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CopyCat Category Duplicator allows you to duplicate or copy a category in your BigCommerce store, 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.
Article Contents
This support article contains several sections which can be accessed quickly by clicking the appropriate link below:
- Duplicate or Copy a Category
- Edit Copied Duplicated Categories
- Set a Sync Time
- Available Support Videos
Duplicate or Copy a Category
Select the category you want to duplicate or copy from the Select Category dropdown. This dropdown will show both parent and child categories as well as ones that are visible or marked as hidden.
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.
- Select, No, just copy the category to make a copy of the original that will never synch with the original. This means each time you add, remove, or rearrange products on the original, you will need to do the same on the CopyCat version.
- Choose a Parent for this CopyCat Category – Choose a category from the drop-down menu to specify where this duplicate will reside. If you do not select a Parent, the new CopyCat Category will reside in the root category structure.
- 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.
If you selected, No, just copy the category additional fields will be displayed on the screen:
- Meta Title
- Meta Keywords
- Meta Description
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 set to synch automatically have a canonical link tag placed in the Meta Keywords field which is viewable under SEO settings. CopyCat-created category pages that do not sync, will not have canonicals added. It is highly recommended that this is NOT REMOVED. Also please see, how to edit your theme to get Canonicals to show.
How to Edit Copied or Duplicated Categories
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.
- BC Category ID – the BigCommerce category ID of the CopyCat category.
- Type – Sync indicates the CopyCat category page is set to sync with the original it was copied from. Copy” 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.
Using the hamburger menu in the right corner, additional options include:
- 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.
- History – view the last 7 days of processing history for the selected category.
- Delete – this will delete the CopyCat page not only from CopyCat but also from your BigCommerce store.
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.
Important Note: If you are changing your CopyCat category from “sync” to “copy,” you will need to remove the canonical link in the Meta Keywords field in your BigCommerce Store as this is not done automatically.
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.
It’s important to note that category synching is done via the CopyCat app. If your free trial has expired and you did not purchase CopyCat, or you have canceled your CopyCat subscription, any categories set to sync will no longer sync with the original.
To edit your daily time, 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.
Available Support Videos
Did you find an error or need additional support? Contact us at support@yourstorewizards.com to let us know!