Are you looking for a way to make a WordPress product catalog? While online commerce is extremely popular and convenient for most people, some stores do not like to sell online. Instead, these stores like to create product catalogs that visitors can look at online and buy items in-store or over the phone.
While this method is not for everyone, it does work for some websites and there are many positives to consider when requiring visitors to enter a physical location. For websites who intend to sell online, they will need to set up a shopping cart and payment method for visitors. Today, I will demonstrate how to make a WordPress product catalog using the YITH WooCommerce Catalog Mode plugin.
Why Only Make a Product Catalog
Shopping online has become extremely popular over the years and it is mainly due to the convenience online shopping offers. No long lines, no traveling, just click and buy. For this reason, it may seem very strange to make a product catalog without adding a shopping cart, but there are actually a few reasons.
For starters, having customers visit your actual store location is good for business. When shoppers see a store is full of customers, they want to see what they have. On the other hand, when they see an empty store, it may seem like something is wrong with the store and avoid it.
There are multiple items that you cannot buy online. For example, food, while there are many takeout restaurants, there are also a lot of restaurants that do not offer takeout. However, it is still a good idea to show the products they offer to entice potential customers to visit the restaurant.
Another potential reason is that the item you are selling does not have a set price. Many sellers want to get the most possible for their products. They want to haggle with customers on the price to get as much as they can. This is true for expensive antiques and older cars.
How to Make a WordPress Product Catalog
Today, I will demonstrate how to make a WordPress product catalog using the YITH WooCommerce Catalog Mode plugin. This plugin requires you to already have the WooCommerce plugin installed and setup. If you do not have WooCommerce already, this plugin will not function.
This plugin allows you to easily add product catalogs into WordPress. It hides the shopping cart feature from visitors automatically. Just remember to display the store telephone number and provide the store location so visitors can actually buy the items in the catalog.
Installing YITH WooCommerce Catalog Mode
Let’s start by clicking on Plugins and selecting the Add New option on the left-hand admin panel.
Search for YITH WooCommerce Catalog Mode in the available search box. This will pull up additional plugins that you may find helpful.
Scroll down until you find the YITH WooCommerce Catalog Mode plugin and click on the “Install Now” button and activate the plugin for use.
On the left-hand admin panel click on YITH Plugins and select the Catalog Mode option. This will pull up the main settings page.
Hiding the Shopping Cart
Setting up this plugin is extremely easy. This plugin offers a few options for disabling specific parts of WooCommerce. You can hide the product details page, other shop pages, disable “Cart” and “Checkout” page, and hide all “Add to Cart” buttons.
All of these options are done by simply checking a box. Make sure the plugin is enabled by checking the Enable YITH WooCommerce Catalog Mode box. It should be checked by default.
Check the Disable Shop box at the bottom to completely disable your online shop. This will hide the Cart and Checkout pages, while also removing all “Add to Cart” buttons.
Click on the “Save Changes” button to finish.
Now it’s time to fill the catalog.
Building a Product Catalog
Building a catalog is very simple. On the left-hand admin panel, click on Products and select the Add New option.
This page is very similar to creating a new page or post. Fill in the title, add a product description, add a product image. Scroll down below the text editor to find the Product Data section.
Here you can set up all of the availability and pricing information of the product. Click on the “Publish” button when you are done.
You can find the items you add on your store page. If this is your first time using WooCommerce the store can be reached by entering the following URL:[ht_message mstyle=”info” title=”” show_icon=”” id=”” class=”” style=”” ]www.YourWebsiteName.com/store[/ht_message]
Alternatively, you can also use the following shortcode to add a small catalog view on a post or page:[ht_message mstyle=”info” title=”” show_icon=”” id=”” class=”” style=”” ][products columns=”4″ limit=”8″ paginate=”true”][/ht_message]
Congratulations, you have successfully added the first product into your catalog. Repeat these steps to add as many products as necessary.
Show Off What You’re Selling
Running your own store is demanding and finding ways to get more customers is a 24/7 job, just like running a website. While it can be hard to get customers to enter your store location, showing your product off online can help attract customers. A website can help your store grow and showing off your product is very important in doing so.
Why do you want to add a product catalog in WordPress? Would you recommend this plugin to a friend?