Why is my category or collection showing empty?

An empty category or collection almost always comes down to one of a few common causes, most are quick to check and fix yourself.

» The category or collection name contains an unsupported character 

For example, a slash (/) is not permitted in Category or Collection names. If one is present, the website throws a rendering error and the category displays empty, even though the category and its products still exist in the backend.

Fix: Go to Category Management, open the affected category, and rename it to remove the slash (for example, "Fall/Halloween" → "Fall & Halloween"). It should populate correctly once renamed.

» Products are assigned but not visible 

The category has products mapped, but they don't render because:

• Product status isn't Active
• The WizShop channel isn't enabled for those products (Channel Settings)

Fix: Check the product's status and Channel Settings.

» An ERP or integration sync hasn't completed 

For ERP-integrated accounts, product/category changes only appear in WizCommerce after the next scheduled sync. If a sync failed or is still pending, the category can appear empty until it completes.

Fix: Check sync status in Admin → Integrations, or ask Support to trigger a manual sync if urgent.

» The page hasn't refreshed 

Occasionally the backend is correct but the storefront is showing a cached version.

Fix: Hard-refresh the page (Ctrl+Shift+R) or clear the browser cache.

» When should I contact Support?

Please get in touch if:

• You have checked product assignment, naming, and channel settings, and the category is still empty
• An import showed "success" but products still aren't reflecting
• You suspect an ERP sync issue and can't trigger a manual sync yourself

» Things to keep in mind

• Products and category mappings are rarely actually lost - most of these causes are display or configuration issues, not data loss.
• If the same category keeps going empty after every import, that's worth flagging to support as a possible mapping or naming pattern issue rather than fixing it manually each time.