How to Create an Electronic Catalog
Because paper catalogs are so often just thrown away, environmentalists are concerned about the paper that is used to print them. With an electronic catalog you will not only save money on paper while saving trees, you'll also be able to deliver your catalog to people all over the world at minimal cost via email. You can also track who is reading your catalog online by viewing the online traffic reports that are provided by your web host.
Other People Are Reading
Instructions
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Layout your catalog using a program like Adobe InDesign, Illustrator, Quark Xpress, or even Microsoft Word (though the first three are preferable).
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Size the catalog at no more than 8.5-by-11 inches (the standard paper size) so that the catalog pages can be viewed within the customer's browser easily. You can set the pages to landscape or portrait view.
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Gather your product photos into a folder that you can refer to quickly.
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4
Create a front cover for your catalog. This should feature one or two of your best products (including photo and full product description) with smaller photos referencing items that can be found inside. For instance, you can place one large featured photo at the bottom three-quarters of the front cover with four or five photos across the top. Be sure to type "see page" with the catalog page number where it can be found at the bottom of each small product picture. (Create placeholder page numbers until your entire catalog is finished.)
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Type your company name across the top of the large photo on the front cover in a color that contrasts boldly against the photo's background (think of a magazine). Include a quick note about any specials or features in smaller letters to the left or right side of the front cover. For instance, "Irresistible Fall Pricing Specials (see page 5)."
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Create the back cover of the catalog. Place another large featured photo at the top three-quarters of the back cover and leave a white space at the bottom for additional information about your business, such as a logo or contact details. You can also use this white space for shipping labels if you ever decide to print the catalog and ship it to customers.
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Design a standard product page format that you can use for all of your inside pages. List four or five products on each page. Create a box for each product and line them up like a checker board across and down the page.
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Post the product photo, price in bold letters, and a short 50-word description inside of each box. Be sure to include the item number so that your customer can refer to the product on the order form. Add duplicate pages to your layout and insert new product information on each one until your online catalog layout is complete. Feel free to play with the format of each individual inside page---they don't all have to be exactly the same.
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Write the page number at the bottom of each page and don't forget to fill in your placeholder page numbers on the front cover from step four.
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Create a standard order form for the catalog. Use a simple table with columns for item description, item number, price and quantity. List "Subtotal," "Shipping Cost," and "Total" at the bottom of the form. Position this order form at the center of your electronic catalog. The customer can then print this order form and send it in with payment.
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Convert the catalog to PDF format using CreatePDF.adobe.com or Adobe Acrobat. Upload the PDF catalog to your website and send the link to your customers.
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Tips & Warnings
If you have Adobe Acrobat, you can add links to the words in your PDF file. There are also online services available, like FlipCity.com, that allow you to convert your PDF file into a convenient flipping book.
You can link each item to an individual product page on your website and give the customer an option to pay online.
