Navigation
Navigation
Intermediary Category Page
203 design examples manually annotated by Baymard researchers
What’s this? Here you’ll find 203 annotated “Intermediary Category Page” design examples from Baymard’s UX benchmark of 60 major e-commerce sites. (Note: this is less than 1% of the full research catalog.)
Intermediary Category Pages are category pages used at the first 1–3 levels of a site’s category hierarchy (depending on the size of the product catalog). They are unique because they don’t show a list of products, but rather show all the available subcategories they contain — each depicted with a representative thumbnail. Despite consistently performing well in usability testing, 22% of e-commerce sites still don’t have any kind of category pages.
More ‘Intermediary Category Page’ Insights
- In testing we observe that when users land on an intermediary category page, they exhibit much of the same behavior as they do when landing on the homepage — they try to infer the category taxonomy, the breadth of the particular category, and which path will suit them best. Therefore the intermediary category page often faces the same challenges as the homepage, such as instantly conveying the category contents and making the primary paths (the subcategories) stand out among any featured promotions and products.
- Showing the entire list of products for a top-level category often won’t make sense, as the list will simply be too long or generic (e.g., “Women’s clothing”). Instead, the scope must be further defined before a meaningful and manageable list of products can be shown (e.g., “Women’s Jackets”). Intermediary category pages solve this exact problem and should be utilized in the 1–2 top levels of the hierarchy. It’s almost like a storefront for a particular product category, guiding the user to select subcategories, filters, or even specific promoted products.
Learn More: Besides exploring the 203 “Intermediary Category Page” design examples below, you may also want to read our related articles on “Implement the First 1-2 Levels of the E-Commerce Hierarchy as Intermediary Category Pages” and “7 Navigational Implementations that Make Kohl’s Best-in-Class”.
Get Full Access: To see all of Baymard’s 61 homepage and category navigation research findings you’ll need Baymard Premium access. (Premium also provides you full access to 32,000 hours of UX research findings, 640+ e-commerce UX guidelines, and 50,000+ UX performance scores.)
Build.com (2018)
17 adhered 3 violated
L.L. Bean (2018)
15 adhered 2 violated
REI (2018)
14 adhered 4 violated
HP (2018)
14 adhered 3 violated
Musician's Friend (2018)
13 adhered 1 violated
J.C. Penney (2018)
13 adhered 3 violated
Overstock (2018)
13 adhered 6 violated
Sears (2018)
13 adhered 2 violated
Ann Taylor (2018)
12 adhered 4 violated
Costco (2018)
12 adhered 0 violated
Urban Outfitters (2018)
12 adhered 5 violated
Staples (2018)
12 adhered 2 violated
Williams-Sonoma (2018)
12 adhered 4 violated
Kohl's (2018)
12 adhered 5 violated
Nordstrom (2018)
12 adhered 4 violated
Marks & Spencer (2018)
12 adhered 2 violated
Sephora (2018)
11 adhered 1 violated
American Eagle Outfitters (2018)
11 adhered 5 violated
Newegg (2018)
11 adhered 2 violated
B&H Photo (2018)
11 adhered 3 violated
Crutchfield (2018)
11 adhered 3 violated
Best Buy (2018)
11 adhered 2 violated
Lowe's (2018)
