Here are a few ways to configure Magento to sort products on category pages by newest added by default:
1. Category Display Settings: In the Magento admin, go to Catalog > Categories and edit the target category. Under Display Settings, set "Sort By" to "Created". This will make newest products show first by default.
2. Plugin with Custom Sort: Install an extension like Porto or Smartwave Porto which adds a "Newest First" sort option. This provides a dropdown for customers to easily sort by newest.
3. Override Default Collection: In a custom module, override the default product collection for category views and apply an "order by created_at DESC" clause. This will fetch newest products first.
4. GraphQL/REST API Sort: Use the GraphQL or REST API to fetch the product list sorted by created_at timestamp. Then render the category page using this API data.
So in summary, the category configuration, plugins, custom code overrides, or APIs can all force a "Newest First" product order. Let me know if you need any help implementing a solution - I'd be happy to provide code examples or extensions to accomplish this.
