5 Things Every Printing Company Website Needs

Is your printing company’s website simply a “digital business card” or does it truly generate new business?

The majority of people use the internet to research companies today, whether you sell products or services. Your website MUST stand out from other printers in order to convince customers to reach out to you.

How can you grab people’s attention?

For starters, it’s not all about your graphic design but it’s easy to get stuck here. While it’s important that your website is easy to navigate and has a clean design, there are other strategic ways to make a remarkable first impression.

Keep reading to find out!

5 Ways to Create a Standout Website for Your Printing Business

1. Optimize Your About Page

If you take a look at your analytics, you’ll probably find that your About page is the most visited page on your website (after your homepage). This makes it one of the most important pages.

Why do people care what you’re about?

They want to find out what you do. They’re looking for what makes your business special and why they should go to you instead of the printer that’s up the street from them. Sharing your story is how you demonstrate your competitive advantage and build trust with potential customers.

Here are a few simple ways to show your company is trustworthy:

• Add photos of the people behind your brand. Use real photos of your team – not stock photos – to make your company seem more personable. You don’t have to share headshots or photos of every individual who works at the company, but including a couple photos of the team in action can go a long way.
• Read the text on your page out loud. Do the words sound like how you talk in real life? Avoid using jargon or stiff wording. It might seem more professional to write this way, but it makes your business seem unrelatable.
• Share your company values and how they impact your business. Why did you start your business? Do you have a mission? These stories make your company come to life and help potential customers who share the same values understand why they would want to work with you.

2. Include Social Proof

Social proof is a powerful form of influence. After all, we trust recommendations from our friends and family more than advertising.

There are many different forms you can use when it comes to social proof including testimonials, reviews, social media share buttons, and company logos. But don’t feel pressured to suddenly find tons of social proof!

If you don’t have any reviews yet, start with testimonials.

You really only need three good ones in the beginning–and it’s as simple as asking one of your customers to provide a review for you. Why testimonials? They provide credibility for your products and services. To make your testimonials really powerful, add a photo, a name and their business.

We include product reviews and company logos on the SinaLite homepage to demonstrate our 20+ years of experience to new customers.

Adding company logos to a testimonial or your website is another quick method for building trustworthiness. (Just make sure to ask the company if it’s okay first since their logos are a form of intellectual property.)

Start asking every customer for a review after you work with them. This can be in person or via email. Most probably won’t provide a review, but some will and you’ll slowly start to build them up.

We have thousands of customer reviews on our website–and we include them on our About page so you can’t miss it.

3. Build an Effective Quote Form

You want your quote form to make ordering as convenient and simple as possible for your customer. On the other hand, you also need to get enough information to provide an accurate quote.

What’s the right formula?

Look at every service you offer. Your form will look different depending on what your printer specializes in, but this list is a good place to get started:

• Contact information: Name, email, phone number, address, etc.
• Type of products
• Quantity
• The size
• Type of paper and ink (coated vs. uncoated)
• Turnaround time
• Bleed vs non-bleed
• Requests for any special printing techniques

Explain in detail what these options mean. While most of your orders will probably be from repeat customers, clarity will help you give the best quote for your customer’s needs.

4. Explain Your Services

Most printers offer different services from one another. You might specialize in printing a certain type of product.

Are you the go-to printer for large banners and signs? Maybe you focus on screen printing or book printing?

Let your customers know.

List the types of materials you can print on, your most popular services, and what you can do for your customers. Include photos of former projects you’ve completed too! It might seem pretty straightforward, but you want to give your customers an idea of your process and what it looks like to work with you.

Keep your service details clear–but brief. If your reader scans your page and it seems like it’ll take forever to read, they won’t make it through your list of services.

Want another quick win? Add a call to action at the end of your services page. Your CTA tells your readers what to do next. It can be as simple as a contact form or a link to request a quote, but encouraging your readers to take the next step is a must-do.

FedEx keeps their call to action simple with a “START ORDER” button.

5. Newsletter Opt-In Form

If you haven’t started using email marketing yet, make it a priority for the near future.

Why does it matter? The return on investment for email is high. According to BtoB Magazine, 59% of B2B marketers say email is their most effective channel for increasing revenue.

When a customer hears from you, they’re more likely to return and make a purchase with you. Email marketing keeps your business at the top of your customer’s mind.

Therefore, every page of your website should include an opportunity to sign up for your mailing list. You can do this via your:

• Header
• Floating bar
• Bottom of a page
• Sidebar
• Pop-up  

The reason you need to offer forms so often is because not everyone is going to be ready to subscribe immediately.

Your customers may also be landing on your website in different ways! Depending on how they come across your website or what someone is searching for, they might not visit your homepage first.

Even if visitors do land on your homepage they might not click on every page of your website. You want to give them the opportunity to let them know about your mailing list wherever they go on your website.

In Conclusion

Let’s recap:

Your company website is a key opportunity for bringing in new business and differentiating yourself from other printers.

The content on your website pages does matter. It has the potential to make a standout first impression and build trust from the start when you add a human touch.

Without a strategic approach to your web context, you’re leaving money on the table.

Now it’s your turn. Good luck and let us know in the comments below.