how to choose categories and attributes

“Good day! ??

It’s great to see you planning ahead for a well-structured WooCommerce setup. Here’s my suggestion based on your requirements and the need for intuitive filtering:Categories vs. Attributes: Understanding Their Roles

• Categories are best used for broad groupings that define the primary organization of your products (or in your case, vacations).
• Attributes are meant for finer details and product specifications, often used in filters.

Suggested Structure for Your Travel Agency:

1. Categories: Focus on Type of Vacation
   Use the Type of Vacation (e.g., skiing, sailing, beach, adventure, etc.) as your categories.
   • This is because travelers typically start by deciding the type of experience they want.
   • Categories are more visible in menus and help create a strong first-level organization.
2. Attributes: Add the Rest as Filterable Details
   • Age Groups: Create an attribute (e.g., 22-35 years, 35-47 years). Travelers can use filters to select their preferred age group.
   • Destinations: Use destinations as another attribute. This lets users refine their choices by location.
   • Period (Month of the Year): Use this as an attribute for travelers to select their preferred travel month.

Why This Approach Works:

• Flexibility for Filtering: Attributes are perfect for WooCommerce filters. Visitors can mix and match filters like “Beach vacation for ages 22-35 in June.”
• Improved Navigation: Using categories for vacation types simplifies navigation. Users can explore broader themes and then filter down.
• Scalability: As you add new destinations or age groups, it’s easier to update attributes than restructure categories.

Bonus Tip: Use a Filter Plugin

To enhance user experience, consider using a plugin like WooCommerce Product Filters by WPML or WOOF – WooCommerce Products Filter. These plugins can help you create advanced, user-friendly filters.

Let me know if you’d like further insights or tweaks to this plan! ??”

@Md. Salim

Thank you for this insight but it remains hard (in my head) what to use first.

A thought: If I enter a website and I want to go on vacation as a single traveller, maybe I mihht be interested in the offerings only for my age group. I could use type of vacation but I am not interested in all vacations that are not for my age group.

For this reason it sticks in my head to mekae age-groups a category.

If I use age group as vategory, the chain of thought could be:

Give me all vacations for my age group, skiing, France, January,…

I understand your pov but I am struggling ??

another angle could be to put everything in a category, no attributes

one can still use a filter with all categories if you use the OR function

“I completely understand your thought process, and it’s great that you’re considering how your users might approach the site. Let’s explore this a bit deeper:Why Age Groups as Categories Might Work

If your primary audience identifies themselves by their age group first, it makes sense to organize vacations this way. Starting with age groups as categories can create a user-friendly experience where visitors immediately feel the site caters to them.

For example:

• A visitor selects Age Group: 22-35, then filters down to Type: Skiing, Destination: France, and Month: January.

This approach aligns with your idea of creating a more personalized flow, which could help your audience quickly find relevant options.Potential Challenges of Age Groups as Categories

That said, there are a few things to keep in mind:

1. Scalability: If you add new age groups or types of vacations, managing the structure could become complex.
2. Overlapping Interests: Some users might belong to multiple age groups (e.g., 35-year-olds may want to see both 22-35 and 35-47 offerings).
3. SEO and Navigation: Search engines and users typically expect broader topics (like vacation types) as categories, which might impact discoverability.

A Hybrid Solution

To balance these aspects, consider grouping by Type of Vacation as primary categories but featuring age groups prominently in your navigation or filters. For example:

• Create a “Filter by Age Group” option in your sidebar or a prominent menu.
• Use a landing page for each age group that showcases their most popular vacations, pulling from all categories (like skiing or sailing).
• Example flow:
  • Visitor clicks Age Group: 22-35 from the homepage.
  • They’re taken to a curated page featuring vacations relevant to that age group.
  • Filters still allow them to refine further by type, destination, or month.

The Goal: Flexibility for Users

By creating filters and landing pages, you’re not locked into a rigid structure. Users can still browse by age group if that’s their priority while keeping the flexibility of filtering through other options.

Let me know if this hybrid approach resonates with you. We can tweak it further to ensure it aligns with your vision!”

Thanks for this great chain of thought

I did follow you in using Type of vacation as categories and all the rest in flters.

Reason: Some more people suggested that ??

I will create landingspages for the categories, agegroups

your point 3 is quite useful too, in terms of SEO, quite important issue

Thanks

Roger