Shopify doesn't have "categories" — it has collections
If you're moving from WooCommerce, Etsy, Amazon, or almost any other platform, you're used to organizing products into categories. Shopify uses a different word for the same concept. Here's what that actually means for your store — and how to get your categories into Shopify in bulk without clicking through every one.
Getting your categories into Shopify in bulk
What you call a "category" is a collection in Shopify — same concept, different word. Unlike products, Shopify has no native collections CSV (comma-separated values) import. You cannot export your categories to a spreadsheet and upload them directly. The path is: create the collections, then assign products to them.
If you have a spreadsheet listing your category names and the products that belong in each, the free tool below converts it to the format Shopify accepts — one collection per row with the right handle and title, plus a plain-language summary of what it will create. You download the ready-to-import file and upload it yourself. Nothing reaches your store directly.
Why the word matters
When you search for "how to add categories in Shopify" or "Shopify category import," you often get results that don't quite match what you see in your admin. That's because Shopify's admin, help docs, and CSV headers all use the word collection where every other major platform uses category. The underlying idea is identical — a named group of products that customers can browse — but the terminology mismatch causes real confusion when you're trying to follow a tutorial or fill out a spreadsheet.
Quick translation table:
| Your old platform | Their word | Shopify word |
|---|---|---|
| WooCommerce | Product category | Collection |
| Etsy | Section | Collection |
| Amazon Seller Central | Browse node / Category | Collection |
| BigCommerce | Category | Collection |
| Squarespace | Category / Tag | Collection |
What's different, not just the name
Beyond terminology, Shopify collections work slightly differently from most category systems. The two most important differences for someone migrating from another platform:
No nesting. WooCommerce lets you create parent and child categories — "Clothing > Women's > Dresses." Shopify does not support nested collections. Instead, you create multiple overlapping collections (a dress appears in "Women's" and in "Dresses") and organize them visually in your navigation menu. Your category hierarchy becomes a menu structure, not a collection structure.
Two collection types. Every Shopify collection is either manual (you hand-pick which products belong) or automated (Shopify adds products automatically when they match a rule you set, like a specific tag). Most other platforms have only the manual equivalent. Automated collections are Shopify's way of doing what you might have done with category assignment rules in another tool.