CopyCat Category Duplicator - Multi-Storefront

This documentation is for BigCommerce stores that have Multi-Storefront enabled.  If you do not have Multi-Storefront, please click here for the documentation for non-Multi-Storefront stores. 

CopyCat Category Duplicator allows you to duplicate or copy a category in your BigCommerce store, or in the case of Multi-Storefront, you can duplicate or copy categories from one storefront to another.  CopyCat Category Duplicator also sets up canonical tags, to help with duplicate content, you will need to reference the article how to edit your theme to get Canonicals to show.  

To duplicate a category in your BigCommerce store, log into your Your Store Tools account and choose CopyCat Category Duplicator.

Step 1:
Click on Launch CopyCat.

Step 2:
Select the storefront from the drop-down.

Step 3:
Select the category you want to duplicate or copy from the Select Category dropdown.  This dropdown will show both parent and child categories and ones that are visible or marked as hidden from all storefronts.  The categories will have the category tree and category name, so you can differentiate between the storefronts.

Once you select the category you want to duplicate or copy, additional options will appear:

  • Select Category to be copied and or duplicated?
    • Select Yes, sync with original to always update the new CopyCat category each time the original category is updated.  This means, when products are added, removed, or rearranged on the original category page, they will automatically be updated in the same manner on the CopyCat category page.  Please note: synching only impacts products, the Description remains unique for the original and CopyCat for SEO purposes.
      • Under CopyCat Category Settings:
        • Choose a Parent for this CopyCat Category - Choose a category from the drop-down menu to specify where this duplicate will reside.
        • Name - By default, CopyCat fills in the name field with the original category name followed by a numeral.  You can enter your own unique name for this category in this field.
        • URL - By default, CopyCat creates a URL based on the original category name, followed by a numeral.  We recommend changing the URL to something more unique and SEO-friendly.  The URL path should be relative, not the full URL, but please make sure it begins with a “/”
        • Description - We recommend a unique, well-written description of what your shoppers can find on this category page.  Use the WYSIWYG editor to format text.  Please note: even though you have this page set to sync with the original, the description is always unique for CopyCat categories.

        • Click Submit
        • You can then find the CopyCat category in the new parent by logging into your BigCommerce Store and viewing Products > Categories.

        • To avoid duplicate content penalties, CopyCat-created category pages automatically have a canonical link tag placed in the Meta Description field which is viewable under SEO settings.  It is highly recommended that this is NOT REMOVED.   Also please see, how to edit your theme to get Canonicals to show.  

    • Select No, just copy to create a CopyCat category page that will never sync with the original.  This means that when products are added, removed, or rearranged on the original category page, they will not be updated similarly on the CopyCat category page.
      • Under CopyCat Category Settings:
        • Choose a Parent for this CopyCat Category - Choose a category from the drop-down menu to specify where this duplicate will reside.
        • Name - By default, CopyCat fills in the name field with the original category name followed by a numeral.  You can enter your own unique name for this category in this field.
        • URL - By default, CopyCat creates a URL based on the original category name, followed by a numeral.  We recommend changing the URL to something more unique and SEO-friendly.  The URL path should be relative, not the full URL, but please make sure it begins with a “/”
        • Description - We recommend a unique, well-written description of what your shoppers can find on this category page.  Use the WYSIWYG editor to format text.  Please note, even though you have this page set to sync with the original, the description is always unique for CopyCat categories.
        • Additional settings for this CopyCat Category - You can enter SEO information including Meta Title, Meta Keywords, and Meta Description for this new CopyCat category here.
        • Click Submit
        • You can then find the CopyCat category in the new parent by logging into your BigCommerce Store and viewing Products > Categories.

How to Edit Copied or Duplicate Categories

To edit existing categories, click the hamburger menu in the upper right corner of the tool’s tile:

Step 1:
Click View Categories to bring up a window that will display a listing of all your CopyCat categories.

The columns displayed on the screen are:

  • Name - the name of the CopyCat category, not the original it was created from.
  • Original ID - the BigCommerce category ID of the original category the CopyCat category was created from.
  • CopyCat ID - the BigCommerce category ID of the CopyCat category.
  • Auto Sync Enabled - a green checkmark indicates the CopyCat category page is set to sync with the original it was copied from.  A red “X” indicates the CopyCat category page is just a copy and will never sync with the original it was copied from.
  • Last Synced At - the last time the CopyCat category was synced with the original it was copied from.  You can set the time that Copy Cat will automatically perform a daily sync in Sync Settings located under the hamburger menu in the upper right corner of the tool’s tile.
  • Edit - if you wish to make changes to the CopyCat settings, such as changing the auto sync status, CopyCat category parent, category description, etc, you can change them here.
  • Delete - this will delete the CopyCat page not only from CopyCat but also from your BigCommerce store.  

Step 2:
Click Edit within the table, this will open a window where you can edit your CopyCat category just as you did when you originally set up the CopyCat in Step 3 above.

How to Set a Sync Time

CopyCat will automatically run and sync any changes to your categories at a set time each day. You are able to set the time of day you want your sync to run.  The time is associated with your time zone.   

To edit your daily time, You'll click on the hamburger menu in the upper right corner of the tool’s tile and select Sync Settings:

Once you click on the Sync Settings, you'll see the following, where you can set your daily sync time.

Choose a time and click Submit.

Using CopyCat Category Duplicator Video: