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 Why Products Aren't Showing on Your Website (and How to Fix It)

If a product exists in your admin but won't appear on your live site, on a category page, or in search results, the cause is almost always related to how the product is categorized or its visibility settings. This article walks you through the most common reasons and how to resolve them.

Common Reason 1: The Product's Only Category Is Hidden

A product will not display on your storefront if the only category it belongs to is set to hidden. Even if the product itself is active, a hidden category will keep it from appearing.

How to Fix It

    • Log in to your WSM admin.
    • Locate the product you're troubleshooting (you can search by part number in your product list).
    • Open the product and review the categories it is assigned to.
    • If the product is only assigned to a hidden category, do one of the following:
      • Unhide that category, or
      • Assign the product to at least one category that is not hidden.

    Tip: This applies to any product with a similar setup. If several items in the same group are missing, check whether they share the same hidden category.

    General Troubleshooting: An Entire Category Appears Empty

    If a category or subcategory shows no products (or far fewer than expected) even though the products exist in your admin, it's worth running through a few basic checks before assuming there's a deeper problem. The following steps aren't guaranteed causes, but they're a good starting point to rule out common issues:

      • Confirm the products are active in your admin.
      • Open the category in question and verify that the products are actually assigned to it.
      • Check that the category is not hidden (see Reason 1 above).
      • Clear your browser cache and test on another device or browser to rule out a display issue on your end.



    If products are active, correctly assigned, and the category is visible but they still don't appear, the issue may require deeper review — see the "Still Not Working?" section below.

    Common Reason 2: A Hidden Product Still Appears in Search

    In some cases, a product marked as hidden may still surface when a customer searches directly by its Stock ID. If you hide a product but find it still returns in search results, note the exact Stock ID and open a support ticket so the behavior can be reviewed.

    Related: Which Product Number Displays on Your Site

    Your storefront can display different product identifiers, such as a Dealer/Supplier number or your own Stock number. If the wrong identifier is showing publicly (for example, showing the Dealer/Supplier number instead of your Stock number), this is a configuration change. Contact support with the exact identifier you'd like displayed.

    A Note on Catalog / Brand Data Feeds

    If you import products from an outside data catalog and a brand or item is still for sale on your site after being removed from that catalog, the discrepancy may be between the data source and your store. When reporting this, include the brand or product name and details of the catalog change so it can be investigated.

    Still Not Working?

    If you've confirmed all of the following and products still won't display, contact WSM Support:

      • The product is active.
      • The product is assigned to at least one non-hidden category.
      • You have cleared your browser cache and tested on another device.

    When you contact support, please include:
      • Your store URL
      • The exact product URL, Stock ID, or part number
      • The category page where you expect the product to appear
      • What you're seeing versus what you expect


    Providing these details helps resolve your issue as quickly as possible.

    Note: Some of the reviewed support material contained routing notes and internal names unrelated to the customer solution; these were disregarded and are not part of the guidance above.