Category and Site Display

[Cooked4U]

My menu is a cooked daily - different items each day that may or may not carry over to another day, depends on sales.

I ended up with sub categories under the master heading of FOOD

but on the site it displays all FOOD items and then again for each item on each day. 

Its redundant and confusing - how can I just show each sub category without deleting all the work it took to create it?

here is the link for you to see https://cooked-for-you.square.site/ 

I am not open yet but just working on my backend, also how do i activate each item for each day 

[Cooked4U]

[ryanwanner]

Hi @Cooked4U ! You ran into the same problem I saw with my sites.

On your second screenshot, it looks like the Tuesday, 1st & 3rd Wednesday, and other categories are subcategories of the Food category, correct? If so, that's where the problem lies. Subcategories inherit the online visibility of the parent category. Since Food is visible online, every subcategory will be visible as well. Conversely, if you make the Food category not visible online, the subcategories won't be visible online. Ironically enough, the items will still be visible, but lumped into a generic "Items" category on the page. It's quite frankly a mess.

I never got subcategories to work the way I wanted it, so I ended up making all the subcategories regular categories, and each item was in the former subcategories (Tuesday, 1st & 3rd Wednesday, etc) and the Food category.  As an example your Chicken Parmesan would be in the Food and Tuesday category with the Food category being the reporting category. The food category was then not visible online. 

For me, I have a Bulk Coffees "master" category then various categories under it. For one of my coffees, I have it linked to both Bulk Coffee and Single Origin Coffee:

 As you can see, the Bulk Coffee handles all the reporting--for you if you set your menu up the same way the Reporting would be Food. The Bulk Coffee category doesn't have online visibility while the Single Origin Coffee does. That way, the item only shows in the Single Origin section on my page.

The good about this setup is that only the categories you want to have visible on that day (I'll get to that next) will show. The bad about this setup is that all reporting will be based off the Food category. You can't deep dive into the non-reporting categories. Yet. In your scenario, though, since you have specific categories on specific days, you'll still be able to see accurate reporting.

Now, for making categories visible on certain days. When you're in the category editor, scroll down to the Availability section. Choose the "Only certain days and times" and choose the right days.

Clear as mud, eh?

[Cooked4U]

i think i figured out some stuff and changed it all - lmk  https://cooked-for-you.square.site/#WQVZOYXFZ4STGI2H5OF7UAJI 

[ryanwanner]

@Cooked4U  I like the way this is headed! My only worry is that customers will still order things that aren't available.

When I had my cafe I had items that were plainly marked weekends only. I always had someone trying to order it on an off day to the point where I just gave up and took it off the online menu completely. (This was before the scheduled categories was reliable)

As much as I'd like to trust people to read, the harsh reality is that there will be people who will just click or tap away and then get mad at you because they didn't read the instructions. I'd encourage you to think about the timed categories on top of where you're at now.

[Cooked4U]

I cant find where to choose Only Certain Days, can you guide me please

[ryanwanner]

@Cooked4U  Yup! Open up one of the categories in your category list on the dashboard. Scroll down to after where you can enter items:

If you choose the certain days selector here you'll get a day and time selector. You'll have to do this to each category you want to mask.

[Cooked4U]

hmm that Availbility isnt an option I gotta contawct my rep about that, I'm using restaurant plus. 

For me we cook and sell Tues but if the item isn't sold out it carries over so they can order it on Wed if still avail - each item has a use by freeze by date

[ryanwanner]

@Cooked4U  Interesting! I'm on RST as well and do have that ability. As long as you're using the Order Online template (which it looks like you are, but you can check it at Dashboard -> Online -> Edit Site, on the pages list on the left it will either say Order Online or Shop All) you should have the ability to set category timing.

Unless... this may not be an option while your site isn't accepting orders. Try accepting orders temporarily and then see if this option is available. Also check that your fulfillment options for pickup and delivery are set correctly. After that, yes, I'd reach out to either your rep or customer support.

[Cooked4U]

that didnt work, was a good idea though, lets see what the rep says