Organizing products correctly is critical for a scalable marketplace. In Shipturtle, product organization happens at three levels:
- Categories – logical grouping of products (used for structure & commissions)
- Collections – storefront presentation & browsing experience
- Product Templates – standardization of product data from vendors
Each layer plays a different role but works together.
1. Category Management (Product Structure & Commissions)
Categories help define what type of product it is and ensure consistency across your marketplace.
What are Categories?
- Categories are used to classify products (e.g. Electronics, Furniture, Apparel).
- Both merchants and vendors can assign products to categories while adding or editing products.
- Categories are synced with Shopify Product Types, ensuring seamless data flow.
How to Create & Manage Categories
- Go to Products → Manage Categories
- Click Create New Category
- Save the category – it will sync automatically with Shopify Product Types
Category-Based Commissions
You can set different commission rates for different product categories.
Steps:
- Go to Settings → Product Categories
- Select a category
- Define the commission structure for that category
Note: Category-level commission overrides global and vendor-level commissions, while product-level commission overrides category, vendor, and global commissions.
Best Practice:
Use categories for business logic (commissions, reporting, product classification), not just storefront display.
2. Collection Management (Storefront Display & Discovery)
Collections control how products appear on your website and how customers browse them.
What are Collections?
- Collections group products visually on your storefront
- Managed directly in Shopify
- Recommended to use Automatic (Smart) Collections for scalability
Recommended Automatic Collection Rules
1. Collection by Vendor Name
Automatically groups products from a specific vendor.
Use case:
Vendor-specific storefront pages
Example: “Products by Vendor A”
Rule:
Condition → Vendor Name = Vendor A
2. Collection by Product Tags
Add tags to products which determine collection placement.
Use case:
Seasonal, promotional, or feature-based collections
Example: “New Arrivals”, “Eco-Friendly Products”
Rule:
Condition → Product Tag contains “eco”
3. Collection by Category (Product Type)
Automatically groups products under a category.
Use case:
Category-based navigation
Example: “All Electronics”
Rule:
Condition → Product Type = Electronics
Helpful Shopify Resources
- Shopify Collections Guide
https://help.shopify.com/en/manual/products/collections - Smart (Automatic) Collections
https://help.shopify.com/en/manual/products/collections/smart-collections
Best Practice:
Use categories for backend logic, and collections for frontend browsing.
3. Product Template Management (Standardization for Vendors)
Product templates help ensure vendors submit product data in a consistent, structured format.
What are Product Templates?
- Pre-defined product forms created by merchants
- Vendors fill product details based on the template
- Reduces errors and improves product quality
How to Create & Manage Product Templates
- Go to Manage Products
- Click the Hamburger Menu (☰)
- Select Manage Product Templates
- Choose to:
- Create a new template
- Edit an existing template
- Delete unused templates
Once created, templates automatically appear on the Add/Edit Product page for vendors.
Best Practice:
Create different templates for different product types (e.g. Digital Products, Physical Goods, Services).
If you’re stuck, reach us at team@shipturtle.com or open a ticket on the support page.