Collections & navigation that sell
Shoppers who can't find a product in a few clicks leave silently. Organize collections the way buyers think, keep the menu shallow, and let search and filters shortcut the path to buy.
AI can restructure your navigation from your catalog and buyer intents. You confirm the mental model, because you know how your customers actually shop.
Fastest path: one prompt, end to end
🤖 AI prompt — paste into ChatGPT / Claude
You are an ecommerce IA (information architecture) specialist.
My products / categories: [list or paste catalog]
How buyers describe what they want: [e.g. by use-case, by type, by price, by recipient]
Do this:
1. Propose a collection structure organized by how buyers SHOP (use-case, occasion, type, price, best-sellers), not just internal categories. Keep the top nav to ~5-7 items max.
2. Map each product/category into collections (a product can live in several).
3. Recommend the filters and a search setup that shortcut discovery for my catalog.
4. Flag anything that would make the menu too deep or confusing.
Output: nav structure (top level + sub) + collection-to-product map + filters.
Or do it in 4 steps
- Organize by how buyers shop, not your org chart. Buyers think "gifts under $50", "for sensitive skin", "best sellers", not your internal SKUs. Create collections that match those mental models, and put a product in every collection it fits.
- Keep the top menu shallow. ~5-7 top items, one or two levels deep. Every extra level loses people. If the menu needs a map, it's too complex.
- Make key collections prominent: best-sellers, new arrivals, and a clear category path from the home page. Most buyers want a curated shortcut, not the full catalog.
- Let search and filters carry big catalogs. Enable search (with synonyms) and filters (price, type, size, use) so a shopper can narrow fast. For small catalogs, good collections may be enough; for large ones, filters are essential.
Worked example (labeled): a skincare store restructures from internal categories ("Serums", "Creams") to how buyers shop: "By skin concern" (acne, dryness, aging), "Best sellers", "Under $30", "Bundles".
Same products, but a buyer with dry skin lands on the right shelf in one click instead of scanning everything.
Review navigation against real search queries and exit pages; reorganize where buyers get stuck.