Reducing categories

[DanGB]

Im creating a site for a customer selling car parts.

 

So we have several car types -  Example:

VW -

Mk1 Golf

Mk2 Golf

Mk3 golf

Etc

 

Audi

A3 Mk1

A3 Mk2

 

SEAT

Leon Mk1

Leon Mk2

 

inside each type  of car you have the type of parts - Example:

Bushes

Exhausts

Air filters

Springs

Styling

Etc

 

Many products work with several types of car, so it seems wrong to have have so many categories

Seat Leon mk1 - Styling is one category (.../80-styling)

Audi A3 Mk1 - Style is another category but they share most of the same products. (.../120-styling)

 

Another site Ive seen (based on Magento) uses a query string to filter the products,

Example:

/car/seat/LeonMk1?subpart=Styling

/car/audi/A3Mk1?subpart=Styling

 

Which seems a better way than adding potentiality hundreds or thousands of categories. 

 

The users access each car model by the top block menu, then the page presenting the type of part for that model

 

Does this make sense or am I thinking along the wrong lines and its not how Prestashop should be used.

 

 

[frank_jarle]

I am thinking about reversing the order you are doing it, how about using your "sub categories" as your main, and your car brand as sub-category for those?

 

Most likely you have all this different accessories, but it does not mean that all can be used for all cars, but for some, yes?

 

Create the following in Catalog->Category (you don't need to delete your old ones, just disable them should do)

Bushes

|-> Audi, A3 Mk1,A3 Mk2,SEAT

 

Exhausts

|-> SEAT, Mk1 Golf

 

Air filters

|->ETC

 

Springs

|->ETC

 

Styling

|-> ETC

 

Think a computer shop like http://www.newegg.com/, they make the main category of what they sell. and then divide it to smaller groups, and the smalles group is most likely brand: http://www.newegg.com/Motherboards/Category/ID-20

 

Here you see they make "Motherboard" the main category, then within this they make the particular brand as a subcategory.

 

Another way, is like this:

Dont overdoing sub-categories, lets say for the group "Exhausts", you dont create a sub category for each Brand->Model, just keep it like this:

 

Exhausts->VW/AUDI/SEAT
 

And within each car group you dump all the products.

Edited September 13, 2014 by frank_jarle (see edit history)