Website Tips for Success —DeWese

• The “Contact Us” page should contain two user-friendly maps. One will show your immediate neighborhood. The other map should show the area of your location, say a 25- to 50-mile radius.

• The home page must be readable for even my old eyes; 8-pt. type may look trendy, but it’s useless if it can’t be read. Your designer should also be careful about using a reverse in small type against some dark background.

• The home page text and graphics must quickly capture the visitor and communicate who you are, what you do and how you are different. This means short and well-crafted sentences. Don’t leave this responsibility to some outside copy writer. Run the copy by your salespeople, CSRs, plant personnel—everybody. Sometimes, others will come up with some gems.

Get a Second Opinion

Also, ask a handful of close customers to review the copy, and you will get some outstanding suggestions...assuming you have some close customers. . .assuming you have some customers. After all, your Website is designed for people who buy printing—and not for your sleazy, unworthy competitors or suppliers.

• Your Website must have a theme. The theme should be consistent with what you are as a printing company, representing one of the many printing segments and niches within the segments. I won’t belabor market segmentation because that is about four chapters in a master’s level textbook. But, if you are a short-run, fast-response, half-size sheetfed printer that offers up to six colors, your graphics and text should reflect your business.

The theme should also reflect your uniqueness or what differentiates you from your competition. For example, I saw a Website recently that used a down-home theme as in, “Bring your projects home to our folks, who treat your work like your Mama used to treat her family.” It conveys an emotion involving loving care, interest in your well-being and motherly understanding.