Every category page address starts with /category/ and then names the levels from the top: /category/panjabi for a main category, /category/panjabi/cotton-panjabi for a sub-category and /category/panjabi/cotton-panjabi/eid-cotton-panjabi for a child. Each category has one address.
Where to find it
Each part is the category's slug. You see it in the Slug column of Admin › Online store › Products › Categories, and you can change it in the category's SEO (Google) section, box Page address (slug).
You need the Products & stock feature to change it.
How it works
| Category | Its address |
|---|---|
| Main category "Panjabi" | yourshop.com/category/panjabi |
| Sub-category "Cotton Panjabi" | yourshop.com/category/panjabi/cotton-panjabi |
| Child "Eid Cotton Panjabi" | yourshop.com/category/panjabi/cotton-panjabi/eid-cotton-panjabi |
| All categories | yourshop.com/category |
The slug is made from the name when you save a new category. If the same slug is already used in your store, a number is added (for example "panjabi-1"). Each slug is unique in your store, so the last part of the address is enough to find the category.
Old and wrong addresses move to the right one (301):
- /category/cotton-panjabi (a sub-category without its parent) opens /category/panjabi/cotton-panjabi.
- A wrong parent in the address, for example /category/saree/cotton-panjabi, moves to the right one too.
- Old links such as /products-list?category_id=…&sub_category_id=… move to the category's address.
- A slug you changed keeps its old address working.
- If you move a category under another parent, its old address moves to the new one.
Other parts of the address, such as filters or a page number, are kept when it moves. All of this stays inside your own store.
Example: Rangdhanu Fashion shared /category/cotton-panjabi on Facebook last month. After making Cotton Panjabi a sub-category of Panjabi, the old link still works and lands on /category/panjabi/cotton-panjabi.
Good to know
- Menus and links in your shop already use the full address.
- Your sitemap lists categories with their full address.
- Google follows a 301 and learns the new address by itself.
Common problems
- A link opens the full product list instead of the category. Its slug does not exist in your store (check the Slug column). That page is kept out of Google. To send the old link somewhere, add it in Admin › Online store › Auto SEO with AI › Redirects.
- "Use small English letters, numbers and dashes only" appears when you type a slug. Write it like "cotton-panjabi".