To add categories and collections to your Shopify website and make them accessible from your menu, follow these steps:
1. Create Collections
Collections in Shopify act as categories. You can manually add products or set up automated collections based on product conditions.
Go to: Shopify Admin > Products > Collections.
Click: Create collection.
Name the Collection: Enter a descriptive name, like "New Arrivals" or "Summer Collection."
Set Conditions:
Manual Collection: Add products individually.
Smart Collection: Set rules based on product attributes, like tags, prices, or vendors, so products are added automatically.
Save: Once done, click Save to create the collection.
2. Add Collections to Your Menu
To make collections easy to find, add them to your store’s navigation menu.
Go to: Shopify Admin > Online Store > Navigation.
Choose Menu: Select the menu you want to edit (usually Main menu).
Add Menu Item: Click Add menu item.
Name the Item: Give it a name (like "Shop" or the collection’s name).
Link to Collection: Under Link, select Collections and choose the collection.
Save: Click Save menu when finished.
Click Create Collection > Name your Collection after what you're trying to create > add ONE tag to that collection
Go to your product that you want to add to that collection > tag it as the tag you added to your collection ^ (mine is pawcleaner) on the bottom right corner.
*in order to add a tag you have to type it in the tags box, click enter, then make sure you save it*
*TIP: MAKE SURE YOUR COLLECTION AND PRODUCT IS SET TO ACTIVE, AND ONLINE STORE*
Once you do that, it's there!
Then click online store > navigation > add your collection to the main menu.
Video of me further explaining this:
How to make a drop down menu with your collections: