Member Avatar for kimmi_baby

Hi there,
I need to create a website for a client using a CMS.

This client is a manufacturer and wanting to have a website that is pretty much similar to an ecommerce website except they won't be selling anything. It will have categories and list all the products. It will have product details, images but no price. They would also like to have a pdf file on each page to click on with the specifics of each product.

The client would also like to update the products and details using a CSV file with excel, also the pdf files if possible.

I'm looking into using Joomla (Virtuemart? I heard is good) and I also looked at Magento. There seemed to be a bit of mixed responses with Magento. I've also heard Wordpress could be good. I have used both Joomla and Wordpress before but not to this extent.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

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Dani AI

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For a manufacturer catalogue where products need images, a PDF spec per item, and bulk updates from CSV, the practical balance is ease of administration and reliable CSV/file handling. If the product count and attribute complexity are moderate, WordPress with a product catalog (or WooCommerce in “catalog” mode) plus a robust CSV importer will usually be fastest to build and simplest for a non-technical client to maintain. asked about PDF import: several WordPress importers accept file URLs in a CSV and will download/attach those PDFs to the post/media library during import.

All three platforms mentioned in the thread can do CSV imports, as noted, but they differ in setup and hosting needs. Joomla + VirtueMart works and has mature CSV tools (see the CSVI-type importers on the Joomla Extensions Directory), but extensions and upgrade paths require careful selection. Magento (Adobe Commerce) is powerful for very large product sets or complex commerce needs, but it is heavier to host and manage; consult the official developer docs before choosing it for a catalogue-only site.

Practical checklist to move forward:

  • Design a CSV with a stable unique key (SKU or ID), category, title, descriptions, comma-separated image URLs, and a PDF URL column.
  • Host PDFs where the importer can reach them (public URLs) or import them by pointing the importer to the source; verify the importer supports non-image files.
  • Use an importer that supports “update by SKU” so repeated imports update existing entries instead of creating duplicates.
  • Test on a staging site with a small sample, check PHP upload/time limits, and increase batch sizes or use chunked imports if needed.
  • Backup before bulk runs and confirm permalink, taxonomy, and template output for SEO and display.

If the catalogue will remain simple, start with WordPress + a proven importer. If you expect thousands of SKUs, multi-attribute filtering, or future B2B sales, evaluate Magento or a dedicated PIM (product information management) solution first.

Member Avatar for Paulsoninvest

Joomla, wordpress and Magento update the products and details using a CSV. I hate Joomla, cause it's always have many bugs.

Member Avatar for kimmi_baby

Thank you for your reply! Which do you think would be best to use as a catalogue? And do you know if any allow the user to add PDFs through the CSV?

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