your PIM products. Imported and PIM products then sit together in one category in your webshop.