Category Template Overview

Category Template Overview

About Category Template

Category Template is used for mapping your BigCommerce products with the TikTok Shop selling categories, allowing you to organize your product listings on your Shop. The category templates enable you to automatically map products you're selling in BigCommerce to the corresponding TikTok Shop categories without the hassles of manually mapping every new product you add to your store. With this feature, you can automate your product mapping. This means that if, in the future, any new BigCommerce product of the same category or vendor (or following the condition as set by you in the category template) is added, it will automatically get mapped under the respective TikTok Shop selling category. 

You can also modify/edit the mapping of all products under that Category Template in one go. With the help of a Category Template, you can apply a certain set of rules and customization to your products.

Let’s break down the concept with an example. 
Suppose you have a BigCommerce store where you sell various types of clothing. Within BigCommerce, you have different categories for your products, such as "T-shirts", "Pants", and "Dresses". Now, you also want to list these products on TikTok Shop, which has its own categories like "Fashion", "Apparel", and specific categories for each type of clothing item.
Instead of manually mapping each T-shirt, Pant, or Dress to the corresponding category on TikTok Shop every time you add a new product, you can use a Category Template.

Here's How it Works

  1. Setting Up the Category Template: You create a Category Template on the app. In this template, you specify rules or conditions. For example, you might set a rule that any product from the BigCommerce category "T-shirts" should automatically be mapped to the TikTok Shop category "Apparel" and specifically to "T-shirts".
  2. Automation: Once the Category Template is set up, whenever you add a new T-shirt product to your BigCommerce store and assign it the category "T-shirts", the Category Template automatically recognizes this and maps it to the "Apparel" category on TikTok Shop under the "T-shirts" subcategory. This mapping happens without any manual intervention.
  3. Consistency and Efficiency: The Category Template ensures consistency across your product listings. It saves you time and effort by eliminating the need to manually map each product individually. Moreover, if you sell multiple T-shirt designs or brands, as long as they are categorized under "T-shirts" in BigCommerce, they will all automatically map to the appropriate TikTok Shop category according to your template.
  4. Future Updates: If in the future you add new T-shirt designs or even expand into other categories like "Pants" or "Dresses", as long as you maintain your Category Template, any new products added will continue to be automatically mapped based on the rules you've defined.
In essence, the Category Template simplifies and automates the process of syncing your BigCommerce product categories with TikTok Shop categories, ensuring your products are correctly categorized and visible to customers on both channels with minimal manual effort.

How is a Category Template Beneficial 

A category template feature is of immense help to sellers with a large volume of products, a considerably small number of product categories, and sellers who frequently launch new products to enhance their product catalogs. The benefits of Category Templates of the TikTok Shop Connector are as follows:
  1. Automation: One of the primary benefits. It saves time and effort by automatically mapping products from BigCommerce to the corresponding categories on TikTok Shop. This eliminates the need for manual mapping every time a new product is added, ensuring consistency and efficiency in managing product listings.
  2. Consistency: It helps maintain consistency across your product listings on both BigCommerce and TikTok by ensuring products are mapped to the correct categories. It enhances the user experience and makes it easier for customers to find and browse your products.
  3. Scalability: As your product catalog grows, maintaining manual mappings can become cumbersome. The Category Template scales with your business, automatically applying mappings based on predefined rules or conditions as you add new products or expand into different categories.
  4. Ease of Management: Managing product mappings through a Category Template simplifies backend operations. It reduces the likelihood of errors that can occur with manual mapping and streamlines the process for store administrators.
  5. Flexibility: Category Templates typically allow for flexibility in defining mapping rules. You can set conditions based on BigCommerce product attributes such as category, vendor, tags, etc., and map them to corresponding attributes on external platforms. This flexibility ensures that your products are accurately represented across different channels.
  6. Adaptability: As TikTok updates its categories or introduces new features, Category Templates can be adjusted or expanded to accommodate these changes. This adaptability ensures that your product mappings remain up-to-date and aligned with channel requirements.
In short, using a Category Template enhances operational efficiency, improves product management, and ensures consistency in product categorization across platforms, contributing to a smoother and more effective operational experience.

Profile Grid Enhancement: Manual & Automated Templates

The Profile Grid now includes dedicated tabs for Manual Templates and Automated Templates, providing sellers with greater flexibility in managing their product listings on TikTok Shop. This enhancement allows for better categorization and streamlined processing of products.

Manual Templates:  

Manual Templates are created and managed directly within the app and allow sellers to define category-based attributes before listing products on TikTok Shop.
  1. Navigate to App → Category Template section.
  2. Click on Create New Template.
  3. Add a name for the template and assign products to the template
  4. Assign the relevant TikTok Shop category.
  5. Define product attributes as required.
  6. Save and apply the template to selected products.

Automated Templates: 


Automated Templates are automatically generated during product processing, making it easier for sellers to manage grouped products efficiently.
  1. Navigate to App → Manage Listings --> Products.
  2. Select individual, multiple, or filtered products.
  3. Upload the selected products to TikTok Shop.
  4. The app automatically creates and assigns an Automated Template based on the selected category.
  5. These templates can be reused when updating the grouped products.

Benefits of the Profile Grid Enhancement

  1. Improved Flexibility: Sellers can choose between manually setting up templates or relying on automated generation.
  2. Time Efficiency: Automated templates reduce the need for repeated configurations, saving time and effort.
  3. Consistent Product Listings: Ensures that products are categorized correctly and maintain uniform attributes across listings.
  4. Easier Management: Dedicated tabs for Manual and Automated templates improve visibility and accessibility.

Best Practices  

  1. Use Manual Templates for products that require detailed attribute customization before listing.
  2. Leverage Automated Templates for bulk product uploads to streamline processing.
  3. Regularly review and update templates to ensure compliance with TikTok Shop's latest category requirements.

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