In this module, we’ll explore the fundamentals of hierarchies and nodes, how they work, and best practices for using them. You’ll learn to create dynamic hierarchies that support complex catalog structures and product associations beyond standard categorization. By the end, you’ll understand how hierarchies and nodes work together to build flexible product structures that suit various industries and business models.

Understanding Hierarchies and Nodes

Hierarchies and nodes play a crucial role in how products are structured and organized within Elastic Path's Product Experience Manager (PXM). While they are often compared to traditional categories or collections, hierarchies provide far greater flexibility, enabling businesses to create complex relationships and dynamic catalogs that can meet a wide variety of customer needs.

Learning Objectives

In this section, you will learn:

• How hierarchies and nodes help organize products, creating flexible product categorizations and improving navigation in storefronts.
• How to create and manage hierarchies and nodes for structuring products across mutiple catalogs and shopper experiences.
• How product visibility is managed by associating products with multiple nodes, allowing them to appear in various catalogs and selling contexts.
• How localization and dynamic updates in hierarchies can support different languages, regions, and market needs.

Lesson Summary

Part 1: Understanding Hierarchies

Learn how hierarchies and nodes organize products in tree structures for better catalog management.

Part 2: Understanding Nodes

Discover how to create complex hierarchies for organizing products by regions, segments, or use cases.

Part 3: Hierarchies Beyond Categories

Explore the flexibility of hierarchies for segmenting products by geography, customer type, and more.

Part 4: Best Practices For Using Hierarchies

Master best practices for managing scalable, adaptable product hierarchies to enhance catalog flexibility.