Embed Your Edition on Your Website: A Step-By-Step Guide

Embed Your Edition on Your Website: A Step-By-Step Guide

DCatalog offers flexible ways to showcase your digital editions directly on your website. Whether you want to embed a specific edition, always display the most recent version, or present your entire virtual library, this guide outlines each method so you can choose what best fits your needs. Below is a clear step-by-step guide to the embedding options available and how each one behaves on your website.

HTML Embed

You can Embed a specific edition or always show the most recent one, directly inside your website. This method uses an iframe and is the most straightforward way to display your catalog.



Understanding Embed Options: Selected Edition vs Latest Edition

When embedding your digital catalog into a website, you’ll choose how the catalog should behave over time. This choice determines whether your site always shows one specific edition or the newest edition automatically. Most support requests — including 404 errors and “why isn’t my new edition live?” — happen because these two options are misunderstood. Here’s the clear breakdown.

Selected edition



What it does?
  1. Displays one specific edition of your catalog.
  2. Even if you publish a new edition, your website will still show the older one.
  3. To change what displays on your website, you must replace the embed code manually.
When to use it?
  1. Seasonal catalogs
  2. Fixed campaigns
  3. Situations where the edition should remain unchanged until you decide otherwise
  4. You can always adjust the width and height as necessary
Pro tip 
If you publish and activate a new edition, it will not appear on your website unless you update the embed code. This is the most common cause of 404 errors — the website is still embedded with a code that points to an older edition that is no longer active. 

Latest edition


What it does?
  1. Always displays the most recently published ACTIVE edition for that template.
  2. You never need to update the embed code again
  3. Your website automatically refreshes to the newest edition every time you publish one
When to use it?
  1. Monthly or quarterly updates
  2. Catalogs that change regularly
  3. A “set it and forget it” workflow where you want the website to stay up-to-date automatically
  4. You can always adjust the width and height as necessary
Pro tip 
Latest Edition = always the newest ACTIVE edition.It does not mean the last one you viewed or selected — it is tied to the template, not to a specific file.

How to Access Your HTML Embed Code

  1. Open your Dashboard and locate the edition you want to publish.
  2. Click the Embed button under the Embed column.
      
      3. In the popup, switch to the HTML Embed tab.
      4. Choose your preferred option:
  1. Selected Edition
  2. Latest Edition
      5. Copy the Embed code.
      

Implementing Your Embed Code on Your Website

  1. Log in to your website’s Content Management System (CMS)
    (e.g., WordPress, Shopify, Wix, Squarespace, etc.)
  2. Open the page where you want the edition to appear.
  3. Add the embed code to your page
  4. Paste it into the HTML editor, or insert a Custom HTML block and place the code there.
  5. Save or publish your changes to make the embedded edition visible on your site.

HTML Masking

HTML Masking is similar to the Embed option, but with one main difference: instead of inserting the catalog as part of an existing HTML page, masking loads the catalog as a standalone page under your own domain.



Available Display Options

  1. Selected Edition — Displays a specific edition with the same behavior as a standard HTML Embed.
  2. Latest Edition — Always shows the most recently published edition from your template, without requiring any updates to your code.

How to Access Your HTML Masking Code

  1. Open your Dashboard and locate the edition you want to publish.
  2. Click the Embed button under the Embed column.
      
      3. In the popup, switch to the HTML Masking tab.
      4. Choose your preferred option:
  1. Selected Edition
  2. Latest Edition
      5. Copy or download the masking code.
           
Implementing Your HTML Masking Code on Your Website
  1. Log in to your website’s Content Management System (CMS)
    (e.g., WordPress, Shopify, Wix, Squarespace, etc.)
  2. Open the page where you want the edition to appear.
  3. Paste the code it into the HTML editor, or Custom HTML block and place the code there.
  4. Save or publish your changes to make the embedded edition visible on your site.
      

Library Embed

If your account includes a virtual library, this option lets you embed a fully browsable version of your catalog collection directly on your website. Visitors can explore all available editions without leaving your site.

What it does
  • Displays your complete catalog collection in an interactive library format.
  • Automatically updates as you add new editions, ensuring your website always reflects your latest content.
  • Visitors can browse, search, and open individual editions without needing separate links for each.
When to use it
  • When you want to showcase your full catalog collection in one place.
  • Ideal for brands, publishers, or organizations with multiple editions that are regularly updated.
  • Useful for “set it and forget it” setups where the library should always reflect the latest content.

Pro tip

The Library Embed keeps your collection centralized and interactive. Unlike embedding a single edition, you don’t need to update your code when adding new editions—the library automatically includes them.

How to Access your Library Embed

  1. Go to your Dashboard and locate any edition.
  2. Click on the Embed button under the Embed Column.

       

  1. In the popup, switch to Virtual Library tab.

  1. Copy the code provided.

      Implementing Your Vistual Libarry Code on Your Website

  1. Log in to your website’s Content Management System (CMS)
    (e.g., WordPress, Shopify, Wix, Squarespace, etc.)
  2. Open the page where you want the edition to appear.
  3. Paste the code it into the HTML editor, or Custom HTML block and place the code there.
  4. Save or publish your changes to make the embedded edition visible on your site.

      

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