By Artem Korsakov ·
Preparing a product catalog for a website starts by checking the price list: identifiers, units of measure, specifications, and update sources. The file may contain combined rows, different units, and notes understandable only to the manager. If development begins without verifying data, part of the project will turn into manual verification of the assortment. Catalog preparation helps determine this volume and responsibility in advance.
Assign a Source and Owner
Decide where current information comes from: an accounting system, a manufacturer's table, or your own reference book. If there are multiple sources, determine which is primary for each field. A price from one table and a description from another require a stable link between products.
Each item needs an identifier by which it can be updated without creating duplicates. Usually, a SKU or other agreed code is used. The product name is not reliable enough: it may change along with editing or the manufacturer's record format.
Gather a Small Representative Set
Do not start with manual preparation of the entire assortment. First, select examples from different categories, variants, and sales terms. Agree on card fields and upload rules based on them, then apply the solution to the rest of the data. Which fields are needed in the card is discussed in the article "Industrial Product Card".
For a conditional supplier, such a set might include:
- a single item;
- packaging of consumables;
- equipment made to order;
- a product with multiple variants.
If you check only simple items, complex cases will be discovered too late. The number of examples is determined by the diversity of the assortment.
Separate Content and Commercial Terms
Catalog fields are conveniently divided into two groups:
- product description: name, category, manufacturer, specifications, documents;
- sales terms: unit, quantity per package, price, availability, verification date.
Mixing them complicates updates and creates ambiguity.
Check which unit the price refers to. A value per meter should not be displayed next to the number of packages without an explanation of recalculation. If a public price is missing, define the text and action for requesting a quote. An empty cell should not accidentally turn into a free product.
For variable specifications, agree on units and allowed values in advance. Variants like "stainless" and "stainless steel" should be brought to a clear reference book if filtering by material is planned. More on value rules in the article about B2B catalog filters. Technical correctness is confirmed by the responsible specialist.
Link Images and Documents
Photos and files must have a clear link to an item or product group. The name "new final photo" does not help reliably identify the product. For each link, verify availability and the right to use the material in the project, do not assume it automatically.
If one document applies to a series, indicate this in the card. If a datasheet depends on the product variant, the link must account for the selected variant. A linking error may be less noticeable than a missing photo, but hinders procurement more severely.
It is not necessary to prepare unique photography for each similar item before the first launch. A limited approach can be agreed upon if it does not mislead the visitor. It is important to understand in advance where an image is accurate and where it illustrates a series.
Verify Update After First Upload
Run a test:
- Upload the agreed set.
- Change the price.
- Remove one item.
- Add a new one.
Ensure that products are updated without duplicates, and the removed code is handled according to the required rule. Removal from the source file does not always mean deletion of the page.
Before launch, determine the frequency and owner for updates. If it is manual upload, a clear instruction and result verification are needed. If data is transmitted automatically, errors and notifications must be agreed upon separately. What constitutes the cost of such exchange is discussed in the article about integrating a website with an accounting system.
For the trike_dev B2B Catalog project, you can start with a fragment of the price list and examples of documents. This will allow you to evaluate data preparation separately from development and agree on the first version that the team can actually support.
Частые вопросы ### Who should prepare the file?
The party that knows the assortment is responsible for the content. A contractor can help convert the table and detect discrepancies, but should not guess technical parameters and units. Distribution of this work should be fixed before assessing the content volume.
Should one row correspond to one product?
For standard uploads, this is convenient, but variants and kits require separate agreement. The main thing is that it should be clear from the data what the buyer chooses and what will end up in the request.