Hover to turn the page
Page flip animation
The motion that tells a reader the document has a beginning and an end. Flipsnack adds it to any uploaded PDF.
DIGITAL PUBLISHING GLOSSARY
Digital publishing explained
Find the terminology you need to make better decisions about your digital publications, from creating and updating content to sharing, securing, and measuring it. Each term is explained simply and shown in the context of Flipsnack.
THE SHORT ANSWER
What is digital publishing?
Digital publishing is the practice of creating and distributing content as live online publications rather than as print or static files. It covers magazines, catalogs, brochures, ebooks, newsletters, and reports, and the defining shift is that the document becomes a link instead of a file. On a digital publishing platform such as Flipsnack, that link can be corrected after it goes out, opened on any device, made interactive with video, product tags, and forms, restricted to specific readers, and measured page by page, all without producing a new file.
SIX PLACES TO START
Browse by what you are trying to do
The glossary follows the same path a publication does, from picking a format to proving it worked. Pick the step you are on.
- Choose the format What you are publishing, and what the format is expected to do. See more 14 terms
- Make it interactive What a reader can do inside the publication instead of only reading it. See more 10 terms
- Generate it from your data Where the product information comes from, and how pages get built from it. See more 9 terms
- Make it look like yours How the publication carries your identity rather than a platform's. See more 8 terms
- Publish and protect it How the publication reaches people, and who is allowed to open it. See more 11 terms
- Measure and convert What you learn after the link goes out, and what you do with it. See more 14 terms
ALL 66 TERMS
Find your term by the job you are doing
Search any term to see what it means inside Flipsnack, which terms it connects to, and where to go next.
Choose the format14 terms
What you are publishing, and what the format is expected to do.
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Flipbook
A digital publication with page-turning animation, made from a PDF or designed from scratch.Flipsnack turns an uploaded PDF into a flipbook in the browser, so the same document gains page turns, links, and tracking without being rebuilt in a design tool.
Related
Flipbook maker -
Digital catalog
An online product catalog readers browse, click, and order from, updated without reprinting.A digital catalog in Flipsnack stays at one link, so correcting a price republishes to every buyer at once instead of sending a new file and hoping the old one stops circulating.
Related
Digital catalog maker -
Product catalog
The complete list of what a company sells, with descriptions, images, and prices.Teams usually keep the product catalog in a spreadsheet or a PIM and publish it separately. Flipsnack reads that source directly, so the published catalog and the underlying list do not drift apart.
Related
Guide to digital catalogs -
Wholesale catalog
A catalog for B2B buyers, carrying trade pricing, order minimums, and account-based access.Because trade pricing is not meant to be public, wholesale catalogs in Flipsnack are usually published unlisted or behind a password, and buyers place orders from inside the catalog itself.
Related
Wholesale catalog software -
Ecommerce product catalog
The product data behind an online store, shown as collection pages, filters, and feeds.The store and the catalog usually run on the same product data. Flipsnack publishes that data as a browsable catalog and links each product back to its live page, so the two stay aligned.
Related
Ecommerce catalog maker -
Brochure
A short printed or digital document that introduces a company, product range, or service.Most brochures start life as a print file and end up as a PDF attachment. Flipsnack takes that same file and publishes it as a link, so the brochure gains tracking and links without a redesign.
Related
Brochure maker -
Lookbook
A visual-first publication showing products styled in context rather than listed as specifications.Lookbooks live on imagery, so Flipsnack pairs them with product tags and living visuals: the styled photo stays the hero, and the price and link appear only when a reader asks for them.
Related
Digital lookbook creator -
Line sheet
A wholesale order document listing products with SKUs, wholesale prices, and minimum quantities.A line sheet is a catalog stripped to ordering essentials, so it is a natural fit for generation. Flipsnack builds line sheets from the same product feed that produces the full catalog.
Related
Catalog Generator -
Digital publishing
Producing catalogs, brochures, and documents as live online publications instead of files you send.Flipsnack is a digital publishing platform: you bring the finished document or the product data, and it handles the publishing, the access rules, and the reporting that a file cannot carry.
Related
See how it works -
Booklet
A short publication with a few pages and a light cover, used to inform or promote.Booklets are short enough that readers finish them, which makes their analytics unusually clean. Published through Flipsnack, you can see which of the eight pages people actually reached.
