It’s not an understatement to say that Web-To-Print solutions are a raging business to invest in. Why? Well, digitization is the latest trend, one which is going to stay for a long time. As per research, the Web-To-Print industry is expected to grow at a rate of 5.1% and will earn a revenue of $30.5 billion by 2023. Anyone investing in this field is likely to capture huge customer markets and in turn, earn high revenue.

With the entire world going digital, printers should also invest in software that offers quick-time solutions. All, including B2B and B2C customers, want a rapid-paced solution with a custom product design feature. The tedious process of going physically to a designer, sharing a concept, waiting for the design, ask for edits and then get a final draft, is outdated now.

A W2P solution helps to minimize the operational cost and production time by offering online product design, which is ready to print. As per statistics, 58% of the printing businesses that chose Web to print solutions, felt an increase in sales and 55% reported a sharp rise in profits. Therefore, owning an online print store is certainly a great bet for entrepreneurs who want to launch into a feasible and profitable money-making business.

After pondering on the positive aspects of the venture, there are certain pitfalls that must be considered before taking a plunge into buying a design tool for a printing business.

Five Mistakes to Avoid While Choosing a Web-To-Print Solution:

 

1. Lack of research, homework and strategic planning

New bees need to do a reality check before venturing into a business that demands the purchase of a design tool for a printing business. Just like any other business, there are chances that this one may not work out for them. As per Forbes, 90% of the Startups fail (including W2P companies) due to lack of research, inability to gauge the target audience, poor marketing and many other reasons.

While 21.5% fail in the maiden year, 34% lose their grip in the second year, 50% suffer in the fifth year of commencing the business and 70% lose the game by the tenth year. Therefore, it is important to pool in experts who perform risk-benefit analysis before the actual investment.

The next step is to check the resources, brainstorm the process, build a marketing strategy and then only venture. This will be an ideal way to set up an online print store that will see the sunlight in the long run. So, the first thing is not to rush in the purchase of print store software.

2. Investing in the wrong software

After all the research and zeroing down on the idea of investing in a Web2Print eCommerce storefront, entrepreneurs need to search for the best technical machinery for it. As technology is changing in a blink miss and new concepts are coming up every day, they need to figure out which kind of W2P software works best for their company.

It is not advisable to invest in or subscribe to outdated software. In fact, it is recommended to enroll in the latest version of the software or add plugins that keep their Web-to-Print website up-to-date.

This may seem to be a tiny pointer but is certainly worth an incisive thought as outdated technology will demand more maintenance and rework in the future. To avoid such downsides, one must choose an eCommerce print shop that offers futuristic functionality, quick online product design modules, and a completely user-friendly interface.

3. Design over function

Know the purpose before creating a design!

It is said in the digital world that ‘form follows the function’. This means the purpose of creating a certain design or template should be very clear. Technocrats must gauge their target audience, assess the reason for choosing a particular Web-To-Print software solution and hunt for their probable market. This will aid in choosing the best print store software. When purchased with such clarity, the website offers custom product design, which pleases customers and eventually ends up in increased sales.

Suppose a print store owner wants to build a company that sells trendy T-shirts with unique prints. In this case, the first thing to figure out is the target audience – whether it is kids, youth or women of different age groups. Followed by this, the team needs to brainstorm the colors, the message, the design, and the fabric. Once the audience is known, it is easy to create a custom product design, which matches the demand of the audience.

Basically, when the function or purpose is known, the design part will flow effortlessly. Therefore, it is important to prioritize the evaluation of the function (purpose) and not jump on the creative aspect or the design element of the business.

4. Slow load times are the shortest way of losing customers

A business can fail even after knowing the heart of the target audience. Reason? Low-performing technology is the prime reason for the failure of a W2P website. The biggest reason for customers to choose an eCommerce print shop is to reduce the time for publishing the material.

Suppose, customers need to print brochures for marketing a certain feature of the company. They can easily do so by simply customizing the existing template and printing as many copies of the brochure as they want.

In this case, if the template takes time to show up or custom product design UI takes time to load then it can be very disappointing. Hence, it is important to choose a quick loading software solution that performs customization in a jiffy, designs products online, and gives ready-to-print material in the shortest possible time. In a nutshell, it’s important to minimize downtime to maximize the business!

5. Poor checkout process – Another sure shot way of losing customers!

According to a report by SaleCycle, around 57.60% to 84.27% of customers withdraw from an eCommerce store during checkout, irrespective of the industry. Businesses can lose a big portion of the customers by keeping a tedious checkout process. In terms of revenue, it turns out to be a whopping amount of $18 billion, which eCommerce brands lose due to cart abandonment.

Simplifying the checkout process will give significant results. Nowadays, people want to make purchases within few steps so, focus on offering a hassle-free checkout process. Make it multi-lingual to give added comfort to customers spread across the globe.

Apart from a simple three-step checkout process, the payment part should not ask for too much information. It can annoy the customer and he/she may walk out of the cart. Reports suggest that 12% of people drop out as the site demands a lot of unnecessary information. Nearly 11% of people abandon the checkout process if the website is too slow to load.

eCommerce experts suggest that around 7% of customers are lost due to the unavailability of payment options. Apart from a secure payment gateway, it’s important to offer multiple options for plastic money so that customers can pay as per their convenience. This way, by applying checkout optimization strategies, storefront owners can curtail the chances of losing customers during checkout and even increase the conversion rate by 35.26%.

To sum up, these are some of the reasons why businesspersons miss the mark in choosing a Web-To-Print solution. Anyone planning to launch an eCommerce print shop needs to consider the above aspects to succeed in the venture. By choosing the right technology partner, entrepreneurs can cut down the operational cost, minimize risk and maximize profits!