To learn how to create a digital catalog, first choose where your customer will open it: on WhatsApp, as a PDF file or on a web page with your own address. Below are five formats, the information each product needs and how to keep it current.
What a digital catalog is and what it's for
It's the list of what you sell, with photo, description and price, in a format that opens on a phone. It lets the customer see your offer without asking about each product, and it lets you stop sending loose photos over chat. It informs and attracts; it doesn't take payments. If you need to take payments on the same page, skip to the end of this article.
Five ways to build it
| Format | Cost | Effort | Limits |
|---|---|---|---|
| WhatsApp Business catalog | No cost for the app | Low: photo, name, price and description per product | Lives inside WhatsApp; check the product limit for your version in the Help Center |
| PDF (for example designed in Canva) | Free, or whatever your design tool costs | Medium: designed once and redone with every change | It's heavy, hard to search and the customer may keep an old version |
| Your own page with your products | From $8,990 MXN with Elevalia, full site | Medium at the start, low afterward if you can edit it | Needs a domain and hosting; doesn't take payments by itself |
| QR code that opens the catalog | The generator can be free or paid; check that the code won't stop working when a plan expires | Low: generated once and printed | It's only the door: it leads to the catalog you already have |
| NFC plate that opens the catalog | From $2,990 MXN with Elevalia | Low: programmed once | It's only the door; the customer's phone must support NFC |
The last two aren't catalogs: they're the way to reach one. A QR on the table or a plate on the counter opens the WhatsApp catalog, the PDF or your page. There is a separate article on plates: NFC plates for businesses.
How to create a digital catalog step by step
- Make the full list of what you sell and remove what you no longer have or no longer want to sell.
- Group it into categories your customer understands: by type, by occasion or by price.
- Take photos in natural light, on a clean background and with the same framing in all of them.
- Write the name, description and price of each product in the same format.
- Choose the format from the table and upload or design it.
- Test it from your phone and from someone else's before sharing it.
- Share it: on your Instagram and WhatsApp profiles, and at the counter with a QR or an NFC plate.
What information to include for each product
- A clear, front-facing photo with no filters that change the real color.
- A name your customer recognizes, not the internal code.
- The price in pesos, and whether it includes VAT.
- A short description: size, material, ingredients or what the service includes.
- Variants: sizes, flavors, colors or bundles.
- Availability: in stock, made to order or sold out.
- How to order: a button or link to message you on WhatsApp.
If you sell services, the photo can be a finished job and the price can read "starting at," stating what pushes it higher. An honest range beats a price you can't hold.
How to keep it up to date
An old price starts arguments, and a sold-out product that's still listed costs you a sale. A simple routine:
- Change the price or mark an item sold out the same day it happens.
- Review the whole catalog once a month, with the product list in hand.
- Give one person the responsibility of editing it.
- If you use a PDF, put the date on the cover and replace the file everywhere you shared it.
- If you use QR or NFC, don't change the catalog they point to: change it from the inside.
When each format makes sense
- You're starting out and already serve customers on WhatsApp: WhatsApp Business catalog.
- You sell by quote or change prices by season: a PDF, as long as it stays a few pages.
- You want Google to find you and the catalog to have your own address: your own page.
- You have a physical shop, tables or a stand: a QR or NFC plate pointing to any of the above.
They can be combined. The usual path is to start on WhatsApp and move to your own page when the catalog grows or you want Google to show it.
When you need to take payments online
If your customers ask "how do I pay?" before messaging you, or you lose sales outside business hours, the catalog has fallen short. The next step is a store with a cart, payments and shipping. The cost breakdown is in how much an online store costs in Mexico.
At Elevalia
With our business website service we build your catalog as pages of your business, with technical SEO and WhatsApp built in, in 7 to 14 business days for a standard site of up to 5 pages, starting at $8,990 MXN; a larger catalog is quoted in the proposal. The NFC plates and QR codes that open your catalog are on NFC solutions , starting at $2,990 MXN. We don't promise sales results: they depend on your products, your prices and how you serve customers.