Do you need one?
Does a printing company need a website?
A fair question for a trade of local regulars. But the honest answer turns on how people find print now: they search locally, and pick the printer they can find and understand.
From £297, live in 7 days, on your own domain.
Does a printing company need a website?
The honest answer
Does a printing company need a website? If you have all the orders you want from regulars, and no wish to grow, then perhaps not. But the honest answer turns on how people find a printer now, which is by searching. When a print job comes up, business cards, leaflets, signage, a banner, most people reach for their phone and search for a local printer who does what they need, then choose whoever is findable and clearly handles their job. So if you have no findable presence, or nothing that shows your range, you are simply missing from that search, and the customer orders from a printer they can find and understand. And because print custom repeats, missing a searcher is not one lost job but a lost regular. The real question, then, is whether you want the steady flow of print orders those searches represent, because without a website you are invisible at the moment people are looking for you.
People search, then order from whoever they can find and understand
Print buying is quick and practical. The customer has a specific job and a deadline, so they search, glance at who comes up, and order from the first printer who is findable and clearly does what they need. That puts two things at the centre: being found, and being clear. If you do not appear when someone searches for a local printer, you are not in the running, and if they find you but cannot tell whether you handle their particular job, or how fast you turn it round, they move to a printer who is clearer. A findable, clear site solves both, showing your range, your turnaround and your quality so a searching customer can see at a glance that you are the printer for their job. Being the one who gets the order means being the one who is easy to find and easy to understand when the job comes up, which a printer with no site cannot be.
A site captures the searchers your shopfront misses
The natural objection is that printing runs on local regulars and walk-ins, and they matter, but they do not capture the growing number of customers who search rather than walk past. A shopfront only catches passers-by, and a directory listing buries you among rivals reduced to price, whereas your own site shows your full range, turnaround and quality to anyone searching, wherever they are, and lets them see you do their job and can deliver in time. And even the regulars increasingly search, so a printer with no website is missing where new custom, and repeat custom, is looked for. A site captures those searchers and, because print repeats, turns them into the regulars that sustain the business, which walk-ins and a listing alone cannot do. So a website does not replace your shopfront and regulars, it feeds them, bringing the searching customers who become your next regulars.
So the real answer to does a printing company need a website is: yes, if you want the steady flow of orders and the repeat business, because people search locally and order from whoever they can find and understand, so being absent means being passed over. And finding out costs just £99 up front: I build the site on spec, from £297, and you see it finished before you pay the rest, so you can look at your actual site, ready to show your range and take the order, and decide from there, knowing the repeat orders a single business customer brings cover the cost many times over.
How it works
From message to live in four steps.
- 01
Message me
Tell me your trade and your town on WhatsApp. No forms to wade through, no call to book.
- 02
£99 to start
A £99 deposit gets your build going and comes off your quote. It covers some of the build time.
- 03
I build it, you see it
I build the whole site, framed around your work, and send it to you finished to look at.
- 04
Pay the rest, go live
Happy with it? You pay the balance, it goes live on your own domain, and it is yours to keep.
What you get
What a printing site from me includes.
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Built on spec
I build it first and send it finished. You see the real thing before you decide, not a mock-up.
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Live in 7 days
From the go-ahead, your site is live within a week. No months of back and forth.
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On your own domain
It goes live in your name. You own the site and everything on it, with no lock-in.
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Genuinely fast
Static pages, no WordPress. Fast pages rank better and turn more visitors into calls.
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Found on Google
Built to be found in local search, with the plumbing done properly from day one.
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Looked after
Someone looks after it and changes it when you need. Two small edits a month, your listing kept current.
What it costs
A straight price.
From £297 to build it, first three months of Care included, then £49 a month.
You own the site outright and can stop the monthly plan whenever you like. Hosting is part of Care and Grow, so one of those keeps it online after the first three months, or you host it yourself. See the full pricing.
Common questions
Questions I get asked.
Does a printing company really need a website?
If you want a steady flow of orders, yes, because people search locally for a printer and pick whoever they can find and understand. A customer needing print looks for a local printer who clearly does their job, and if you are not findable or clear about your range, they order from one who is. Without a site, you miss the searchers and the repeat business they become.
Isn't printing a trade of local regulars and walk-ins?
Regulars and walk-ins matter, but new customers, and even existing ones, increasingly search online for a printer or a specific print job. So a printer with no website is invisible to the many who search rather than walk past, losing new custom to findable rivals. A site captures the searchers and turns them into the regulars that sustain the business.
Why do people search online for a printer?
Because it is the quickest way to find a local printer who does what they need, so when a print job comes up they search and choose whoever is findable and clearly handles it. If they cannot find you, or cannot tell whether you do their job, they order from a printer who is clearer. So being present and clear online is how you get in front of people needing print.
Can't I just rely on a listing or my shopfront?
A listing and a shopfront help, but a listing buries you among rivals on price and a shopfront only catches passers-by, whereas your own site shows your full range, turnaround and quality to anyone searching. A customer wants to see whether you do their job and can deliver in time, which your own site shows better than a bare listing or a window ever could.
When could a printing company skip a website?
Realistically, only if you have all the orders you want from regulars and no wish to grow. Because people search for printers online, most printing companies without a site miss a steady flow of new custom and the repeat business it becomes. For anyone wanting a fuller order book, the case for a site is strong.
Is a website worth it for a small printing company?
Often especially so, because being found and clear, not being big, wins print orders, and a good site lets a small printer show its range and quality as clearly as any large one. A findable, clear site can win a small printer local orders and the repeat business customers that follow. A single business customer who reorders covers the cost many times over.
How much does it cost to find out if a website is worth it?
Just £99 to start with me, and it comes off your quote. I build the whole site first and you see the finished thing before you pay the rest, from £297. So you are not gambling on a maybe, you are looking at the actual site for your printing business and deciding then. Given the repeat orders a single business customer brings, the risk of finding out is very low.
Tell me your town and I'll build you a printing site on spec, so you can see it before you pay. Or read A Checkatrade alternative, see the full pricing, or get in touch.