11 adhered 3 violated
Grainger (2018)
11 adhered 5 violated
Rakuten (2018)
11 adhered 4 violated
ASOS (2018)
11 adhered 1 violated
Home Depot (2018)
10 adhered 1 violated
Tesco (2018)
10 adhered 6 violated
Neiman Marcus (2018)
9 adhered 4 violated
TigerDirect (2018)
9 adhered 2 violated
Etsy (2018)
9 adhered 5 violated
Nike (2018)
9 adhered 4 violated
Hayneedle (2018)
9 adhered 5 violated
Macy's (2018)
9 adhered 7 violated
Walmart (2018)
9 adhered 4 violated
Apple (2018)
9 adhered 7 violated
Adidas (2018)
9 adhered 3 violated
John Lewis (2018)
9 adhered 1 violated
Microsoft (2018)
8 adhered 6 violated
Crate & Barrel (2018)
8 adhered 5 violated
Northern Tool (2018)
8 adhered 1 violated
IKEA (2018)
8 adhered 5 violated
John Lewis (2018)
8 adhered 4 violated
Lowe's (2018)
7 adhered 0 violated
Wayfair (2018)
7 adhered 1 violated
Wayfair (2018)
7 adhered 4 violated
H&M (2018)
7 adhered 6 violated
Bass Pro Shops (2018)
6 adhered 3 violated
Disney Store (2018)
6 adhered 1 violated
B&H Photo (2018)
6 adhered 2 violated
Best Buy (2018)
6 adhered 3 violated
Office Depot (2018)
6 adhered 3 violated
Hayneedle (2018)
6 adhered 2 violated
Walmart (2018)
6 adhered 0 violated
Target (2018)
6 adhered 3 violated
Debenhams (2018)
6 adhered 2 violated
Argos (2018)
6 adhered 5 violated
Walgreen Co. (2018)
5 adhered 1 violated
Walgreen Co. (2018)
5 adhered 0 violated
Victoria's Secret (2018)
5 adhered 3 violated
Office Depot (2018)
5 adhered 5 violated
Amazon (2018)
5 adhered 2 violated
Amazon (2018)
5 adhered 3 violated
Debenhams (2018)
5 adhered 4 violated
Argos (2018)
4 adhered 1 violated
Cabela's (2018)
3 adhered 2 violated
Crutchfield (2018)
3 adhered 2 violated
Amazon (2018)
3 adhered 0 violated
Sears (2018)
3 adhered 3 violated
Target (2018)
3 adhered 4 violated
Tesco (2018)
3 adhered 2 violated
Northern Tool (2018)
3 adhered 3 violated
Newegg (2018)
2 adhered 3 violated
Home Depot (2018)
1 adhered 3 violated
Grainger (2018)
0 adhered 1 violated
Office Depot (2016)
13 adhered 2 violated
REI (2016)
12 adhered 1 violated
Williams-Sonoma (2016)
12 adhered 1 violated
Urban Outfitters (2016)
12 adhered 3 violated
Gap (2016)
10 adhered 2 violated
Ann Taylor (2016)
9 adhered 1 violated
Newegg (2016)
9 adhered 3 violated
Lowe's (2016)
8 adhered 1 violated
Amazon (2016)
7 adhered 1 violated
Walgreens (2016)
6 adhered 0 violated
Gilt (2016)
6 adhered 4 violated
Best Buy (2016)
6 adhered 0 violated
Wayfair (2016)
6 adhered 2 violated
Costco (2016)
5 adhered 3 violated
Kohl's (2016)
5 adhered 3 violated
Staples (2016)
5 adhered 2 violated
Overstock (2016)
5 adhered 2 violated
Nike (2016)
5 adhered 2 violated
L.L. Bean (2016)
5 adhered 2 violated
Dell (2016)
4 adhered 1 violated
HP (2016)
4 adhered 2 violated
Microsoft (2016)
4 adhered 3 violated
TigerDirect (2016)
4 adhered 0 violated
Crutchfield (2016)
4 adhered 0 violated
Crutchfield (2016)
4 adhered 3 violated
Toys'R'Us (2016)
4 adhered 0 violated
Hayneedle (2016)
4 adhered 0 violated
Sears (2016)
4 adhered 1 violated
J.C. Penney (2016)
4 adhered 3 violated
Victoria's Secret (2016)
4 adhered 2 violated
Dell (2016)
3 adhered 0 violated
Bass Pro Shops (2016)
3 adhered 0 violated
B&H Photo (2016)
3 adhered 3 violated
Sony (2016)
3 adhered 1 violated
Sony (2016)
3 adhered 2 violated
Walmart (2016)
3 adhered 0 violated
Walmart (2016)
3 adhered 2 violated
Rakuten (2016)
3 adhered 3 violated
Etsy (2016)
