Customisable Product Sorting Options in Catalogues

Introduction

The Customisable Product Sorting Options feature gives storefront administrators full control over how products can be sorted within catalogues on the frontend.

Instead of showing every possible sorting option to customers, admins can now choose exactly which sorting methods are available and define a valid default. This ensures a cleaner user experience and prevents confusing or irrelevant sorting options from appearing in product lists.

What this feature does

This feature allows you to control:

• Which product sorting options are visible to customers in category pages

• Which sorting option is selected by default

• Validation to ensure the default sorting option is always available to customers

The sorting dropdown shown on category pages is now generated directly from the admin configuration, ensuring frontend behaviour always matches what was intentionally configured.

Why this was added

Previously, although catalogue settings allowed you to enable product sorting and define a default, all sorting options were always shown to customers on the frontend.

This caused several issues:

• Customers saw sorting options that weren’t relevant to the storefront

• Default sorting could be set to an option that didn’t align with business needs

• Admin configuration and frontend behaviour could feel disconnected

This update closes that gap by making product sorting fully configurable and consistent.

What it did before

Before this enhancement:

• All available sorting options appeared in the frontend dropdown

• Admins could not restrict which options customers saw

• Default sorting was not validated against visible options

• Storefronts had limited control over the sorting experience

How product sorting configuration works

Product sorting is now controlled through two related settings in the Catalogue configuration.

One setting defines which sorting options are available

and another defines which of those options is the default.

The system enforces a simple rule:
the default sorting option must be included in the list of available sorting options.

This guarantees a valid and predictable frontend experience.

STEP 1 – Configure available sorting options

To define which sorting options customers can use:

1. Go to Admin → Catalog Settings

2. Find the Sorting Options setting (as shown above)

3. Use the tag-based selector to choose the sorting methods you want to expose
   (for example: Name, Product Type, Product Group, Stock Quantity, etc)

4. Save your changes

Only the selected options will be shown to customers on category pages.

STEP 2 – Set the default product sort order

Next, define the default sorting behaviour:

1. In Catalog Settings, locate Default Product Sortation (as shown above)

2. Select one of the options you enabled in the previous step

3. Save the configuration

If you attempt to select a default option that is not included in the available sorting options, the system will prevent you from saving and prompt you to correct the configuration.

STEP 3 – Apply sorting to categories

Product sorting applies automatically to categories that display products.

To test or use this feature effectively:

1. Go to Admin → Categories

2. Create or edit a category

3. Ensure the category is visible on the storefront (for example, enable Show on homepage)

4. Add products to the category

5. Save the category

No additional category-level configuration is required.

What customers see on the storefront

When a customer views a category page:

• The sorting dropdown only displays the options you configured

• The default sorting option is pre-selected

• Products are immediately sorted according to your chosen default

• Customers can switch between the allowed sorting options

This creates a simpler, more intentional browsing experience.

Important rules and behaviour

A few key rules ensure consistency:

• The sorting dropdown only shows admin-approved options

• The default sorting option must be included in the allowed options

• Invalid configurations cannot be saved

• Changes apply globally across catalogue views

Common setup mistakes to avoid

Some common pitfalls to watch out for:

• Selecting a default sort option without enabling it first

• Expecting sorting to differ per category (this feature is global)

• Forgetting to save catalog settings after making changes

Summary

The Customisable Product Sorting Options feature gives you precise control over how customers browse products in your catalogues.

By aligning admin configuration with frontend behaviour, this update delivers:

• A cleaner, more focused sorting experience

• Better control over product presentation

• Fewer customer confusion points

• Safer configuration with built-in validation

This is especially valuable for storefronts with curated catalogues where only specific sorting options make sense for the end user.