URL Structure for eCommerce Stores

Online stores generate a lot of URLs: categories, subcategories, products, variants and filters. A clear structure helps shoppers navigate and helps search engines crawl efficiently.

Category URLs

Keep categories short and descriptive:

• /womens-shoes/
• /womens-shoes/running/

Avoid deep nesting beyond two or three levels where possible.

Product URLs

There are two common approaches:

1. Product under category: /womens-shoes/running/trail-runner-x2
2. Flat product URLs: /products/trail-runner-x2

Flat URLs are often more practical, because a product can belong to several categories without creating duplicate URLs. Many popular eCommerce platforms use this pattern by default.

Product slug tips

• Include the product name and key attribute: /trail-runner-x2-waterproof.
• Avoid internal SKUs unless customers search for them.
• Do not include prices, stock status or seasonal words that will change.
• Use the slug generator in bulk mode to create slugs for a whole catalog at once, one product name per line.

Filters and sorting

Filter and sort options often create URLs with parameters, such as ?color=red&size=6&sort=price. Thousands of combinations can waste search engines' crawling time. Common solutions include:

• Canonical tags pointing filtered pages to the main category.
• Keeping valuable filtered pages, such as "red running shoes", as dedicated, indexable landing pages with clean URLs.
• Blocking low-value parameter combinations from crawling where appropriate.

Out-of-stock and discontinued products

Keep temporarily unavailable products live with alternatives suggested. For permanently discontinued products, redirect to the closest replacement or category rather than leaving a dead page.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best product URL structure?

A common product URL structure is /products/product-name. A good slug for product page URLs includes the product name and key attribute. On Shopify, the slug is called the URL handle; edit the Shopify URL handle in the product's search engine listing section.

What is a good category URL structure?

A good category URL structure is short and nested no more than two or three levels: /womens-shoes/running/. A shallow URL depth and a flat URL structure are easier to manage, while a clear folder structure supports good site architecture.

What is faceted navigation and how does it affect SEO?

Faceted navigation lets shoppers filter by size, color or price, which creates many parameter URLs. For filter URLs and SEO, use canonical tags, keep valuable filters as clean landing pages and avoid wasting crawl budget on endless combinations of ecommerce URLs.

Do breadcrumbs help SEO?

Yes. Breadcrumbs and breadcrumb navigation show the page's place in the site, add internal linking and can appear in search results.