Create marketplace categories

Planning to sell a variety of different products online? If the answer is yes, you will want to consider categorizing your products. Product categories can help make your marketplace easy to navigate so your customers can find what they are looking for with ease.

Start by navigating to the side menu in your dashboard and click on the Marketplace option. Then, select the Categories tab. Here, you have an overview screen that lists all your categories and basic details such as the Author, how many Views a category page has, and the current State (Live, Draft, Archived, Upcoming).

To create a new category, click the Add Category button.

General

Like other setup pages within CommuniBee Suite, begin by including some general information about your category.

Title: Enter the category name.
Page Slug: A unique web address suffix for your category page, automatically generated but this is editable.
Short Description: Provide a summary of the category that will be displayed when shared online or on other pages.
Feature Image: Upload an image that will be displayed when sharing this category on social media or within your community.

Once you have entered the above details, click Save.

Configuration

Parent Marketplace Category: Optionally link an existing category if you want to create hierarchy. If a parent category is set, this new category becomes a subcategory, and all subcategories can be accessed from the parent category. This is great if you have multiple categories that share a common theme.
Show Subcategory Tiles: Decide whether you want your subcategories to appear as individual tiles on the parent category’s web page. If left unchecked, subcategories can still be accessed from the parent category dropdown from the side menu.
Products Shown Per Subcategory: Set how many items each subcategory will list on the parent category’s web page. You can choose to show 1 to 10 items, all items, or no items per subcategory.
Marketplace Category Description: Provide a more detailed description of the category that appears directly on the category’s web page.
Color Highlight: Optionally set a unique color that applies to all item tiles that are a part of this category.

Media

This section is all about the design of the marketplace category’s web page. You can upload images or link to a video that act as the banner for this page. The appearance of your banner can then be configured to create a truly stunning landing page.

Media Position: choose where you want your image or video to appear.
- Header & Body Only: No image, no problem. Your page will default to only have header and body text. No image upload necessary.
- Media On Left: If you would like to keep your image and content together within a single section, this allows your image to appear on the left, and your header, body, and category details on the right.
- Media Full Width At Top: Like standard web pages, a banner appears at the very top of your page and takes up the full width (commonly referred as the Hero section). The rest of the content then appears below your banner.
  - If using Images, you will have the option to adjust the following:
    - Banner Aspect Ratio: select the general size of your image(s).
    - Banner Max Height: choose how tall your image(s) will be.
    - Image Anchor: determine how your image(s) will be positioned.

- Use Custom Blocks Only: Feeling ambitious and want to build this page from the ground up? Select this option and navigate to the Layout tab to create a unique category page using our pre-built page blocks.
Media Type
- If you selected Media on Left or Media Full Width At Top from the Media Position dropdown, you can decide on the media type (Images or Video).
  - Images: you can browse from your community library or upload new images from your device. If you upload multiple images, they will appear on your home page as a slideshow.
  - Video: only YouTube videos are supported currently. Open the YouTube video you want to link. Click on the Share button, then select the Embed option. Only copy the URL from this screen, then navigate back to your CommuniBee dashboard and paste it in the Video URL field.

Layout

Not only can you preview your marketplace category’s page from this tab, but you can also make additional changes to the overall page layout.

To build on this page and add additional sections, follow the steps below:

Under where it says, Choose Another Template or Block to Add, click on the Add Block To End button.
A Page Block screen will appear that lists individual blocks that can be added to your page. For example, a Text Block to include text and an optional button, a Multiple Item Block to feature specific items from your community, and more.
Click the Add button to have the block appear on your category’s page.
Depending on the block type you select, you will have different customization options. As you make changes to a page block, a preview will update live on your screen so you can know exactly how your page will look before you save.
After you finish customizing a page block, be sure to hit the Save button so you don’t lose your work.
For any additional blocks you add, you have the option to edit, duplicate, or delete individual blocks by using the icons on the right side of each block

To rearrange a block, use your mouse and hold left click on it, then drag the block above or below another block. Let go of left click to set the block in place. Learn more about the available page blocks.

Visibility

With your marketplace category page fully designed and ready to share to your audience, the Visibility tab is where you make the page visible.

Status

Draft: The default status for any newly created page. Pages set to Draft cannot be shared or viewed by your audience.
Live: The status given when a page is published. You can share and have your audience view the page from your website.
Archived: For pages that you want removed from your website. Once Archived, the page will be accessible from your dashboard and can be permanently deleted by navigating to its General tab.

You have the flexibility to change the page status at any time. Additionally, you can schedule when a page goes live or set it to archive automatically at a future date and time.

Schedule a Publish Date: Enter the date and time you wish to have the page become visible to your guests. Then set the status to Live and save.

Automatically Hide: Enter a Hide After date and time and your page will be automatically archived once this date is reached. This makes it inaccessible to guests and ensures the content on your website stays up to date.

Tip: To get a comprehensive understanding of the many settings and options available, consider setting your page status to Live after you’re done with the General tab. This action unlocks the ability to click on the Preview tab just below the Visibility tab. Additionally, an Overview tab will appear which includes a View option. Both of these options will allow you to see your page as it would appear to your website visitors. Continuously reviewing your page from a guest perspective whenever you make a change is the simplest and most effective way to ensure your page looks just right!

Create marketplace categories

General

Configuration

Media

Layout

Visibility

Additional Marketplace Guides

Monitor sales activity

Add products to sell

Create marketplace categories

Set up a marketplace

Create and apply specials

Manage online and manual orders

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