3 adhered 2 violated
Barnes & Noble (2016)
3 adhered 2 violated
Grainger (2016)
3 adhered 2 violated
Hayneedle (2016)
3 adhered 0 violated
Sears (2016)
3 adhered 0 violated
Home Depot (2016)
3 adhered 2 violated
Build.com (2016)
3 adhered 2 violated
Overstock (2016)
3 adhered 0 violated
Macy's (2016)
3 adhered 2 violated
Wayfair (2016)
3 adhered 1 violated
Costco (2016)
2 adhered 1 violated
Sephora (2016)
2 adhered 1 violated
Sephora (2016)
2 adhered 3 violated
Best Buy (2016)
2 adhered 1 violated
Staples (2016)
2 adhered 0 violated
Barnes & Noble (2016)
2 adhered 1 violated
Grainger (2016)
2 adhered 1 violated
Lowe's (2016)
2 adhered 0 violated
Hayneedle (2016)
2 adhered 2 violated
Crate & Barrel (2016)
2 adhered 2 violated
Home Depot (2016)
2 adhered 2 violated
Wayfair (2016)
2 adhered 2 violated
Sephora (2016)
1 adhered 1 violated
Disney (2016)
1 adhered 0 violated
Disney (2016)
1 adhered 4 violated
Office Depot (2016)
1 adhered 0 violated
Cabela's (2016)
1 adhered 2 violated
Macy's (2016)
1 adhered 3 violated
Sephora (2016)
0 adhered 0 violated
Amazon (2016)
0 adhered 0 violated
Etsy (2016)
0 adhered 0 violated
Etsy (2016)
0 adhered 0 violated
Toys'R'Us (2016)
0 adhered 3 violated
Newegg (2016)
0 adhered 1 violated
Newegg (2016)
0 adhered 0 violated
American Eagle Outfitters (2016)
0 adhered 4 violated
Ann Taylor (2013)
8 adhered 2 violated
Kohl's (2013)
8 adhered 3 violated
HSN (2013)
8 adhered 9 violated
Office Depot (2013)
7 adhered 5 violated
Target (2013)
7 adhered 4 violated
Target (2013)
7 adhered 0 violated
J.C. Penney (2013)
6 adhered 2 violated
Lowe's (2013)
6 adhered 0 violated
Barnes & Noble (2013)
6 adhered 1 violated
Grainger (2013)
6 adhered 1 violated
Home Depot (2013)
6 adhered 0 violated
J.C. Penney (2013)
5 adhered 4 violated
Overstock (2013)
5 adhered 4 violated
Best Buy (2013)
5 adhered 2 violated
Best Buy (2013)
5 adhered 0 violated
Macy's (2013)
5 adhered 1 violated
Hayneedle (2013)
4 adhered 1 violated
American Eagle Outfitters (2013)
4 adhered 3 violated
PC Connection (2013)
4 adhered 2 violated
Walmart (2013)
4 adhered 3 violated
OfficeMax (2013)
4 adhered 2 violated
OfficeMax (2013)
4 adhered 5 violated
Crate & Barrel (2013)
4 adhered 1 violated
Bass Pro Shops (2013)
3 adhered 2 violated
Wayfair (2013)
3 adhered 0 violated
Amazon (2013)
3 adhered 2 violated
Nordstrom (2013)
3 adhered 1 violated
Sony (2013)
3 adhered 1 violated
Costco (2013)
3 adhered 1 violated
Etsy (2013)
3 adhered 0 violated
Office Depot (2013)
3 adhered 1 violated
Sears (2013)
3 adhered 0 violated
Staples (2013)
3 adhered 4 violated
Hayneedle (2013)
2 adhered 0 violated
Hayneedle (2013)
2 adhered 0 violated
Walgreens (2013)
2 adhered 3 violated
Barnes & Noble (2013)
2 adhered 2 violated
TigerDirect (2013)
2 adhered 4 violated
Dell (2013)
2 adhered 1 violated
Urban Outfitters (2013)
2 adhered 0 violated
Walmart (2013)
2 adhered 5 violated
CDW (2013)
2 adhered 0 violated
Newegg (2013)
2 adhered 2 violated
OfficeMax (2013)
2 adhered 3 violated
Sears (2013)
2 adhered 1 violated
Bass Pro Shops (2013)
1 adhered 5 violated
Disney (2013)
1 adhered 0 violated
Wayfair (2013)
1 adhered 3 violated
Cabela's (2013)
1 adhered 3 violated
Home Depot (2013)
1 adhered 0 violated
Staples (2013)
1 adhered 3 violated
Crate & Barrel (2013)
1 adhered 0 violated
Nike (2013)
0 adhered 3 violated
Toys'R'Us (2013)
0 adhered 2 violated