Related
Booklet maker -
eBook
A book-length digital publication read on a computer, phone, tablet, or e-reader.Most B2B ebooks exist to collect leads rather than to be read cover to cover. Flipsnack puts the lead form inside the ebook, so the download step stops being the only conversion point.
Related
Ebook maker -
Magazine
A periodical publication of articles and features, issued in print, digitally, or both.A digital magazine in Flipsnack carries video, links, and forms alongside the articles, and each issue keeps its own analytics, so you can compare how far readers got issue over issue.
Related
Digital magazine maker -
Newsletter
A publication sent regularly to a subscriber list with news, updates, and offers.Newsletters usually die inside the email client. Publishing the issue in Flipsnack and linking to it from the email gives you a permanent, designed version plus the reading data the email tool cannot see.
Related
Newsletter maker -
White paper
An authoritative report on a specific topic, used to demonstrate expertise and generate leads.A white paper is usually gated, then never measured again. In Flipsnack the gate and the document are the same object, so you learn whether the person who traded their email actually read past page two.
Related
White paper publishing
Make it interactive10 terms
What a reader can do inside the publication instead of only reading it.
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Product tag
A clickable label on a catalog page carrying a product's name, price, and link.Product tags are what turn a Flipsnack page from a picture of a catalog into a catalog. A reader taps the product, sees price and details, and moves toward an order without leaving the page.
Related
Digital catalog maker -
Hotspot
A clickable region placed over an image, opening a link, video, or product detail.A hotspot is the general case of a product tag. In Flipsnack it sits invisibly over any part of a page, which is how a single spread can carry a dozen destinations without visible clutter.
Related
Publication examples -
Buy button
A button inside a publication that sends the reader straight to checkout or cart.The buy button is the shortest path from a Flipsnack page to a transaction. It matters most in catalogs where the reader has already decided and only needs somewhere to click.
Related
Shoppable catalogs -
Shopping list
An in-catalog order list buyers fill as they browse, then send in one message.B2B buyers rarely order one item. Flipsnack lets them collect products while reading and send the whole list as an order or enquiry, which replaces the email full of copied SKUs.
Related
B2B ordering -
Shoppable catalog
A catalog where products link straight to cart or checkout, closing the loop.A shoppable catalog in Flipsnack combines product tags, buy buttons, and an order list, so browsing and buying happen in the same place rather than in a catalog and a webshop.
Related
Shoppable catalog maker -
Dynamic catalog
A catalog whose content changes with live data, audience, or region.One catalog, many versions. Flipsnack generates a variant per region, price tier, or account from the same product source, so a distributor and a retailer each see the pricing meant for them.
Related
Catalog Generator -
Price list
A document showing prices per product, often tiered by distributor, reseller, or market.Price lists change more often than anything else in a catalog, which is why Flipsnack generates them from the source data and republishes at the same link instead of issuing a new PDF each time.
Related
Generate price lists -
RFQ (request for quote)
A buyer request for pricing on specific quantities, usually sent before a purchase order.In Flipsnack an RFQ starts inside the catalog: the buyer builds a list while reading and submits it, so the request arrives with the products already attached instead of described in prose.
Related
B2B catalogs -
Call to action (CTA)
A prompt asking the reader to take a specific step, such as ordering or requesting a quote.In a Flipsnack publication a CTA is a real element on the page, not a line of text: a button, a form, or an order list, placed where the reader is already interested.
Related
Add CTAs to a publication -
Personalization
Adapting content to a specific reader, segment, region, or account.Personalization in Flipsnack usually means generating a variant per audience from the same product source, so a distributor, a retailer, and a region each open the version meant for them.
Related
Catalog Generator
Generate it from your data9 terms
Where the product information comes from, and how pages get built from it.
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Catalog automation
Generating catalog pages from a product data source instead of laying out every page.Catalog automation is the difference between a seasonal project and a routine task. Flipsnack lays out pages from your product data, so four thousand SKUs cost roughly what four hundred do.
Related
Catalog Generator -
Catalog Generator
Flipsnack's tool that builds catalogs automatically from a product feed or spreadsheet.The Catalog Generator connects a CSV, Google Sheet, store, or PIM to a Flipsnack template and produces the pages. Regenerating after a data change takes minutes rather than a redesign.
