How to Create a Product Catalog in WordPress (Step by Step)

Creating a product catalog in WordPress allows you to showcase your goods or services without needing a full shopping cart.

Many businesses we’ve worked with prefer this approach to display their offerings while managing orders via phone or in person.

That said, setting up a product catalog isn’t always straightforward. If it’s not done right, your catalog can feel messy or confusing, which might frustrate visitors and drive them away.

The good news? With YITH WooCommerce plugins, you can build a smooth, user-friendly catalog that showcases your products beautifully and keeps customers coming back.

In this guide, we’ll walk you through the step-by-step process of creating a product catalog in WordPress.

Why Add a Product Catalog without a Shopping Cart?

Some businesses have products that they can’t sell online because they have an undetermined price. This makes it impossible for them to use a shopping cart plugin, but they still want to make a WordPress website to showcase those products and attract potential customers.

Normally, people associate eCommerce platforms with online shopping. However, you can still use them to display products without using the shopping cart feature.

On the other hand, you can add a product catalog with a one-click purchase option. Customers can instantly buy a product and bypass the checkout process. This provides a better shopping experience and makes the entire process quicker.

With that in mind, we’ll guide you through the steps for how to easily create a product catalog in WordPress.

Getting Started with Your Product Catalog in WordPress

The best way to create a product catalog in WordPress is by using WooCommerce. It is the best eCommerce plugin for WordPress and helps you create all types of online stores.

Plus, it supports multiple third-party plugins and extensions. You can use them to add new features, customize your store, and introduce new functionality to your WooCommerce store.

If you don’t have a WordPress site setup, then see our guide on how to create an online store to quickly set up WordPress with WooCommerce.

Once you have installed WooCommerce, you can move on to creating your product catalog in WordPress. We will cover 2 methods, including adding a product catalog without a shopping cart and with one-click checkout.

• Method 1: Create a Product Catalog without a Shopping Cart
• Method 2: Create a Product Catalog with One-Click Checkout
• Frequently Asked Questions: Creating a Product Catalog in WordPress
• Additional Resources for Optimizing Your Product Catalog

Let’s get started!

Method 1: Create a Product Catalog without a Shopping Cart

By default, WooCommerce displays an add to cart or buy button next to all your products. This makes it difficult to create a product catalog without the shopping cart feature.

Luckily, there’s an easy solution that fixes this problem.

First, you need to install and activate the YITH WooCommerce Catalog Mode plugin. We’ve tested it across a bunch of WooCommerce stores, and you can read our YITH WooCommerce Catalog Mode review for more details.

If you need help installing the plugin, please see our step-by-step guide on how to install a WordPress plugin.

Upon activation, you need to visit the YITH » Catalog Mode page to configure the plugin settings.

The plugin lets you enable catalog mode for all users or only for guest users. There are also options to display product catalogs to users from specific locations.

Next, you can scroll down to view more settings. You can go ahead and click the ‘Disable shop’ option.

Don’t forget to save the changes and store your settings.

Adding Products to Your WordPress Product Catalog

Next, you can go ahead and start adding products to your site. Simply visit the Products » Add New page to enter your product information.

On the products screen, you can provide a product title, description, short description, product image, and product gallery.

Under the ‘Product’ data section, you will find the price options. You can leave them blank if you don’t want to display product pricing.

Once you are finished, go ahead and publish your product. Repeat the process to add as many products as needed to build up your catalog.

You can visit your WooCommerce shop page to view your default catalog in action. Your shop page is usually located at a URL like this:

http://example.com/shop/

Replace example.com with your own URL to view your WooCommerce shop page in catalog mode.

If you don’t want to use the shop page, then you can also display your products on any WordPress page and use it as your product catalog.

All you have to do is create a new WordPress page or edit an existing one, and add the following shortcode in the content area:

[products columns="4" limit="8" paginate="true"]

Feel free to change the number of columns and the items per page limit to your own requirements. Once you have adjusted the shortcode, go ahead and save or publish your page to preview it.

You will notice that the product pages will not show any add-to-cart or buy buttons.

You can click on any individual product to see the product details page. It will show all the product information images, description, gallery, and without an add to cart or buy button.

Remember, you can use the product description to include your contact info so that customers who are interested in the product can get in touch with you about purchasing it.

Method 2: Create a Product Catalog with One-Click Checkout

Another way to show a product category is with a one-click purchase option. This will allow your customers to instantly purchase a product by clicking the buy it now button without going through the standard checkout process.

First, you will need to install and activate the YITH WooCommerce One-Click Checkout plugin. For more details, please see our guide on how to install a WordPress plugin.

We also have tested it extensively to see all its features, and we believe it is a great option for WordPress stores.

Upon activation, you can head to YITH » One-Click Checkout from the WordPress dashboard and edit the general settings.

For instance, you can enable the ‘Activate in shop page’ option.

Next, you can scroll down to view more settings. The plugin lets you exclude certain product categories.

It also lets you choose where you’d like to redirect customers after placing an order. You can redirect them to a product page, payment page, thank you page, or choose a custom page.

Other than that, you get different customization options with a one-click button.

There are settings for changing the button label, background, text color, background on hover, and more.

When you’re done, click the ‘Save Options’ button.

You can now visit your website to see the one-click or buy it now button.

Frequently Asked Questions: Creating a Product Catalog in WordPress

Here are some questions that are frequently asked by our readers about creating a product catalog in WordPress:

Can I create a product catalog without using WooCommerce?

Yes, you can create a product catalog without WooCommerce, but WooCommerce makes it much easier.

If you don’t want to use WooCommerce, then you can use catalog-specific plugins like Ultimate Product Catalog, or even a visual page builder like SeedProd to create static catalog layouts.

However, WooCommerce gives you more flexibility. You can enable catalog mode using a plugin that hides the cart and checkout features. This way, you get all the benefits of WooCommerce’s product management without forcing users to make purchases.

Can I add a contact form to each product in the catalog?

Yes, you can add a contact or inquiry form to each product in your catalog. This is especially useful if you’re not using direct checkout.

We recommend using WPForms to create a custom form and embed it on each product page.

Many catalog plugins also offer built-in support for inquiry buttons. When a visitor clicks “Request a Quote” or “Contact Us,” it opens a form tied to that specific product, making it easy for you to respond with personalized details.

Will creating a product catalog affect my website speed?

Not necessarily—but it depends on how many products you’re adding and how optimized your site is. To ensure fast performance, follow these tips:

• Use a lightweight theme that’s optimized for WooCommerce or product listings
• Compress your product images before uploading them
• Use a caching plugin like WP Rocket
• Consider a content delivery network (CDN) to serve images faster

A well-built product catalog shouldn’t slow down your site, especially if you’re not using full eCommerce checkout features.

Additional Resources for Optimizing Your Product Catalog

Want to make your product catalog even more stand out? These handy guides will help you refine and elevate your catalog for an even better user experience:

• Best Product Grid Plugins for WooCommerce (Free + Paid)
• How to Sell a Single Product Online with WordPress
• How to Display Popular Products on WooCommerce Product Pages
• Best WordPress Product Comparison Plugins (Compared)
• How to Customize WooCommerce Product Pages (No Code Method)

We hope this article helped you learn how to easily create a product catalog in WordPress. You may also want to see our list of the best WooCommerce themes that you can use for your product catalog website, and our guide on WooCommerce SEO made easy.

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