Appointy Premium lets you organize Service Categories into a parent-child hierarchy.
This is useful when your business has a large or complex service catalog and you want customers to move from a broad category to a more specific one.
For example:
Fitness
→ Yoga
→ Pilates
→ Strength Training
or:
Hair Services
→ Hair Color
→ Haircut
→ Hair Treatments
What is a parent and child category?
A Parent Category is the broader category.
A Child Category is a category placed underneath that parent.
For example:
Parent Category: Hair Services
Child Category: Hair Color
This creates a structured hierarchy instead of showing every category at the same level.
Before you create a hierarchy
You need to have at least one category already created before it can be used as a Parent Category.
If you are creating your first category, create it as a standalone category first.
When you create the next category, you can select the existing category as its parent.
How to create a child category
Quick navigation
Settings → Masters → Categories → + → Enter Category Details → Select Parent Category → Save
Steps
- Log in to your Appointy admin account.
- Go to Settings.
- Under Masters, open Categories.
- Click the + icon.
- Enter the Category Title.
- Add a Description if required.
- Open the Parent Category field.
- Select the existing category under which this new category should appear.
- Click Save.
The newly created category will now sit under the selected Parent Category.
Example: Building a salon category hierarchy
Suppose you first create:
Hair Services
You can then create:
Hair Color
and select Hair Services as the Parent Category.
Your hierarchy becomes:
Hair Services
→ Hair Color
You can then add other child categories such as:
Hair Services
→ Hair Color
→ Haircut
→ Hair Treatments
This helps customers browse related services within a clearer structure.
Example: Education business
A tutoring business could create:
Tutoring
and then add child categories such as:
- Mathematics
- Science
- English
- Test Preparation
The hierarchy becomes:
Tutoring
→ Mathematics
→ Science
→ English
→ Test Preparation
This can make a large service catalog easier to navigate.
When should you use category hierarchy?
Parent and child categories are especially useful when:
- Your business offers many services
- Several services belong to broader service families
- You want to reduce clutter on the booking page
- Customers need to browse from broad categories to more specific offerings
- Your service catalog is growing across multiple departments or service lines
If your business only has a small number of services, a simple flat category structure may be enough.
Parent category vs standalone category
A category does not have to belong to another category.
If you want the category to remain independent, leave the Parent Category field as None.
For example:
Massage
Facials
Consultations
can all remain standalone categories.
If you want a more structured setup, you can place related categories under a parent.
Can I change the hierarchy later?
Yes.
If you want to move a category under a different parent:
- Go to Settings → Masters → Categories.
- Select the category you want to update.
- Change the Parent Category.
- Click Save.
This lets you reorganize the hierarchy as your service catalog changes.
Why use parent and child categories?
A hierarchy can help you:
- Organize a large catalog
- Group related offerings
- Make the booking experience easier to understand
- Create a clearer service structure
- Reduce the need for a long flat list of categories
It gives customers a more guided way to find the service they need.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a Parent Category?
A Parent Category is a broader category under which other categories can be placed.
What is a Child Category?
A Child Category is a category assigned under an existing Parent Category.
Can I create a child category as my first category?
No. You need an existing category before you can select it as a Parent Category.
Create your first category normally, then use it as the parent when creating additional categories.
Can a category remain standalone?
Yes. Leave Parent Category set to None.
Can I move a category to another parent later?
Yes. Edit the category and select a different Parent Category.
Should every category have a parent?
No. Use parent-child hierarchy only where it helps organize your service catalog.
Can I use hierarchy for different industries?
Yes. For example:
- Salon → Hair Services → Hair Color
- Fitness → Classes → Yoga
- Education → Tutoring → Mathematics
- Clinic → Treatments → Physiotherapy