How To Display Sub Categories On A Category Page In Magento?

By default, Magento will only display subcategories instead of product on a product listing page which is like an obvious option to have but due to some reason it is not possible unless you are aware. So let’s begin from the top:

1. In your Magento admin navigate to CMS > Static Blocks

2. Click “Add New Block” at the top right

3. Create a new static block as follows:

Block Title : Sub Category Listing

Identifier : subcategory_listing

Status : Enabled

Content : {{block type="core/template" template="catalog/navigation/subcategory_listing.phtml"}}

4. Click “Save Block” in the top right

5. Go to the parent category under Catalog > Manage Categories.

6. Select the category that has sub-categories and under the “Display Settings Tab” reflect the following:

Display mode : Static Block only

CMS Block : Sub Category Listing

Is Anchor : No

7. Click “Save Category” at the top right

8. Create a new file called “subcategory_listing.phtml” with the following content:

app/design/frontend/yourpackagename/yourthemename/template/catalog/navigation/

Containing the following code:

<?php $layer = Mage::getSingleton('catalog/layer'); $_category = $layer->getCurrentCategory(); $_categories = $_category->getCollection()->addAttributeToSelect(array('url_key','name','image','all_children','is_anchor','description')) ->addAttributeToFilter('is_active', 1) ->addIdFilter($_category->getChildren()) ->setOrder('position', 'ASC') ->joinUrlRewrite(); ?> <div class="listing-type-list catalog-listing"> <ul id="subcats" class="clear"> <?php foreach ($_categories as $_category): ?> <?php if($_category->getIsActive()): ?> <?php Mage::log($_category->debug(), null, 'mylogfile.log'); ?> <li> <div class="subcat clearfix"> <a class="now-from-container" href="<?php echo $_category->getURL() ?>"></a> <div class="subcat-image"> <a href="<?php echo $_category->getURL() ?>" title="<?php echo $this->htmlEscape($_category->getName()) ?>"> <img src="<?php echo $this->htmlEscape($_category->getImageUrl()) ?>" width="190" alt="<?php echo $this->htmlEscape($_category->getName()) ?>" /> </a> </div> <div class="subcat-title-container"> <h2><a href="<?php echo $_category->getURL() ?>" title="<?php echo $this->htmlEscape($_category->getName()) ?>"><?php echo $this->htmlEscape($_category->getName()) ?></a></h2> </div> </div> </li> <?php endif; ?> <?php endforeach; ?> </ul> </div>

9. Make sure your sub categories have an image assigned to them under Catalog > Manage Categories > Sub Category

And that’s how to display a sub category listing on a category page in Magento.

If you do not see the changes, then try clearing your Magento/browser cache. If your sub-categories show no thumbnails then make sure that the images are actually uploaded to your subcategories.