1. Make an attribute filterable
According to Adobe, an attribute can only be used in layered navigation if its Catalog Input Type for Store Owner is Yes/No, Dropdown, Multiple Select or Price. Text fields cannot be filters, so a colour stored as free text has to become a dropdown first.
Use In Layered Navigation has two filterable options. Filterable (with results) omits values with zero matching products. Filterable (no results) shows all values with their counts, including zero, and crosses out swatches without matches. Adobe notes that the second option does not support price-layered filtering.
- In the Admin, go to Stores > Attributes > Product and open the attribute.
- Under Storefront Properties, set Use In Layered Navigation to Filterable (with results).
- Set Use In Search Results Layered Navigation to Yes if the filter should also appear on search results.
- Save the attribute and repeat for every attribute you want as a filter.
2. Anchor categories and search results
Layered navigation is available only for anchor categories. In Catalog > Categories, select the category, expand Display Settings, set Anchor to Yes and save. Then open the category in your store and check that the filters appear.
Adobe adds one detail that often explains a missing filter on search pages: if Use in Search is set to No, the Use in Search Results Layered Navigation setting is not shown and the attribute is not used in search at all, whatever the layered navigation setting says.
Example
Colour is a dropdown, filterable with results, but does not show on search results. Check Use in Search first: if it is No, the search results setting is hidden.
3. Price navigation
Price ranges in layered navigation can be calculated automatically (equalize price ranges or equalize product counts) or manually with a fixed step. With iterative splitting, customers can drill down into smaller price ranges until the number of products reaches the Interval Division Limit.
One behaviour to know: for configurable products, Adobe Commerce filters by the lowest price of the child items. A configurable product therefore appears only in the lowest price range of its children, even if some variants cost more.
4. When a separate search is worth a test
Layered navigation works on the data in your attributes, so clean dropdown values matter more than any setting. If filters and search are set up and customers still miss products on typos, word parts or SKUs, an additional search can be worth a test.
Grumeria connects to Magento with a product feed and a small widget. For Magento 2 the feed can come straight from your store's public product data via https://grumeria.com/api/magento-feed?shop=your-shop.com, or from a feed extension (CSV, XML or Google Shopping). Attributes in the feed can be used as filters in the search window. You can check your feed for free first.