Related
Catalog Generator -
Catalog management
Keeping product listings accurate and consistent across every channel that shows them.Catalog management usually breaks at the publishing step, where an old PDF keeps circulating. Publishing through Flipsnack keeps the catalog at one link, so the managed data and the published version match.
Related
Guide to digital catalogs -
PIM
Product Information Management: the system holding product data as a single source of truth.A PIM governs the data; it does not publish it. Flipsnack sits downstream, turning what the PIM already approved into a catalog buyers can read, without a second place to maintain product copy.
Related
Connect your product data -
Product feed
A structured CSV, XML, or JSON file listing products and their attributes for import.The feed is the practical entry point for most teams: no PIM required. Flipsnack reads it directly, so a spreadsheet your team already maintains becomes the source for the published catalog.
Related
Catalog Generator -
ERP integration
Connecting a catalog to the system that holds live pricing, stock, and orders.The ERP knows what a product actually costs and whether it exists. Feeding that into Flipsnack is what keeps a published catalog from advertising a price or an item that is no longer real.
Related
Talk to sales about integrations -
SKU
The unique code identifying one sellable product variant across every system you run.The SKU is the key that lets a Flipsnack catalog page, a product tag, and an order list all refer to the same thing, which is why an order submitted from a catalog can be fulfilled without translation.
Related
Catalog Generator -
Product data syndication
Sending the same product data to many channels, each in its required format.Syndication is usually described in terms of marketplaces, but a catalog is a channel too. Flipsnack is the channel where that data is read by a human rather than parsed by a system.
Related
Guide to digital catalogs -
Digital asset management (DAM)
A system that stores and organises images, videos, and documents so teams reuse the approved version.A DAM decides which product photo is current; Flipsnack is where that photo ends up in front of a buyer. Pulling images from the approved source is what stops last season's shot reappearing in a catalog.
Related
Talk to sales about integrations
Make it look like yours8 terms
How the publication carries your identity rather than a platform's.
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PDF
A fixed-layout file format that keeps formatting identical everywhere, but stays static once sent.The PDF is usually where a publication starts, not where it ends. Flipsnack takes the finished PDF as input and adds the parts a file cannot carry: links, interactions, access control, and analytics.
Related
Turn a PDF into a flipbook -
Page flip animation
The page-turning motion that gives a digital publication the feel of print.The page flip is not decoration. It tells a reader the document has a beginning and an end, which is why Flipsnack publications get read in sequence more often than scrolling documents do.
Related
Flipbook maker -
Template
A pre-built layout you adapt instead of starting a publication from a blank page.Templates matter most when catalogs are generated, because the template decides how every product renders. In Flipsnack you build it once, then the same layout carries thousands of products.
Related
Design Studio -
Design Studio
Flipsnack's built-in editor for designing and editing publications without external design software.Design Studio is where a Flipsnack publication is edited after upload: fixing a price, adding a tag, or restyling a page without going back to InDesign and re-exporting the whole file.
Related
Design Studio -
Brand kit
Your saved logos, colors, and fonts, reused so every publication stays on brand.The brand kit exists so brand consistency does not depend on memory. Saved once in Flipsnack, it is available to everyone publishing, which matters most when several teams publish in parallel.
Related
Brand book maker -
Custom branding
Applying your logo, colors, fonts, and domain so the publication reads as yours.Custom branding in Flipsnack covers the reader-facing shell as well as the pages: the player, the loading screen, and the link itself, so nothing between the click and the content looks borrowed.
Related
Branding options -
White label
Removing all platform branding so the publication appears to come only from you.White label is the end of the branding scale: a Flipsnack publication served from your own domain with no platform marks, which is the usual requirement for agencies and enterprise buyers.
Related
Talk to sales -
Living visuals
Flipsnack's AI motion effect that adds subtle movement to still images inside a publication.Living visuals give a still Flipsnack page gentle motion without a video shoot or an editing pass. In a lookbook or a hero page it is what keeps a reader on the spread a moment longer.
Related
AI Living visuals
Publish and protect it11 terms
How the publication reaches people, and who is allowed to open it.
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Embed code
A snippet that displays your publication inside your own site, keeping readers on it.Embedding keeps the traffic and the SEO value on your own page. A Flipsnack embed loads the publication inside your site, so the reader never lands on a third-party domain to read it.
