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theresaa77335553
theresaa77335553
Participant
February 3, 2018
Question

Creating an Interactive Parts Catalog with a shopping cart

  • February 3, 2018
  • 2 replies
  • 1048 views

Hello I am trying to figure out what software for a beginner is good to create an interactive parts catalog that will have pictures, prints, possible hyperlinks, videos, barcodes, and needing to have a parts list or shopping cart that can be exported, email, or printed.  I want to mimic the website McMaster Carr as my inspiration.  Is Indesign the best program to incorporate all these abilities?  Also will the interaction become slower as I keep adding more and more of these items to one project?  Thank you for all your input in advance!

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    2 replies

    BobLevine
    Community Expert
    BobLevineCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    February 3, 2018

    Why would you want to mimic that site? Frankly, it's awful.

    This is not the kind of thing a beginner should try to do and it certainly can't be done with InDesign. There are specialized services for this like Shopify or you can try it with a nice WordPress theme with Woocomerce for the shopping cart portion.

      T
      Test Screen Name
      Legend
      February 3, 2018

      If you're a beginner, forget design, forget PDF. Find yourself a full service shopping cart app with these features, don't try to overlay them on a design app. The shopping cart part - with a full secure back end - is the dominant consideration. You need this to be online NOT on the local computer.

      Derek Cross
      Community Expert
      Derek CrossCommunity Expert
      Community Expert
      February 3, 2018

      I agree with Test Screen. Bear in mind that InDesign is a professional publishing application with a steep learning curve and you will need time to learn it and the ancillary applications and activities. In particular what you are suggesting is a complex proposal that is a daunting task. You should consider whether you might be better of employing a professional desiger or design agency and concentrate on running your business.

      Having said that, if you do want to proceed you‘ll need some training. Personal training may be the best, but the most expensive, there are some excellent books, such as “InDesign Classroom in a Book”, and the online video tutorials from Lynda.co. And, of course, you can ask specific questions on this friendly forum.

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