Many small businesses still have their best sales tool locked in a PDF: the product catalog, the brochure, the collection lookbook, the wine list or the price list. Sent by email, it gets lost in downloads folders. Published online the right way, it becomes a page customers browse, share and come back to. Here is how to create an online catalog with WordPress.
Three ways to publish a catalog online
- A PDF download link: quick, but most visitors never open it, especially on phones.
- Product pages: ideal for online stores, but a lot of work if you have hundreds of references and do not sell online.
- An embedded flipbook: your existing PDF displayed as a real book in the page, with pages that turn. No rework of the layout, and visitors stay on your site.
For most wholesalers, manufacturers, artisans, furniture makers, wine estates and associations, the flipbook is the best balance between effort and result.
Prepare the PDF
Ask your designer for a “digital” export in RGB, without crop marks, with images around 150 dpi. A 40-page catalog should weigh a few megabytes. Make sure the cover is page one and that double-page spreads are in the right order. Our guide how to add a PDF flipbook to WordPress covers this step in detail.
Publish it as a flipbook
With E-Reader – PDF Flipbook, you upload the PDF to your Media Library and insert it with a block or a shortcode. Visitors get a two-page spread on desktop, a single page on phones, swipe and keyboard navigation, thumbnails, zoom and full screen. The PDF is loaded only when the viewer scrolls into view, so your page stays fast. Try it on the flipbook demo.
Build a real catalog page around it
Give the catalog its own page, with a URL like /catalog/, and write a short introduction: what the catalog contains, for whom, and how to order. List the main product ranges as text with their page numbers. This text is what search engines index, and it helps visitors find what they need. End the page with a clear call to action: request a quote, contact a sales rep, find a retailer.
Share it everywhere
- Send the page link in emails instead of attaching the PDF.
- Add it to your email signature.
- Print a QR code on your business cards, packaging and trade show stand.
- Share it on social media with a few pages as images.
- Link to it from your Google Business Profile.
Keep it up to date
When a new edition is ready, replace the PDF on the same page so the link you shared keeps working. Keep previous editions on an archive page if customers still need them. If you publish regularly (magazine, newsletter, seasonal collection), create one page per edition.
Add contact options next to the catalog
A visitor browsing your catalog is a warm prospect. Make it easy to ask a question at that moment with a floating contact button, and show your opening hours if you have a showroom.
Frequently asked questions
Do my customers need to install anything to read the catalog?
No. The flipbook opens in the browser on desktop, tablet and phone.
Can search engines read a flipbook catalog?
They index the page that contains it. Add an introduction and a list of product ranges as text so the page can rank.
How big can the PDF be?
Large catalogs work, but compress the PDF for screens first. A few megabytes is ideal for fast loading on phones.