# Organize with categories, brands and variations

> Structure that makes your catalog easy to browse, filter and manage.

Source: https://docs.dashfordevs.com/v1/products/organize-your-catalog · Topic: Products and stock · Updated: 2026-11-07

All three live under **Commerce → Inventory** in the dashboard sidebar.

## Categories

Categories group products the way customers shop: "Breads", "Cakes", "Gift boxes". They can be nested ("Cakes → Birthday"). Your site can show a page per category and a menu built from them.

1.  Open **Inventory → Categories** and click **New category**.
    
2.  Give it a name, an optional parent, an image and a short description.
    
3.  On any product's **Information** tab, pick the category.
    

## Brands

If you sell more than one brand, create them under **Inventory → Brands** and set each product's brand. Customers can filter by brand, and reports can split sales by it.

## Variations

Variations are reusable kinds of size or option, such as "Weight" with values 100 g, 250 g and 500 g. Define them once under **Inventory → Variations** and use them on many products, so every product uses the same names and your site can filter consistently.

## Tips

-   Keep category names short and plain. They become menu labels and page titles.
-   Avoid creating near-duplicates ("Cake" and "Cakes"). Rename instead: links keep working, because old addresses redirect.
-   Inactive products keep their category, so reactivating one puts it right back.