A B2B catalogue website in Kenya should help a buyer identify the right item and send a useful quotation request. It does not always need a checkout. If an industrial supplier prices work after confirming specifications, quantities or delivery conditions, a catalogue with a clear enquiry route may suit the business better than showing an unreliable fixed price.
This guide is a planning worksheet for that decision. It focuses on how product information reaches a sales conversation, rather than another general website price guide. Discuss the brief with your website development team before choosing page layouts or purchasing a theme.
Decide what the buyer must accomplish
Start with the people who will use the catalogue. A procurement officer may have a manufacturer reference and need an equivalent. A technician may recognise the product category but need help confirming a specification. A returning customer may simply want to reorder a known item. These journeys need different entry points, even when they end at the same sales desk.
Write a short success statement for each journey. For example, an illustrative fittings supplier might want a buyer to find a connection type, check an approved specification and request a quotation for a stated quantity. That is more useful than a requirement saying the website should look modern. The example describes a planning exercise, not a claim about a particular Mocky customer.
Separate information the website can answer from decisions a salesperson must confirm. If suitability depends on operating conditions, avoid presenting a category label as a guarantee. Give the customer a practical route to ask a question and identify who approves technical wording before publication.
Build a product information hierarchy
Organise categories around distinctions buyers actually understand. Ask the sales team which terms appear in enquiries and which labels are only used internally. A category structure that mirrors the warehouse shelves may be convenient for staff but confusing to someone comparing products on a phone.
Prepare a small representative sample before documenting the entire range. Include a straightforward item, a configurable item, an item with a technical download and one that should remain unpublished until information is confirmed. Use this sample to agree the page structure and approval process with the developer.
For each product, record its public name, reference, category, approved description, distinguishing specifications, image source and enquiry destination. Include units beside dimensions and quantities. Mark missing information explicitly. A blank field should not silently become a guessed measurement or a universal claim about compatibility.
Decide whether similar items deserve separate pages or a clear comparison within one page. The answer depends on how different their specifications and buyer tasks are. Creating a page for every spelling variation adds maintenance work without necessarily helping anyone make a decision.
Choose quotation, checkout or a mixed catalogue
Use a quotation route where the final offer depends on information that cannot reasonably be settled on the product page. Examples might include a configured assembly, an installation requirement or a quantity-dependent commercial agreement. Identify the actual dependency instead of hiding every price simply because the catalogue is B2B.
A direct checkout may fit standard products with approved prices and fulfilment rules. A mixed catalogue is also possible: some items can be ordered while others require review. The interface should tell the buyer which route applies before they invest time completing a basket or form.
If a store is part of the plan, discuss ecommerce website development separately from catalogue presentation. Ordering introduces responsibilities for payment status, stock, delivery, cancellations and staff access. A quotation form does not automatically provide those operational controls.
Google's product-data guidance describes structured data and Merchant Center feeds as ways to communicate ecommerce product information. Match any implementation to the actual visible offer. Do not fabricate a price or availability value just to fill a markup field, and do not assume that technical markup guarantees a search appearance.
Make the quotation request carry product context
A buyer should not have to retype everything they have just selected. Discuss whether the request can retain the product reference, page address and chosen option. Where several items belong in one enquiry, consider a quotation list rather than forcing separate submissions. Agree how staff receive that list and how the customer sees what was sent.
Keep required fields tied to the first response. Contact details, item references, quantities and a short requirement may be enough for an initial discussion. Additional operating details can be collected when they are relevant. Avoid asking for sensitive documents merely because an upload control is available.
Show a clear confirmation when the website accepts the request. The confirmation should explain the next step without inventing an immediate-response promise. If delivery to a CRM is delayed, the website needs a reliable recovery process. Agree how a failed delivery is detected rather than treating a loading spinner as evidence that the sales team received the message.
Give telephone or email alternatives where appropriate, but preserve context in those routes too. A useful prompt is to include the item reference and quantity. The aim is to reduce clarification work, not to force every buyer into one communication channel.
Plan technical downloads and photographs
Create an approval register for datasheets, installation notes and product images. Record which product each file describes and which version is current. A downloadable document can become misleading when a supplier changes the item while the website still serves an older specification.
Use photographs that help a buyer recognise the product, its connections or its scale. Do not rely entirely on decorative mockups. If an image is illustrative, make its role clear in the surrounding content. Keep genuine product evidence separate from visual presentation work so that the website does not imply a specification the image cannot establish.
For image preparation and responsibilities, use the website image and content brief. Agree who checks filenames, captions and publication rights. Keep an original source folder and an approved delivery folder so revisions are easier to trace.
Assign ownership after the website launches
Choose who maintains descriptions, who approves technical changes and who follows up quotation requests. These may be different people. A developer should not be expected to know that a discontinued product has been replaced unless the business supplies that change through an agreed process.
Set a review routine around the catalogue's actual rate of change. Review unavailable items, broken downloads, unanswered requests and confusing category labels. A catalogue containing fewer approved items can be a better launch choice than a larger collection with uncertain specifications. Record what is deferred and who will supply it.
Define the handover deliverables: account access, editing guidance, the current product register and the location of approved assets. The website handover checklist can support that discussion. Agree support boundaries rather than assuming every future content change is included indefinitely.
Review a complete buyer journey before approval
Choose a representative product and walk through the journey from category to request confirmation. Ask someone outside the project team to find a detail without being coached. Note unclear labels, missing units and places where the customer must guess. Repeat the review on a narrow mobile screen.
Plan form validation with your developer in a controlled environment. Include missing required information, several requested items and a failed delivery scenario. Do not create unapproved live leads or analytics activity to make a launch checklist appear complete. Record what was tested and any limitation still awaiting resolution.
For a relevant visual reference, review the Soliflux industrial website case study. Use portfolio work to discuss presentation and documented scope, not as proof that every catalogue needs the same structure or will obtain the same commercial results.
Frequently asked questions
Does every B2B catalogue need online payments?
No. Decide whether a buyer can agree the complete order from published information. Where a quotation or suitability review is required, explain that route clearly. Add checkout only when the business can support its pricing and fulfilment responsibilities.
Can we launch before every product is documented?
Agree a launch subset with complete approved information. Keep missing items in a separate preparation list. Do not publish guessed specifications or placeholder offers simply to make the range look larger.
Should quotation forms be long?
Collect the information needed for a useful first response. Add conditional questions only where they help the relevant product enquiry. Test the form on mobile and explain what happens after submission.
What should we send Mocky for a catalogue brief?
Share a representative product sample, your current category list, enquiry process, image and datasheet availability, and the decisions sales must confirm. Send the brief through the project enquiry page so the proposed website scope can match your actual buying journey.
