TotalApp Docs

Tags for Navigation

Navigation-Driven Tagging

Tags for Navigation controls how your product taxonomy surfaces in menus, sidebars, breadcrumbs, and collection pages — both inside TotalApp and in your customer-facing storefront. Instead of hard-coding menu items, every navigation node is backed by a tag, so it updates automatically as products are tagged or untagged.

Tag-Backed Menus Stay Fresh

When you add a new product and tag it "Sneakers", it immediately appears under the "Footwear → Sneakers" navigation node in your storefront — no menu editing required. Remove the tag and it disappears just as automatically.

Setting Up Navigation Tags

  1. Select a tag — Choose any existing tag from the global tag library or create a new one specifically for navigation use.
  2. Set display name and icon — The navigation label can differ from the internal tag name (e.g. tag mens-footwear-2024 displays as "Men's Shoes").
  3. Define hierarchy position — Drag the tag node into its position in the navigation tree. Unlimited nesting depth is supported.
  4. Control visibility — Toggle whether a navigation node appears in the storefront, internal admin views, or both.
  5. Set sort order — Choose alphabetical, by product count, manual drag order, or newest-first for products within each navigation node.

Navigation Modes

ModeBehaviorBest For
Storefront MenuTags appear as top-level or nested menu items in your ecommerce storeCustomer-facing product browsing
Sidebar FilterTags appear as checkboxes in the product list sidebar for faceted filteringCollection pages, search results
Breadcrumb TrailTag hierarchy is reflected in the page breadcrumb as the user drills downSEO, deep category pages
Internal Admin NavTags appear as quick filters in Warehouse, Purchase, and CRM product viewsInternal team efficiency

Tips

Keep top-level navigation tags to 7 or fewer

Research consistently shows that navigation menus with more than 7 top-level items reduce click-through. Use broad parent tags at the top level and push specificity into nested children.

Alias tags for SEO

The display name of a navigation tag is used as the URL slug for that collection page. Choose display names that match how customers search (e.g. "Running Shoes" not "Running Footwear 2024").

FAQ

Can a tag appear in multiple navigation positions?
Yes. A single tag can be placed in multiple positions in the navigation tree. For example, a "Sale" tag could appear under every top-level category simultaneously.
What happens to navigation when I delete a tag?
The navigation node is automatically removed and any products that had that tag lose it. TotalApp warns you with a count of affected products and navigation nodes before you confirm deletion.