# Manual Sort Order on Category

The manual sort order feature allows you to customize the display order of products within a category by dragging and dropping them in the admin interface.
Use this if you have a category for specific manually maintained products that should be shown on your main page or similar.

## Prerequisites

- This functionality must be enabled on the client before it works
- Best suited for categories with 20-30 products or fewer
- Products should have direct category links (not just subcategory associations)


## How to Use Manual Sort Order

![Product sort order tab](/assets/manual-sortorder-on-category.6365726f7e95110e9eea17555df5d8d53b2c902ca08721321da4ea9666957bb8.17d27d97.png)

1. Navigate to the category you want to sort
2. Go to the **Product Sort Order** tab
3. Drag and drop products to arrange them in your desired order
4. **Important**: Click **Save** after moving products around


## Limitations and Considerations

### Product Volume

Manual sort order works best with smaller product sets. The drag-and-drop functionality becomes less efficient with large assortments.

### Category Hierarchy

- Products residing on shared levels below the current category will not be sorted
- Unsorted products will appear after manually sorted ones
- Ensure products have direct category links to the category you want to sort, not just subcategory associations


## Best Practices

- Use manual sort order to elevate specific products to the top of the category
- Ideal for promoting featured or priority products
- Consider alternative sorting methods for categories with large product catalogs
- Always save your changes after reordering products


## When to Use This Feature

Manual sort order is most effective when you need to:

- Highlight specific products in a category
- Create a custom product presentation order
- Work with manageable product quantities (under 30 products)
- Display categories prominently in the front-end