¶ Empty Category Messages
Custom "No Products" messages and images per category for Shopware 6.7 with optional parent category inheritance.
Live Demo: Try all OXID eShop and Shopware plugins by Markus Michalski live — no installation, no risk. demo.markus-michalski.net
¶ Features
| Feature | Description |
|---|---|
| Custom Empty Messages | Define individual HTML messages per category when no products are available |
| Category Images | Add optional images (e.g., sad smiley) to empty category states |
| Image Size Control | Small (150px), Medium (250px), or Large (400px) |
| Flexible Alignment | Separate image and text alignment (left, center, right) |
| CSS Classes | Add custom CSS classes for individual styling |
| Parent Inheritance | Optionally inherit empty messages from parent categories |
| Multi-Language | German and English translations included |
| CSP Compatible | No inline styles — all styling via CSS classes (strict Content Security Policy compatible) |
¶ Requirements
- Shopware 6.7.x
- PHP 8.2+
- Purchase the plugin in the Shopware Store
- In the Shopware Admin under Extensions > My Extensions install and activate the plugin
- Clear the cache
1. Add Private Repository
{"repositories": [{"type": "composer","url": "https://packeton.markus-michalski.net"}]}
The repository credentials will be provided after license purchase.
2. Install Plugin
composer require mmd/sw67-empty-category
3. Activate Plugin
bin/console plugin:refresh && bin/console plugin:install --activate MmdEmptyCategory && bin/console cache:clear
- Upload the ZIP file under Extensions > My Extensions
- Install and activate the plugin
- Clear the cache
¶ Configuration
¶ Setting Up Empty Category Messages
- Navigate to Catalogues > Categories in the Admin
- Select a category
- Scroll to the Custom Fields section
- Find the Empty Category field group
¶ Available Fields
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Message | HTML text shown when category has no products |
| Image | Optional image to display (e.g., a sad smiley) |
| Image Size | Small (150px), Medium (250px), Large (400px) |
| Image Alignment | Left, Center, Right |
| Text Alignment | Left, Center, Right |
| CSS Classes | Additional CSS classes for custom styling |
| Inherit from Parent | Use parent category message if no own message defined |
¶ Use Cases
¶ Example 1: Seasonal Category
A "Christmas Specials" category that is empty outside the season:
Message:
<h3>Coming Soon!</h3>
<p>Our Christmas specials will be available from November. Check back soon!</p>
Image: A festive placeholder image
Image Size: Large
Text Alignment: Center
¶ Example 2: Temporary Out of Stock
A category where products are temporarily unavailable:
Message:
<p>All products in this category are currently sold out.
We're working hard to restock - please check back soon!</p>
CSS Class: alert-warning
¶ Example 3: Category Hierarchy with Inheritance
Parent category "Electronics" with message:
<p>No products available in this category at the moment.</p>
Child categories "Smartphones", "Tablets", "Laptops" all set Inherit from Parent: Yes
Result: All child categories show the parent's message without needing individual configuration.
¶ Inheritance System
When "Inherit from Parent" is enabled and no custom message is defined:
- The plugin checks if the current category has its own message
- If not, it traverses up the category tree
- Uses the first parent with a defined message
- Maximum inheritance depth: 10 levels (prevents infinite loops)
¶ Inheritance Rules
- A category with its own message will always show that message
- Inheritance only occurs when no own message is set AND Inherit from Parent is enabled
- The search stops at the first parent that has a message defined
¶ Styling
¶ Built-in CSS Classes
The plugin uses BEM-style CSS classes for all layout and alignment — no inline styles are used, making it fully compatible with strict Content Security Policies (CSP).
<div class="mmd-empty-category-message your-custom-class">
<div class="mmd-empty-category-image-wrapper mmd-empty-category-image-wrapper--align-center">
<img class="mmd-empty-category-image mmd-empty-category-image--size-medium" ...>
</div>
<div class="mmd-empty-category-text mmd-empty-category-text--align-center">
Your message content
</div>
</div>
¶ Available BEM Modifier Classes
| Class | Variants | Description |
|---|---|---|
mmd-empty-category-image-wrapper--align-{value} |
left, center, right |
Image container alignment |
mmd-empty-category-image--size-{value} |
small (150px), medium (250px), large (400px) |
Image max-width |
mmd-empty-category-text--align-{value} |
left, center, right |
Text alignment |
¶ Custom Styling Example
Add this to your theme's SCSS:
.mmd-empty-category-message {
padding: 2rem;
background: #f8f9fa;
border-radius: 8px;
text-align: center;
.mmd-empty-category-image {
margin-bottom: 1rem;
}
.mmd-empty-category-text {
color: #666;
h3 {
color: #333;
margin-bottom: 0.5rem;
}
}
}
¶ Technical Details
¶ Request Flow
¶ Twig Function
The plugin provides a Twig function for custom template usage:
{% set emptyMessage = mmd_empty_category_message(category) %}
{% if emptyMessage.hasContent() %}
{{ emptyMessage.message|sw_sanitize }}
{% endif %}
¶ Available Methods
| Method | Returns | Description |
|---|---|---|
hasContent() |
bool | Has message or image |
hasMessage() |
bool | Has text message |
hasImage() |
bool | Has image URL |
getImageMaxWidth() |
string | CSS max-width value (e.g., 250px) |
getImageJustify() |
string | CSS justify-content value (e.g., center) |
getTextAlignCss() |
string | CSS text-align value (e.g., center) |
¶ Properties
| Property | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
message |
string | HTML message content |
imageUrl |
string | Media URL |
cssClass |
string | Sanitized CSS classes |
imageSize |
string | small, medium, large |
imageAlign |
string | left, center, right |
textAlign |
string | left, center, right |
¶ Security
- XSS Protection: CSS classes are sanitized to prevent injection
- HTML Sanitization: Messages are rendered with
sw_sanitizefilter - Image URLs: Only Media Manager URLs are accepted
- CSP Compatible: No inline styles — all layout via CSS classes, compatible with strict
style-srcpolicies - PHPStan Level 8: Static analysis at highest practical level
¶ License
This Plugin is released under the GNU General Public License v3.
See LICENSE for details.
¶ Support
For customers who purchased this plugin through the Shopware Store, technical support is provided exclusively through the official Shopware support ticket system in your Shopware account. For general, project-related, or commercial inquiries outside the scope of the Store framework, you can reach me at support@markus-michalski.net.