Getting Sub categories to show when parent category is selected.

DepthFinders — Sat, 06 Dec 2025 13:08:29 GMT

Is there a way that when someone clicks for example my "accessories" Category that just the sub categories show up then they can click down from there? To me it seems like that I have to have each item listed on the Parent Category and then the sub category, but just want to create a better filter down effect...

Because right now if someone is shopping on a mobile and they click on accessories it shows either nothing (if I put everything in sub categories) or ALL items (if I put everything in both the parent and sub categories). They have to go back to the menu to select the sub categories.

Re: Getting Sub categories to show when parent category is selected.

tomven — Sat, 06 Dec 2025 22:15:10 GMT

Hi @DepthFinders

As far as I know, Square Online doesn’t currently automatically filter to show only sub‑categories when a parent category is clicked. It will either display all items in that parent category or nothing if items are only assigned to sub‑categories.

Square Online treats categories as independent filters rather than a hierarchy, so clicking a parent category doesn’t dynamically drill down into sub‑categories.

Practical workaround

Here’s a few ways you could try to create a smoother experience:

Create a landing page for the parent category
Instead of linking directly to the parent category, create a page called ‘Accessories’ and add buttons or images that link to each sub‑category (eg ‘Hats’, ‘Belts’, ‘Scarves’).
Online Dashboard > Website > Pages > Add Page > Custom Page
Use navigation menus strategically
In your site navigation, list the sub‑categories under the parent category as nested menu items. This way, shoppers can tap directly into the sub‑category without going back to the main menu.
Online Dashboard > Website > Navigation > Add Sub‑menu Items
Assign items only to sub‑categories
Keep the parent category empty so it acts as a visual grouping only. This avoids showing all items at once.

Official resource

Square has a detailed guide on managing categories and navigation here:
https://squareup.com/help/au/en/article/6868-manage-item-categories-in-square-online

There is a feature request in the Feedback Hub you can vote for that sounds like it's similar to what you're looking for: https://community.squareup.com/t5/Feature-Requests/Nested-Category-Inheritance/idi-p/786342

Hope that helps!

thread Getting Sub categories to show when parent category is selected. in Orders, Menu Items, Catalog & Fulfilment

Getting Sub categories to show when parent category is selected.

Re: Getting Sub categories to show when parent category is selected.

Practical workaround

Official resource