Managing Platform Materials and Types

Overview

Materials and types form the taxonomy backbone of your marketplace. Proper management ensures products are categorized correctly and searchable.

---

Understanding Taxonomy

Hierarchy Structure

Materials (e.g., Gold)
  └── Types (e.g., Necklace)
       └── Products (e.g., 22K Gold Necklace Set)

Why It Matters

---

Managing Materials

Accessing Materials

1. Navigate to Admin > Materials
2. View all materials in list
3. Click to edit or add new

Materials List

Material Properties

Creating a Material

1. Click Add Material
2. Fill in details:
   • Name (required)
   • Slug (auto-generated)
   • Description
   • Icon/Image
3. Save

Add Material

Editing Materials

1. Click on material
2. Update fields
3. Save changes

---

Managing Types

Accessing Types

1. Navigate to Admin > Types
2. View all types with parent materials
3. Filter by material

Type Properties

Creating a Type

1. Click Add Type
2. Fill in details:
   • Name
   • Slug
   • Select materials (multi-select)
   • Description
3. Save

Type-Material Relationships

Types can belong to multiple materials:

---

Bulk Operations

Importing Materials/Types

1. Go to Admin > Taxonomy > Import
2. Download template CSV
3. Fill in your data
4. Upload and preview
5. Confirm import

Export Data

1. Go to Admin > Taxonomy > Export
2. Select materials or types
3. Choose format (CSV, JSON)
4. Download

Bulk Edit

For multiple items:

1. Select items (checkboxes)
2. Click Bulk Actions
3. Options:
   • Update status
   • Change display order
   • Update parent

---

Taxonomy Best Practices

Naming Conventions

Hierarchy Guidelines

Common Material Categories

Common Types

---

Merging Categories

When to Merge

• Duplicate categories exist
• Consolidating similar items
• Cleaning up taxonomy

How to Merge

1. Go to category to remove
2. Click Merge Into
3. Select target category
4. Review products affected
5. Confirm merge

---

Category Pages Integration

Auto-Generated Pages

When you create materials/types:

• SEO pages can be auto-generated
• Includes category + city combinations
• Populates with matching products

Manual Page Creation

1. Create material/type first
2. Go to Category Pages
3. Create page using new category
4. Add custom content

---

Troubleshooting

Products not appearing in category?

• Check product material/type assignment
• Verify category is active
• Clear cache from System settings
• Check product is published

Duplicate categories?

• Use merge function
• Redirect old URLs
• Update affected products

Category page 404?

• Verify slug is correct
• Check category is active
• Clear cache
• Check sitemap

---

Best Practices

Do's ✅

• Use consistent naming
• Keep hierarchy simple
• Add descriptions to all
• Review regularly
• Monitor search terms for gaps

Don'ts ❌

• Don't create too many levels
• Don't use abbreviations
• Don't duplicate categories
• Don't delete without redirect
• Don't change slugs frequently

---

Related Articles

• Category Pages
• Platform Analytics
• Jeweller Management