[HELP] How do you create a "Shop by Brand" on the top horizontal menu?

[byoung85]

Hi all,

 

 

While configuring my shop after installing a custom template, I ran into a navigation issue. Here's the deal...

 

I'd like for my site to have a drop-down menu called "Shop by Brand", "Shop by Goal", or "Shop by [variable]" option on the top horizontal navigation menu like my competitors below:

• www.vitaminshoppe.com (shop by brand, shop by health concern)
  
• www.gnc.com (shop by condition/goal, shop by brand, etc.)
  

Is something like this even possible in Prestashop? If so, how would I create the brand, goal, condition variables?

 

Would I have to create a separate category per variable like I've done below?

• Parent Category: Shop by Goal
  
  • Sub Cat #1: Loose Weight
    
  • Sub Cat #2: Build Muscle
    

I have more than 2,000 products, so it doesn't seem logical creating so many categories then associating each product in several categories.

 

Shop by Brand, which is a mandatory feature for a shop like mine (that carries close to 500 brands), is also an issue. Is there any way of setting the "manufacturer" as a filter of some sort? Otherwise, I'll be stuck with creating a category per (each) brand, which would result in roughly 500 categories just for the brand alone.

 

I've found a few modules that allows multi-layered navigation, but this is not a robust solution for my shop.

 

 

Any advice or insight would be greatly appreciated.

 

Thanks.

Edited June 5, 2013 by byoung85 (see edit history)