Add category to SEF URL

Hello there,

A couple of questions. I could not find the answer in the forum.

1 - For product listings I would like to have the specific product category in the SEF URL.
At the moment my URLs are like the following:

/online-shop/product_name/category_pathway-12

For SEO purposes, it would be better having:

/online-shop/category_name/product_name/category_pathway-12


2 - Is it also possible to remove the 'category_pathway-12' from the end of the URL?

Kind regards

Hi,

Please try to toggle the "simplified breadcrumb" option of the configuration. That might solve both questions at once.

Hi Nicolas,

Thanks for your speedy reply. Yes having the 'simplified breadcrumbs' selected does resolve both those issues. However the disadvantage is that you cannot get users back to the the previous category page via the breadcrumbs (it takes them back to the main shop where they once again have to drill down to select their category).

Home > ONLINE-SHOP > My_Product (simplified breadcrumbs)
Home > ONLINE-SHOP > My_Category > My_product (normal breadcrumbs)


Anyway you can have the best of both worlds? The 'category' in the breadcrumbs but still the nice URL?

Hi Nicolas,

Sorry I did not check that properly. In fact your solution does not work (switching breadcrumbs). Ideally I would like the category type to be in the URL for SEO purposes. So, if my categories are 'windows', 'doors' and 'fireplaces' these categories appear in the URL for the product page. That is not the case, no matter which breadcrumb option you choose. Please see below:

(simplified breadcrumbs) Home > ONLINE-SHOP > My_Product
(URL) /online-shop/My_Product

(normal breadcrumbs) Home > ONLINE-SHOP > My_Category > My_product
(URL) /online-shop/My_Product/category_pathway-12


Is there any way to remove 'category_pathway-12' from the URL on normal breadcrumbs, but have the specific category (e.g. 'windows') in the URL for the product page?

Hi Nicolas,

No stress on this. You guys must be very busy. I will just use the shortened URL and shortened breadcrumbs (and add the category name to my product name so it shows in the URL).

Cheers

Hi,

It's not possible to have both at the same time.
The category_pathway parameter of the URL is there exactly for the purpose of have the category in the breadcrumb. Without it, the system doesn't know where the user is coming from.
The simplified breadcrumb option just removes/adds that parameter of the URL and because of that, the system is not able anymore to display the breadcrumb the same way.

I don't have a magic solution on that one. It would require to have a SEF alias system installed and configured on your website and use the "normal breadcrumbs" mode.

Hi Nicolas,

Many thanks for your thorough reply. That's understood.

Kind regards