Catalog or Ecommerce Store
The difference isn't the design — it's how the sale happens. An ecommerce store is built for buyers who choose a product on their own and pay immediately. A catalog is built for customers who need help: choosing a configuration, calculating quantities, or getting a quote with their discount.
A catalog is the right choice if:
- price depends on volume, region or a specific customer's contract;
- products are technical and buyers want to talk to a specialist before purchasing;
- you sell through dealers and don't want to compete with them on your own site;
- orders are placed by invoice and contract rather than by card payment.
If most orders are standard and small, a catalog only adds an extra step for the customer. In that case it's better to build a store from the start, or a catalog with a cart for part of the range.
Catalog Formats: Pros and Cons
Open catalog with prices. Customers see the cost right away and can compare. Pro: fewer "how much does it cost" calls. Con: competitors see your prices too, and you'll need to update them regularly.
Catalog without prices, with quote requests. Works when pricing is calculated per project. Pro: flexibility in negotiations. Con: some visitors leave before getting a reply, so your sales team needs to respond quickly.
Private dealer portal. After logging in, dealers see their own prices, stock levels and documents, and can submit orders. Pro: less manual work with price lists. Con: requires integration with your accounting system and access management.
These formats can be combined: a public section for new customers and a private portal for regular ones.
Structure and Filters: Where Most Catalogs Go Wrong
The main challenge of a catalog isn't development — it's data. Categories are often organized the way the warehouse finds convenient, not the buyer. For example, products are grouped by supplier, while customers search by application.
We build the structure around how people phrase their search. For some products, size and material matter most; for others, compatibility with equipment. We show only the filters that actually narrow the choice within a given category, not the same 20-item list across the whole site.
Where Catalog Data Comes From
At most companies, the product range already lives somewhere: in QuickBooks or an ERP system, in Excel spreadsheets, in supplier price lists. We set up regular imports from those sources so that names, prices and availability on the site stay in sync with your records.
Descriptions, photos and documentation usually have to be gathered separately. A clear template helps here: which fields are required for each product type. If your catalog needs to exchange data with several systems at once, learn more on our integrations and automation page.
What to Prepare Before We Start
- An up-to-date product list in any form — a spreadsheet or an export from your accounting system.
- A list of the specs customers use to choose, and the questions they ask your sales reps.
- Photos, drawings, certifications and manuals — even if they're currently scattered across folders.
- A clear idea of who will handle requests from the site and where they should go.
Common Mistakes When Launching a Catalog
- Copying the structure from your accounting system as is. Names like "BRKT REINF GRY" make sense to the warehouse, not to customers. Product names and categories for the site should be rewritten in plain language.
- Empty product pages. An item without photos or specs looks like an error. It's better to launch fewer products with complete information and add the rest gradually.
- A request form that goes nowhere. Requests land in a general inbox and get lost. Before launch, decide who is responsible for requests and how fast they respond.
- One set of filters for every category. A "power" filter in the fasteners section only gets in the way. Each product type needs its own set.
How to Tell Your Catalog Is Working
The key metric isn't traffic — it's the number and quality of requests. A good sign is when customers write in with specific items and part numbers, and your sales reps spend less time explaining the basics.
We set up analytics to show which categories generate requests, which filters are used most, and on which pages visitors leave. This data tells you what to improve first.
Catalogs and Search Traffic
A catalog website captures search traffic well, because every category and every model is a separate page targeting a specific query. To make this work, we build clean URLs, unique titles and descriptions for categories, and block filter-generated duplicate pages from indexing.
Deeper technical and content work can continue as part of our SEO services.
What Affects the Cost of a Catalog
- Size and variety of the product range: how many categories there are and how much their specs differ.
- State of your data: whether there's a ready, structured spreadsheet or everything needs to be gathered and cleaned.
- Integrations: file import, sync with QuickBooks, or with several systems at once.
- Private section: dealer portals, custom pricing, request history.
- Languages: the number of language versions and who prepares the translations.
Once we've reviewed your product range, we break the work into phases and show what's essential for launch and what can be added later.
FAQ
Can we add a cart and online payments later? Yes, if it's planned at the design stage. That's a common path: start with a catalog and quote requests, then add online ordering for standard items.
Who will fill the catalog? We transfer most of it via import. Copy and documents for individual items are prepared by you, or we can agree on content population as a separate service.
Should we show prices on the site? It depends on your market. If competitors publish prices, hiding yours may put buyers off. If price depends heavily on terms, it's better to show a "starting at" price or ask for a quote request.
Can the catalog be multilingual? Yes. Just decide in advance who will translate specs and descriptions, because machine translation usually isn't enough for technical products.
Can dealers get their own prices? Yes, through a private login area. Each partner sees their own terms, and prices are pulled from your accounting system.
We have several thousand items. Won't the site be slow? Not with the right database and filter architecture. We plan for this before development begins.
Why Promodex
Among the projects we've delivered since 2015 are catalogs for industrial and B2B companies: ETNA-INDUSTRY, SantehPlast, Sourcez and SSK. Each project is handled by our own designers, developers and SEO specialists, with no outsourcing to third-party contractors. After launch, we help expand the catalog and provide ongoing support.
