A catalog is data until a customer sees it. There are three places they can: the catalog page, the storefront block, and the email. Each is a template in the same editor, each is for a different moment, and the campaign type decides which ones are in play.
The catalog page
Every run gets a page on your Online Store. It shows the customer's full catalog: their products, their prices, the end date, and add-to-cart. The email links to it; the block links to it; it is where the decision happens.
The page template sets its layout, and there are two:
- Squeeze Page. A standalone page with no store header, footer or navigation. The customer sees only their catalog. It suits email: the customer came for this, so show them this.
- Integrated. The catalog inside your theme's layout, with your header and footer. It suits visitors who arrive from the store itself, because it looks like part of the store. It uses a small set of theme files that Randio installs from Settings → Sync and never edits your own theme files.
Both layouts render the same design: the colours, fonts and card style you set in the template. Randio creates the page when the run starts and removes it when the run ends; an old link shows "This personalized catalog has ended."
The storefront block
The block is a theme section block. Add it from Settings → Sync or in the theme editor, drag it into position on the pages you choose, save. In the theme editor it is empty; offers only render on the live store.
It shows a visitor's catalog while a Storefront campaign is running. In Logged In mode a visitor who is not signed in sees a login prompt; in Guest mode anonymous visitors get a catalog from the shared pool. Cards link to the catalog page. While a page stays open the block checks for a new run about every half minute, so a rotation shows up without a reload.
The block's design comes from the block template, not the theme editor; the theme editor only has a few layout settings. Outreach campaigns do not use the block at all.
Separate from the block, and easy to confuse with it, is the cart app embed: an invisible switch in the theme editor's App embeds panel that keeps the customer's discount token in the cart. The block shows offers; the embed makes them apply. Both are checked on Settings → Sync.
The email
Outreach only. The email template holds the subject line, the body text and the design, with up to three modes for different sends. It shows a sample of the customer's products and links to their catalog page. A reminder, if the campaign has one, uses the same template later in the run. Send yourself a test from the editor before the first run.
Which to use when
| Campaign | Customer sees | Templates in play |
|---|---|---|
| Outreach | Email, then the catalog page | Email + page, usually Squeeze |
| Storefront, Logged In | Block, then the catalog page | Block + page, usually Integrated |
| Storefront, Guest | Block, then the catalog page | Block + page, usually Integrated |
One template of each kind is enough to start, because the design carries across them. Make a second page template only when you want a different layout for a different campaign type, and keep the email and block on the same colours so a customer who sees both recognises the offer.
Previewing
The template editor's store preview renders the page with real products from your strategy, in a local cart that does not place orders. The campaign page shows a thumbnail of each run as it will look. Use both before the first run; after that, the template is frozen for the run and edits apply to the next one.
How these pieces fit into the first run is in Setting up your first campaign. The difference between the two campaign types is in Outreach vs Storefront campaigns.
