In this article, we will learn how to use WooCommerce as a catalog only. We will also be using the OptimizeForm Core plugin as it offers an easy and optimal way to enable catalog-only mode.
Businesses use WooCommerce sites for different purposes, including showcasing products, selling them to different types of customers, and other use-cases. However, there can be a need for running your WooCommerce site as a catalog only.
But before we get started, let’s take a look at a few definitions and things to know.
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What is a product catalog?
According to Gartner, the product catalog is defined as an informational piece where you can find all the commercial product information. Marketing managers utilize the product catalog to map or define the product offering.
In simple words, it is marketing collateral that provides you a way to list all your product details. This helps buyers to make purchase decisions. A catalog can contain detailed information about products, including product features, dimensions, descriptions, weight, price, color, customer reviews, availability, and any other information required to show vital information about the product to the buyer.
The best example on the internet would be the Amazon marketplace. You can go through all the products listed by them and learn about the products without any issue.
As a WooCommerce site owner, your job is to provide the best product catalog to your buyers so that they can make an informed decision while buying. Both B2C and B2B domains actively use product catalog as a way to interact with potential buyers.
In short, the following people can need product catalogs:
- Buyers and decision-makers
- The sales team and sales reps
- Field marketers
- Warehouse and store managers
- And external parties, including resellers, partners, and agencies.
Why might you want to use a WordPress product plugin without a shopping cart?
A catalog only eCommerce site can sound counterintuitive; however, there are many scenarios where you can use a WordPress product plugin without utilizing a shopping cart.
Other scenarios may demand the use of catalog-mode, including:
- To arm your sales reps with critical product information to further convey the SKU and benefits your products/services provide.
- To update your existing customers or prospects of your latest product offering.
- Ideal for allowing resellers and third-party vendors to share your catalog with their customers or prospects.
- You need to temporarily close the store due to unforeseen circumstances and need to remove the add to cart functionality.
- You are only allowing logged in users to see the price and make a purchase. In that case, you can showcase the site to logged out users as a wholesale site with no pricing. If the user wants to know the price, they can simply log-in.
How to Enable WooCommerce Catalog Model
Now that we have gone through the key aspects of WooCommerce as Catalog-only, it is now time to learn how to enable it. As mentioned earlier, we will use OptimizeForm Core Plugin that easily lets you do so in just six simple steps.
1. Install and activate the OptimizeForm Core plugin.
As we are using the OptimizeForm Core plugin, you first need to install and activate the plugin. You need to download it on your computer and then upload it to your site to get started.
You can install it by going to Plugins >> Add New and then Upload Plugin.
Once the plugin is installed, you need to activate the plugin.
2. Activate the request for a quote plugin.
OptimizeForm Core plugin comes with multiple modules that let you do specific things. In our case, we need to activate the “Request a Quote” module.
To do so, you need to go to OptimizeForm from the main dashboard menu and then click on “modules”
Once there, you need to activate the OptimizeForm Request a Quote module by turning it ON, as shown below.
3. Define which users catalog mode applies to
Once you enable the Request a Quote module, you will see the menu getting updated with new options, as shown below.
Now, you can define the rules for which the quote can be enabled or disabled. You can specify the rules for different users. For instance, you can set rule types such as
- Quote Rule for Guest Users
- Quote Rules for Registered Users(they can define which user group to target under this option)
Each rule can also set as a priority, and you can further refine which products or product category the rule should apply to. Below are the options that you get for each instance type.
You can also choose the categories for which the rules apply. All you need to do is enable them and save the rule for them to get applied.
4. Hide Product Price
To hide the product price, you can change the “Hide Price” option from No to Yes, as shown below.
5. Hide “Add to Cart” Option
You can easily hide the “Add to Cart” option by going to any of the rules for which you want.
In the ruleset, you can find the option of “Hide Add To Cart Button.”
As you can see, there are plenty of options available here. These are.
- Replace Add to Cart button With a Quote Button → This option replaces the “Add to Cart” button with a Quote button. This means the visitor will see a Quote button.
- Keep Add to Cart button and add a new Quote Button → You can also keep the Add to Cart button and still add a new Quote button with this option.
- Replace Add to Cart with a custom button → Different businesses have different needs and that’s why you can use a custom button to do the way of your needs.
- Keep Add to Cart and add a new custom button → Here, you can also opt to add a new custom button while keeping the Add to Cart button.
If you choose the custom button option, you can also add a custom button label with the option below the “Hide Add to Cart Button.”
6. Enable Product Enquiry
If you are looking for enabling product enquiry, you can do so by going to Hide “Add to Cart” option just like what we did above.
Simply go to the preferred ruleset, and then select the “Hide Add To Cart Button.”
This will open up four options. However, here, you need to enable the first option, “Replace Add to Cart button with a Quote button.”
This is very handy as you can use the custom button label below to put a call to action on their site. You can also prompt the user to do other actions including login for prices.
Conclusion
This leads us to the end of our tutorial on how to use WooCommerce as a catalog only. We hope that you are now able to change your eCommerce site accordingly. If you still have questions that need answers, then use the comment section below.
