The Product Catalog Generator simplifies creating professional digital products. It enables organizations to scale their content production efficiently while significantly reducing time-to-market and resource allocation.
Overview
Our solution helps your organization streamline catalog production, reducing the process from weeks to minutes while ensuring real-time product information accuracy. It also maintains brand consistency across all digital catalogs and optimizes resource allocation in marketing operations, enabling greater efficiency and accuracy.
Table of contents
Import your product spreadsheet
Key Benefits
- Faster catalog production – Automate catalog creation and updates, reducing manual work.
- Consistent branding – Maintain brand identity across all catalogs with pre-designed templates.
- Scalability – Easily generate catalogs for large product inventories without starting from scratch.
- Seamless data integration – Automatically sync product details, prices, and images from a spreadsheet.
- Customization & interactivity – Enhance catalogs with videos, links, and shoppable buttons.
Use Cases
E-Commerce & Retail
Retailers can create faster interactive product catalogs with big product portfolios, for online or in-store browsing. Customers can explore product details, compare options, and make purchase decisions directly from a digital catalog.
B2B Sales & Wholesale
Sales teams can automate bulk product catalogs, ensuring real-time pricing and inventory updates for distributors and business buyers.
Franchises & Multi-Location Businesses
Multi-location businesses can generate catalogs per region or store, adjusting product availability and pricing dynamically.
Marketing & Branding Teams
Marketing teams can quickly generate campaign-specific catalogs, integrating promotions, featured products, and multimedia elements for better engagement.
Requirements:
- Plan: Enterprise
- Ideal for company size: Mid-market and Enterprise
- Product data spreadsheet template
Step-by-step guide
1. Prepare your data spreadsheet
To use this feature you need to organize your product information in a program like Google Sheets, Microsoft Excel, or Pages. But keep in mind that you can only connect your data in Flipsnack using Google Sheets, a CSV file, or a .xlsx (Microsoft Excel) file.
Important: The catalog generator currently works with its specific template in the future, we aim to be more flexible and allow users to use any column headers in the template.
After you download the specific template, make sure your product data includes important details like:
- SKU (mandatory)
- Name
- Description
- Product Image URL
- Price
- Currency
- Website.Button.Label
- Website.Link
Note: You can also schedule a consultation with our product expert for personalized assistance and help find the best solution for your needs.
Step 2: Import your product spreadsheet
From the main dashboard, click on the Create button in the top right corner, then select Product Catalog.
Then, a pop-up will appear, to import your product data, where you will have two options: Google Drive or Upload CSV.
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Tip: If you have products that need frequent updates, we recommend using Google Sheets. For example, if you manage an inventory of seasonal items that change frequently, using Google Sheets makes the update process easier, ensuring all information remains accurate and current.
If you're new to this feature or don't have a spreadsheet ready, click on Try Demo to explore how the product catalog functionality works.
Important: The maximum number of products allowed in a catalog is 2,000. If your catalog exceeds this limit, a warning will appear in the Design Studio, informing you that only the first 2,000 products will be added to the flipbook.
Step 3: Generate your product catalog
Once your data is imported, the Product Catalog Generator will show 5 different types of product templates that you can use each with unique layouts and design elements.
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Note: We now offer a paid design service to create custom-branded Catalog Generator templates, tailored to your business needs. This service ensures brand consistency and a professional look across all your catalogs. Under Flipsnack templates, click Get custom template, fill out the form, and our team will assist you in designing the perfect template for your business.
If you want to pick from the templates we offer already, these templates differ in how products are displayed, how the products are arranged on the page, and their stylistic elements like fonts and shapes (where applicable).
Note: The templates display different sets of information and are currently generated in A4 format only. If you require a different format, please contact us via live chat, and we’ll be happy to assist you.
- Product Catalog with 4 Products Layout
- Name
- Description
- Product.ImageURL
- Price
- Currency
- Shop button
Note: Here, the difference is that the information (name, price, etc.) is also linked to the shopping list button, not just to the text element and shape. For this template, you can also use our Variant-Rich Product Feed, from the already pre-mapped templates we offer.
This template shows 7 products with a detailed structure, including:
- SKU
- Name
- Description
- Website.Button.Label
- Price
- Discount Price
- Currency
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A simple and clean layout for 3 products, showing:
- Name
- Description
- Product.ImageURL
- Price
- Currency
4. 2 Products Text-Rich Layout
This layout is designed for 2 products with additional text elements:
- Name
- Description
- Product.ImageURL
- Price
- Currency
- Shop button
Note: Here, the difference is that the information (name, price, etc.) is also linked to the shopping list button, not just to the text element and shape. For this template, you can also use our Variant-Rich Product Feed, from the already pre-mapped templates we offer.
A layout for 4 products, featuring actionable links:
- Name
- Description
- Product.ImageURL
- Website.Button.Label (text that appears on the page, styled as a blue link)
- Website.Link (the URL the button links to)
After you choose a template will automatically create a catalog based on the template. Wait a few seconds while the catalog is generated, then review it to ensure all information is accurate.
Note: If you've made changes to your product spreadsheet, you can use the auto-sync buttons for updates. Simply go to your catalog, click on the Automation section, and click on the blue button next to your selected spreadsheet to re-import the updated data. Once the changes are reflected in the product feed, click on the black Sync Products button to apply them to your catalog.
Use the Preview button in the upper right corner to see how your catalog looks. Once you’re satisfied, publish it and share the catalog link with your audience.
4. Customize your catalog
You can also add the front and back covers to reflect your brand, including logos, here you can be creative.
To take it a step further you can improve your catalog by adding interactive elements like videos, links, and more to make it more engaging for your audience and boost sales.
See the video below on how you can do that:
Tip: You can learn more about improving your digital catalog by checking out our Academy lessons.
And we don't plan on stopping here! Here are also some powerful features and upcoming updates that will make Product Catalog Generator even more valuable:
- Custom templates: For those needing even more control, we’re introducing the ability to create and save custom templates. This will allow you to design your catalog exactly how you want it and reuse that design whenever needed.
- Improved data linking: Beyond basic fields like price and descriptions, upcoming updates will allow you to include additional fields such as discount prices, multiple images per product, and custom tags. This means your catalog will be as detailed and visually engaging as you need it to be.
Next Steps
Explore more resources:
- Prepare your spreadsheet for Flipsnack automation
- Automation for product variants
- How to use synchronization for Automation in Flipsnack
- How to create product catalogs from scratch using a product feed
- How to turn your PDFs into shoppable catalogs and automate the process
- How to automate multimedia elements in your digital publications
Need expert support?
Our team is here to help. Connect with our team experts or message us via the in-app chat for personalized assistance.