Related
See embedded publications -
QR code
A scannable code linking print materials or in-store displays to a digital publication.The QR code is how a printed catalog, a shelf, or a trade show stand hands a reader the digital version. Flipsnack generates one per publication, and scans are counted like any other visit.
Related
PDF to QR code -
Custom domain
Publishing at your own web address instead of the platform's default URL.A custom domain removes the last visible trace of the platform. Flipsnack serves the publication from your address, which matters for trust in cold outreach and for keeping link equity on your domain.
Related
Talk to sales -
Permanent link
A URL that stays the same when you update the publication behind it.This is the quiet reason digital publishing works. Because a Flipsnack link does not change when the content does, a QR code printed last season still opens this season's catalog.
Related
Guide to digital catalogs -
Unlisted publication
Reachable by direct link, excluded from search engines and public profiles.Unlisted is the setting most B2B catalogs actually need: shareable with buyers, invisible to competitors browsing search results. In Flipsnack it is a publishing option, not a separate workflow.
Related
Private B2B catalogs -
Password protection
Requiring a shared password before the publication will open.Password protection suits a document shared with a known group, such as a dealer network. Flipsnack applies it per publication, so one confidential price list can sit beside a public catalog.
Related
Access control -
SSO
Single sign-on: access controlled by your company identity provider, with no separate account.SSO answers the enterprise version of the access question. Flipsnack defers to your identity provider, so joiners and leavers are handled by IT rather than by whoever shared the link.
Related
Enterprise access -
OTP access
A one-time code emailed to the reader, verifying identity without creating an account.One-time codes sit between a password and full SSO: you learn exactly who opened a Flipsnack publication, and the reader gets in without registering for anything.
Related
Enterprise access -
Bookshelf
A single page collecting several publications, so readers browse a library instead of one document.A Flipsnack bookshelf is how teams publish a whole range at once: the seasonal catalog, the price list, and the line sheet on one link, with each item still tracked separately.
Related
See published examples -
Gated content
Content a reader can only open after giving contact details or a password.Flipsnack gates the publication itself rather than the download, so the form sits in front of a live document. You capture the lead and still see what they read afterwards.
Related
Gated publications -
Mobile optimization
Making content readable and usable on phones, where most links are now opened first.A PDF on a phone is a pinch-and-zoom exercise. Flipsnack publications reflow for the screen, which matters because buyers open catalog links on a phone far more often than teams expect.
Related
See it on mobile
Measure and convert14 terms
What you learn after the link goes out, and what you do with it.
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Reader analytics
What readers did inside the publication: pages reached, clicks, and where they stopped.This is what a PDF cannot report. Flipsnack records the session inside the publication, so a sales team learns which pages a prospect actually read before the follow-up call.
Related
See what analytics show -
Heatmap
A visual overlay showing where readers clicked and lingered on each page.A heatmap turns page-level numbers into a picture of a spread. In Flipsnack it is the fastest way to see that the product everyone clicks is not the one the layout gave the most space to.
Related
Publication analytics -
Time spent
How long readers stayed on a page, the clearest signal of what held attention.Time spent separates a page that was passed through from a page that was read. Across a Flipsnack catalog it usually identifies the three spreads worth rebuilding first.
Related
Publication analytics -
Engagement rate
The share of readers who interacted rather than only opening the publication.Opens tell you the link worked. Engagement tells you the content did. In Flipsnack it counts taps on tags, links, forms, and videos, which is the honest measure of an interactive publication.
Related
Publication analytics -
Conversion rate
The share of readers who completed the action the publication was built to drive.Every Flipsnack publication should have one action it exists to produce: an order, a quote request, a form. Conversion rate is the only number that tells you whether it produced it.
Related
Guide to digital catalogs -
GA4 integration
Sending publication events into Google Analytics 4 alongside the rest of your funnel.Analytics inside Flipsnack answer what happened in the publication. Sending the events to GA4 puts that alongside the ad, the landing page, and the checkout, so the catalog stops being a blind spot.
Related
Analytics and tracking -
CRM integration
Passing captured leads into HubSpot, Salesforce, or another CRM automatically.A lead that stays in a publishing tool is a lead nobody works. Flipsnack passes it to the CRM with the reading data attached, so the first follow-up already knows what the person looked at.
Related
Talk to sales about integrations -
Lead capture form
A form inside a publication that collects reader details and passes them to your CRM.The form works because it appears where interest already exists, on the page the reader chose to open. Flipsnack places it inside the publication and routes the submission onward automatically.
