PrestaShop product order in a category without dragging all night
You set the product order in a PrestaShop category with positions, separately for each category, in Catalog > Products after narrowing the list to one category. The customer only sees this order when the store's default sorting is by position and neither the filter module nor the theme changes it. The most common mistake is a different default sorting in Shop Parameters > Product Settings.
Author: The TellMyShop team. A guide for PrestaShop store owners: the cause, the manual fix and the same work in a chat conversation.
Last updated: · 5 min read
Why won't the product order save, or why does the customer see a different one?
Because three places decide the order of the list, and the positions in the admin are only one of them. The others are the store's default sorting and the filter module. Add the cache on top.
| What you see | Cause | Where to fix it |
|---|---|---|
| You drag products, but the store shows them by price | default sorting other than position | Shop Parameters > Product Settings |
| The order is right without filters, different once a filter is ticked | sorting in the faceted search module | filter module configuration |
| Dragging doesn't work or goes back to the old layout | a long list over many pages, an admin bug | change positions in smaller steps |
| The admin shows the new order, the store the old one | the cache | Advanced Parameters > Performance |
| A product is first in one category and last in another | position stored separately for each category | set it in each category |
Problems with dragging in the admin have dragged on for years. A PrestaShop GitHub issue with many comments shows it. On the Polish forum the topic of category order with faceted search keeps coming back (in Polish).
How to set the product order in the admin step by step
First set the store's sorting, then the positions in a specific category.
- Open Shop Parameters > Product Settings. In the pagination settings, set the default order to position inside category, ascending. The fields are described in the product settings documentation.
- Go to Catalog > Products and narrow the list to one category.
- Sort the list by position. Only then does the admin let you drag rows.
- Set the number of rows per page so the whole category fits on one page. Dragging between pages of the list is a source of errors.
- Drag the products and save.
- Check the category in a private browser window, without filters and with one filter.
If the store still shows the old layout, clear the cache. We describe this in the piece on PrestaShop changes not visible.
How long does setting the order take in a large category?
A long time, because each category is a separate list to drag. Tuesday, 21:20. The Garden lighting category has 180 products over four pages of the list. You want the ten bestsellers from the last quarter at the top. First you find them in the sales report, then you drag them one by one from the third page to the first. The admin reloads the list, and one product lands two places too low.
With several categories and a seasonal change of layout, that is a lot of work. Many stores give up and leave the order from the import, which is random.
How to put bestsellers at the top of a category with the chat
You ask for an order and give the rule, and your chat (Claude or ChatGPT) prepares a preview. It can pick the bestsellers from the sales report itself, without customer data. The chosen products go to the top in the order given, and the rest keep their current layout behind them. One request covers up to 200 products in one category.
You: In Garden lighting, put the 10 products that sold best in the last 90 days at the top. Leave the rest as they are.
Your chat: The best-selling products in this category in the last 90 days include LED string lights 10 m, Kula solar lamp 20 cm and Stal wall light. Preview of the order:
The other 170 products stay in their current order behind the top ten.
You: Approved.
Your chat: Saved. Customers will see the new layout if the store sorts by position. You can undo the change from the change history.
Card status: waiting for your “yes”old version: 1. Fala floor lamp, 2. Stal wall light, 3. Linea bollard light
new version: 1. LED string lights 10 m, 2. Kula solar lamp 20 cm, 3. Stal wall light
Before sending a newsletter you can set the order in three categories in one conversation, each with its own preview. Setting the order works in TellMyShop Pro as soon as the licence is active, with no switch. The sales report and picking bestsellers also work in TellMyShop Free.
Example requests with bestsellers placed first are in the use case new categories and moving products into them. If you also want to tidy up assignments, see moving products between categories. You'll find TellMyShop Pro prices on the pricing page.
Which order should you choose for your category?
One that puts the products customers want to buy now at the top. There is no single rule for every store, but a few often work:
- Bestsellers from recent weeks at the top of a category where customers compare many similar products.
- New products first in categories that regular customers come back to for new things.
- Seasonal products higher before the season, lower after it. Lanterns before autumn, string lights before Christmas.
- Out-of-stock products at the end of the list, if you don't want to hide them yet.
What matters most is that the order comes from a decision, not from the import order. Once a season, go through your main categories and check that the top of the list still makes sense. A report of best-selling products helps you decide faster than guessing.
Can sorting in filters spoil the order?
Yes, if the customer chooses a different sorting or the filter module has its own settings. The sort list above the products usually offers relevance, name and price. Relevance in a category matches the position. When the customer chooses price, your order no longer matters, and that is how it should be.
Each sorting choice adds a parameter to the category URL. Google's guide to faceted navigation describes how to treat such URL variants. You can read more about the filters themselves in the piece on PrestaShop filters not working.
Questions and answers
Why did I set the order in the admin, but the customer sees a different one?
Most often the store doesn't sort by position. Check the default order in Shop Parameters > Product Settings. If it says price or date added, for example, the positions from the admin are ignored. The second cause can be a filter module with its own sorting, and the third the cache showing an old list.
Is the product order shared across all categories?
No. A product's position is stored separately for each category. A lantern can be first in Lanterns and fortieth in Garden lighting. So a product in several categories has to be positioned in each of them separately, if its place in the list matters to you.
How do I put new products at the top of a category?
You can change the default sorting for the whole store to date added, descending. But then you lose the manual order everywhere. The other way is to keep sorting by position and move the new products to the top in selected categories. In a conversation with the chat that is one request with a preview.
Does product order affect category SEO?
Indirectly. Google sees products on the first page of the list more often than those on later pages, and customers rarely scroll far. What matters more, though, is that the products customers want to buy are at the top. Arrange the order for sales, not for crawlers.
What if I don't like the order after the change?
An order change made by the chat is undone from the change history, with one request for the whole operation. The positions go back to how they were before. If someone has rearranged products by hand in the admin in the meantime, the undo preview shows that undoing will also overwrite those later changes. Then you decide whether to undo.
PrestaShop is a registered trademark of PrestaShop SA. Claude is a trademark of Anthropic PBC. ChatGPT and OpenAI are trademarks of OpenAI. TellMyShop is not affiliated with these companies.