The quick answer
Go to Commerce > Content Management > Commerce Categories and open (or create) the category. Add its subcategories on the Subcategories subtab and its products on the Items subtab, fill in Heading and Description for the category page, and use Sequence Number to order it among its siblings. Set Display in Website to Yes and save. If the site's navigation configuration has a Categories placeholder, the category shows up in the header menu with its subcategories in the dropdown.
The screenshots show sample data. Person and company names are fictional, and the storefront screens are a rebuilt example SuiteCommerce site. Use your own categories, items, and site when following the steps.
Before you start
This example launches a Lighting department on Larkspur Industrial Supply's SuiteCommerce site, Larkspur Supply. The merchandiser already built the category with two subcategories and three items but kept it hidden. To start from scratch instead, click New on the Commerce Categories list and fill in the same fields.
You need the Commerce Categories feature and a role that can edit commerce categories. Each category belongs to a commerce catalog, and the website shows the categories in its own catalog; here that's Larkspur Supply Catalog.
The header menu is built from categories only because the website's SuiteCommerce Configuration (Layout > Navigation) has a Categories placeholder row. Rows before and after it, like Home and Shop, are fixed links. Without the placeholder, categories don't appear in the header at all.
Changes aren't instant. Allow a few minutes for category indexing, and invalidate the CDN cache if your site uses one, before you check the storefront.
01. Check the storefront navigation
Open the web store. The header lists Home, Shop, Hand Tools, and Safety. There's no Lighting.
Point at Hand Tools. The dropdown shows its subcategories, Measuring and Storage, as column headings. Every displayed category brings its subcategories into the header this way.
02. Find the prepared category
In NetSuite, go to Commerce > Content Management > Commerce Categories. The list indents children under their parents: Measuring and Storage under Hand Tools, Work Lights and Headlamps under Lighting, and the protection subcategories under Safety. Lighting shows Display in Website No. Its subcategories show Primary Parent Lighting and Display in Website Yes, so they'll appear as soon as their parent does.
03. Review the category record
Click View on the Lighting row. Sequence Number is 20, which puts it between Hand Tools and Safety, and URL Fragment is lighting, the category's address. Heading and Description are empty. The Subcategories subtab lists Work Lights and Headlamps.
Open the Items subtab. It lists three items: HL-3 Rechargeable Headlamp, SL-40 LED String Light, and WL-520 Magnetic LED Work Light. Items are assigned here, on the category, not on the item record.
04. Complete and publish it
Click Edit. In Heading, enter Jobsite Lighting. In Description, enter Work lights, headlamps and lanterns for the shop floor and the job site. Heading becomes the category page's heading; Name, still Lighting, is normally the label in the menu and the breadcrumb. On the base theme the description shows near the heading; its exact placement depends on your theme.
On the Items subtab, open the new line's dropdown and select LN-8 LED Area Lantern.
Click Add. The subtab now lists four items.
In Display in Website, select Yes.
Click Save. The record shows Display in Website Yes with the heading and description.
05. Check the storefront after launch
Go back to the web store. After indexing, the header reads Home, Shop, Hand Tools, Lighting, Safety. Generated navigation normally follows Sequence Number, so Lighting lands between Hand Tools and Safety.
Point at Lighting. The dropdown shows Work Lights and Headlamps.
Click Lighting to open the category page.
Check the result
- The breadcrumb reads Home › Lighting, using the category's Name.
- The page heading is Jobsite Lighting with the description under it.
- Work Lights and Headlamps appear as subcategory links.
- The listing shows 4 Products, including LN-8 LED Area Lantern.
The category page lists items assigned directly to Lighting. Items assigned only to Work Lights or Headlamps don't roll up into it. An assigned item still has to be eligible for the web store on its own: active, Display in Web Store checked, priced for the site's price level, and not excluded by catalog or customer segment rules.
Common questions
Why doesn't my new commerce category show in the menu?
Check Display in Website first; with No, the category stays out of the navigation. Then make sure the website's SuiteCommerce Configuration has a Categories placeholder under Layout > Navigation, since without it no categories reach the header. If both are right, give indexing and the CDN cache a few minutes.
Why does my category page say Page not found?
The category isn't published. With Display in Website set to No, its page isn't available and shoppers get Page not found. The record, its subcategories, and its items stay intact, so switching it to Yes brings the page back. A Start Date or End Date that puts today outside its window hides it too.
Can I assign an item to a commerce category from the item record?
No. Assignments live on the category's Items subtab. For a lot of items, use a Commerce Category CSV import or Site Management Tools instead of adding lines by hand.
Why isn't my item in the position I set on the Items subtab?
The row order on the Items subtab is the default merchandising order, but the shopper's sort choice, like Relevance or price, can override it. Moving a row to the top doesn't guarantee first place on the page.
What's the difference between Heading, Name, and Page Title?
Name is the category label in the menu and the breadcrumb. Heading is the big title on the category page, so Lighting can show as Jobsite Lighting. Page Title only sets the browser tab title.
How do I change the order of categories in the navigation?
Change Sequence Number on the categories. Siblings are ordered by it, and generated navigation normally follows that order, which is why Lighting at 20 landed between Hand Tools and Safety.