How to Make an Online Catalog: A Step-by-Step Guide for Beginners

If you’re selling products online, you’re in luck: it’s never been easier to reach a global audience of shoppers than it is today. But to win over your potential customers, you must show them your products in the right light.

For this, you can turn to online catalogs, which showcase your inventory in an engaging, attractive, and informative way. And if you’re interested in taking a DIY approach to making an online catalog for your business, we’ve got you covered.

Here’s our user-friendly step-by-step guide to creating an online catalog, including how to publish and promote it so that it effectively speaks to your target buyers.

Why create an online catalog?

Before we dive into how to make an online catalog, let’s touch on why online catalogs are an excellent tool for reaching your buyers.

The eCommerce landscape has exploded in popularity recently, with most shoppers heading online to complete their purchases. In fact, data shows that in just the past 10 years alone, retail eCommerce sales have ballooned in value from $1.3 billion to more than $5.6 billion.

It’s clear that shoppers are heading online en masse, and brands are taking note: more than 14 million eCommerce sites worldwide ship their products to a global audience of consumers.

While this means there is plenty of opportunity in the eCommerce landscape, there’s also a good deal of competition. And in this crowded online retail ecosystem, brands need to find creative and engaging ways to share their products with their audience.

Enhancing online sales through catalogs is an excellent option for brands for several reasons:

• Better reach and visibility: An online catalog can be seen by anyone anywhere in the world. This can expand your potential customer base.
• Convenience for customers: Customers can browse your digital catalog creation from the comfort of their home or a computer, tablet, or phone while on the go. This creates a convenient and flexible shopping experience.
• Richer product information: Online catalogs allow you to include more detailed information about your products than other ad mediums. For example, you can incorporate high-quality images, in-depth descriptions, videos, and specifications.
• Quick and efficient deployment: Today’s digital tools allow you to launch online catalogs quickly without needing specific development skills.

When it comes to reaching your audience and driving sales, interactive online catalogs are definitely the way to go. But before hitting “publish,” you first need to plan your catalog.

Planning your online catalog

If you’re wondering how to make an online catalog, the first step is to plan. Start by defining your catalog’s purpose and target audience. Are you aiming to generate leads, educate customers, showcase new products, or something else entirely?

Next, determine who you’re trying to reach. Clearly defining your target audience will help tailor the content and design of your catalog to resonate with their needs and interests. Consider factors such as demographics and buying habits.

Also, be sure to select the right products and services to feature. Focus on your most relevant products and services: not every product you offer needs to be included.

Prioritize what aligns best with your target audience and purpose. Consider highlighting your most popular items, new arrivals, or special offers.

Lastly, in the planning stage, structure your catalog logically, organizing products into clear categories and subcategories so your audience can easily navigate your catalog.

Designing your catalog

The design of your catalog is crucial for bringing it to life in a visually appealing and user-friendly way. Here are some online catalog design tips to keep in mind.

• Consider using product catalog software and tools: FLIPpages is a digital publishing platform that lets you turn PDFs into interactive publications, including catalogs. It’s web-based and easy to use, and you can design and launch catalogs from anywhere. FLIPpages also offers interactive PDF templates and themes.
• Incorporate images and videos: In addition to rich product descriptions, make sure to include high-quality images and videos to provide your audience with the most value possible.

Publishing your online catalog

Once your catalog is designed, the next step is to publish it on a platform. Another benefit of FLIPpages is that the platform includes hosting, so you can easily publish your final product and link to the URL, simplifying your publishing and eCommerce catalog management.

When it comes to online catalog publishing, be sure to also consider mobile optimization. Your viewers will likely look through your online catalog on a mobile device: data shows that in the first quarter of 2024, more than three-quarters of retail site visits in the US happened on smartphones.

To create mobile-friendly catalogs, be sure to use high-quality images, large buttons (which are easily selected with a finger), and clear and concise written content that’s easy to read on smaller screens.

Additionally, consider search engine optimization (SEO) for better visibility. Catalog SEO strategies include incorporating relevant keywords that potential customers might use to find products like yours and optimizing titles and descriptions.

Promoting your catalog

After creating and publishing your online catalog, it’s time to reach your target audience and drive sales with catalog analytics and optimization.

First, leverage effective marketing strategies for your online catalog (such as distributing it in your email campaigns) and integrate content marketing tactics (such as creating blog posts and articles highlighting products).

If you use social media channels, tap into your platforms to reach a broader audience. You can share snippets of your catalog, run contests or giveaways, and engage with your audience by answering questions about products featured in your catalog.

Lastly, it’s important to track and analyze catalog performance. If you’re using an online catalog platform, you can track certain metrics, such as number of views and downloads. You might also have access to metrics such as click-through rates and time spent on specific pages.

Ultimately, this data can help you understand what’s working and what’s not and decide where improvements can be made.

FLIPpages: Your online catalog solution

Understanding how to make an online catalog is simple with the right strategies and tools. And that’s where FLIPpages comes in.

We’re a digital publishing platform committed to helping clients create engaging, interactive publications easily and affordably.

Start your free trial to see for yourself how you can optimize your digital assets better and faster with FLIPpages.