Here are a few key things to help you understand how Catalog Machine works:
We offer three main features: Product / Image Database, Catalog Builder, and Catalog / Showroom site hosting.
You don't need products to create your catalogs, but we recommend this approach as a convenient way to organize your information and images, speed up / automate the creation process and finally to have a quick way to update your content.
A catalog can combine different formats - line sheet, price list, order form, look book, informational pages with text and pictures or product pages with different templates.
You can share your catalog on social media, embed into your site, send an email with link or attachment, download as PDF and print. You can make a catalog public, protected or keep it internal for your employees or just use it to generate a PDF.
Product / Image Database
A product is a set of text and image fields that are defined by a product category. Separate categories can have different fields - one or more images, prices, descriptions, specifications.
Features:
Categories - define fields and variant options for products.
Import products with images from CSV, Shopify, Etsy, eBay, Magento, Prestashop or WooCommerce.
Add product variants extending products with options (e.g., color, size, style, material, etc.)
Organize your products with collections - creating an ordered hierarchy of products for catalogs, price lists, and Showroom.
Image manager - use for advanced uploads and editing of your images
Catalog Builder
Create your catalog in many different ways by drag and drop, using templates, layouts, quick builder, collections and more.
Features:
Catalog Creator and Designer - design, configure, share, preview and download your catalog
Templates - one product page fragment (from full page display to the small thumbnail). Templates allow displaying multiple products on the page or adding large product sets creating many pages with one button.
Layouts - a page with the arrangement of element placeholders to quickly fill this page by drag and drop (images or products).
Product Price Lists - create product price lists, indexes, order forms, etc.
Product Grids - a tool for fast catalog updates using manipulations with products and linked templates.
There are three main approaches how you can create catalog pages: manual, templates and layouts. Here is a short overview of these ways.
Your Catalog / Showroom Site
Catalog Machine hosts your catalogs and Showroom for public or private access, embedding to your website and PDF view / download
Features:
Publish and share your catalog - configure privacy, links, etc. and share in many ways or embed into your website.
Showroom - a dynamic catalog of your products that enable your customers to search and browse your products their way.
Order Requests - allow your customers to select products from catalogs or Showroom and send your order requests or quotes that you can manage.