Related
Lead capture in publications -
Open rate
The share of email recipients who opened a given message, out of everyone it was sent to.Open rate tells you the email worked, not the content. Link or embed a Flipsnack publication in the email and you also learn who opened the publication, how far they read, and what they clicked.
Related
Share publications by email -
Pageview
One instance of a page being opened, counted every time rather than per person.Inside a Flipsnack publication, pageviews are counted per page rather than per document, which is what turns a single visit number into a map of where interest actually was.
Related
Publication analytics -
Unique visitor
One individual counted once in a period, however many times they came back.Uniques tell you reach, pageviews tell you depth. Flipsnack reports both for a publication, which is how you separate a hundred buyers glancing from ten buyers studying the range.
Related
Publication analytics -
Lead generation
Turning readers into identified prospects you are allowed to contact.A Flipsnack publication generates leads at the point of interest: the form is on the page the reader chose to open, and the submission carries the reading history with it into the CRM.
Related
Lead capture in publications -
A/B testing
Comparing two versions of the same asset to see which one performs better.Because a Flipsnack publication reports per page, you can publish two versions of a catalog, send each to half the list, and compare reach, reading depth, and clicks rather than guessing.
Related
Publication analytics -
Traffic source
Where a reader came from: search, email, a social post, a QR scan, or a direct link.Knowing the source changes how you read the rest. A Flipsnack catalog opened from a printed QR code behaves nothing like the same catalog opened from a sales email, and the analytics separate them.
Related
Publication analytics
No term matches that search. Try a broader word, or tell us which one is missing.
SIX TERMS YOU CAN TRY
Some words are easier to use than to read
These six are the ones people usually ask to see. Hover or click each one.
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Linked area
Hover to reveal it
Hotspot
An invisible clickable region over part of a page. One spread can carry a dozen destinations without looking cluttered.
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Oak side tableEUR 149
Tap the tag
Product tag
The label that turns a picture of a catalog into a catalog. Price and details appear only when a reader asks for them.
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Send
Illustration only
Lead capture form
A form placed inside the publication, on the page the reader already chose to open. Flipsnack routes the submission to your CRM.
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Publication, snippet, your site
Embed code
The snippet that renders the publication inside your own page, so the reader never lands on another domain to read it.
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Click around this page
Click a few times
Heatmap
Where readers clicked and lingered, drawn over the spread. Usually the first thing to reveal that the layout backed the wrong product.
THIS IS HOW YOURS CAN LOOK
Your flipbook, with the terms switched on
Same product range you already have, published as a link. Turn the pages, click a product, follow a link. Everything you just read about is in here, working, in a real Flipsnack publication.
COMMONLY CONFUSED
Pick the pattern that fits the job
Two patterns can look alike but do different jobs. These can help you choose, and each one says where Flipsnack handles it.
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vs
A PDF is a file. Once it is sent, you cannot correct it, restrict it, or find out whether it was read.
A flipbook is that same document published as a link. Flipsnack builds it from the PDF you already have, so nothing is redesigned.
If you need to change or track it after sending, it cannot stay a PDF. Upload it to Flipsnack instead.
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vs
A product tag is visible and carries one specific product: name, price, and a link to buy it.
A hotspot is invisible and can point anywhere, so a single spread can hold a dozen destinations without looking busy.
Use tags when the reader should see there is something to click, hotspots when the design should stay clean. Both are added in Flipsnack's Design Studio.
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vs
A PIM governs your product data and decides what is correct. It does not produce anything a buyer reads.
Flipsnack's Catalog Generator takes that approved data and lays out the pages, so publishing stops being a design project.
If the data is wrong, a PIM fixes it. If the data is fine but the catalog still takes weeks, the Catalog Generator fixes it.
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vs
Unlisted means anyone with the link can open it, but search engines will never surface it.
Password protection means the link alone is not enough to get in. In Flipsnack both are publishing settings, applied per publication.
Unlisted suits a catalog you email to known buyers. A password suits pricing you would not want forwarded on.
WHERE TO GO NEXT
From vocabulary to a working publication
PUT THIS INTO PRACTICE
Stop looking up terms. Publish one.
Upload a PDF or connect your product data. Flipsnack handles the rest.