Different templates for different product groups?

[astridah]

I have a solution where I have 4 main categories, accessible through tabs on the top.

For each main category, I then have a normal left side menu with all the sub categories and the products.

It will get way too messy if all the products should be seen in the left side menu all the time, so that's not an option.

Is there a way to be able to use multiple layouts for one site, depending on the product group?

I am not sure if one is allowed to link to the site here, but I am happy to do so if it is allowed and can be of any help.
(At the moment I don't have a net shop solution at all, as it is only a physical store at the moment)

[kobra]

Is there a way to be able to use multiple layouts for one site, depending on the product group?

By default this type of feature is not available but as this is open source - - a custom solution is possible

[schoolboy]

To a degree you can have specific design features for specific elements - and these are chiefly controlled by the css and possibly by page-specific headers. Setting in the database are global, so if you globally disable right column for example (setting in Layout Settings in the configuration section) this is a database setting that will not be overridden.

But you can, for example, turn a red background to blue, or a different header logo on certain pages / categories / products, simply by creating page-specific stylesheets.

Remember also the "First Law of the Supermarket"

(First Law of the Supermarket states:

Keep things in the same bloomin place! People like regularity and conformity when shopping. If you play games of "visual tag" with them they will get pee'd off. They are not at your site to fool about or participate in hide-&-seek ... they just want to buy stuff, and the more simple and straight forward that process is, the better.)

(This is roughly along the lines of what Sam Walton said in the 1950's. Sam was the founder - as you know - of Walmart.)

[astridah]

Thank you for your replies.

I will take my chance showing you the site (as it is not in English, and is very locally based, I hope nobody thinks this is some sort of marketing for it):
bereglede.no

Never mind the design, we are working on getting a real one soon.

But at least, here you can see that there are some tabs along the top, and each of these has its own left menu.

So it is not really the design that changes, but the content under each tab.