It's easy to spot a printer's site that's been neglected. A few telltale signs pop up, like the following:
- It's not a responsive design. The site doesn't display well on a mobile device.
- There are no social icons. These days, I fully expect to see social chiclets on every site, including printing companies, as well as a dynamic list showing your latest blog links and/or tweets.
- There's a really old copyright line: ©2011? Do you know how simple it is to update footers on a site?
- Your latest press release is also old. Surely something newsworthy has happened since 2012. The same goes for newsletter issues that screeched to a halt years back. What happened? Who killed the little guy?
- It's static. There's no content that updates dynamically (see #2).
- It's difficult to navigate. I can't make heads or tails of the order of sections and pages, so I end up searching for information as if it's a scavenger hunt and I'm about to come in dead last.
- The design is totally inconsistent. Some pages look as though they've been dropped in from someone else's site. They've no visual relation to other pages.
- The home page is crammed with copy. A ton of content is squeezed onto the home page like clowns in a Volkswagen Beetle. There's nowhere to focus and no reason to linger.
- There's a picture or two of buildings. I'd much rather see people. Your building isn't going to impress any print customer. Most of the building photos aren't professional images anyway ... not really helping your image.
Your online image is crucial, and as time passes, it will become more important. If what I've described sounds like your site, it's time for a makeover.
*In Bostonese, "wicked" is a general intensifier.
- Categories:
- Business Management - Marketing/Sales
Long regarded as a print buyer expert and trade writer, Margie Dana launched a new business as a marketing communications strategist with a specialty in printing and print buying. She is as comfortable working in social media as she is in traditional media, and now she’s on a mission to help clients build customer communities through carefully crafted content. Dana was the producer of the annual Print & Media Conference.
Although she has exited the event business, Dana is still publishing her Print Tips newsletter each week. For more details and to sign up for her newsletter and marketing blog, visit www.margiedana.com