What a sign shop website needs: pages, words and photos

A sign shop website is mostly visited by business owners and office managers who need something by a date: a banner for an opening, lettering for a new truck, a storefront sign before the lease starts. They want to see that you make that kind of sign, find out if you can do it in time, and send you their logo without a fuss. A short site that does those three things well beats a large catalog.

Who visits a sign shop's site, and what they want

The visitors are mostly not designers. They are:

• Small business owners opening, moving or rebranding, who need several signs and do not know where to start.
• Office and facility managers replacing a lobby sign, adding room signs or ordering safety signs.
• Event and school organizers after banners, yard signs and posters, often in a hurry.
• Contractors and fleets who need truck lettering or job site signs, sometimes repeatedly.
• Real estate agents and campaign volunteers, who order yard signs in quantity.

Most of them check three things: photos of signs like the one they need, how fast you can do it, and whether you can design it for them if they only have a logo, or not even that.

The pages a sign shop site needs

Home page. A plain top line: "Signs, banners and vehicle graphics for businesses in Spokane. Designed, printed and installed." Under it, your phone number, a "Start an order" button and a photo of a sign you are proud of, on a real building. Then a short row of your main product groups, a few reviews and your hours.

What we make. One page with a short section and a photo for each product group, rather than fifty thin product pages. Group them the way customers think: outdoor building signs, banners and event signs, vehicle graphics, window graphics, indoor and office signs, yard signs. The separate guide on describing sign products, proofs and turnaround goes into how to word each group and how to explain the proof step.

Our work. A gallery of signs in place. Group it the same way as the products page so a visitor can move from "vehicle graphics" to ten real trucks.

Artwork and files. A page that tells customers what to send you. It saves you dozens of back-and-forth emails. More on that below.

About. Who runs the shop, how long you have been there, and a photo of the shop floor with the printer and the plotter. If you have a storefront, say people are welcome to come in.

Contact. Phone, email, address, hours, a map if you have walk-in customers, and the order form.

Photos that sell signs

The best sign photos show the sign doing its job:

• On the building, from across the street. That is how the customer's customers will see it, and it shows the size in context.
• At night, if it is lit. A channel letter sign glowing at dusk sells lit signs better than any description.
• The truck in the parking lot, from the side and the back, not a mock-up.
• A close-up of the finish. Clean vinyl edges, a sharp print, neat hems on a banner.
• Before and after storefronts, when a business replaces an old faded sign.

Caption each with what it is and the business name, if they agreed: "Dimensional letters, dental office, Liberty Lake." Ask before you name or show a client's sign; most are glad to be featured, and some will share the post. Skip mock-ups of signs you have not made, and skip stock photos of generic billboards.

The artwork page: what to send us

Most delays in a sign order are file problems. One page on your site can head them off. Cover:

• What files work best. Say it plainly: "A vector logo file (AI, EPS, SVG or a PDF from your designer) is best. If you only have a JPG or a PNG, send the largest one you have and we will tell you if it works."
• What to do without a logo file. "No file? Send a photo of your business card or your old sign. We can redraw it for a design fee."
• Fonts and colors. If they have brand colors, ask for the color codes or a sample. If not, say you will match from a photo.
• How to send it. The upload on your order form, or an email address that accepts large files.
• Size limits. If files above a certain size bounce, say so, and offer another route.

Keep this page short and friendly. Customers who are not technical should come away thinking "I can do that", not feeling they did something wrong.

What to leave out

• A huge catalog of product pages copied from a supplier. It makes the site hard to use and tells visitors nothing about you.
• An online price calculator that gives wrong answers. If your prices depend on size, materials and install, a quote by hand is more honest. If you do list starting prices for simple items like yard signs or banners, keep them current.
• Design jargon. Most customers do not know what "bleed" or "raster" means. Explain it the first time or leave it out.
• Old promotions. A "spring special" in October makes people wonder if you are still open.

If you are unsure about prices on the site at all, should you list prices on your website talks through the choices.

The phone and order path

A good order form for a sign shop asks for exactly what you need to give a first price:

• Name, business name, phone, email
• What they need (a dropdown with your product groups, plus "not sure")
• Rough size, or "help me choose"
• Quantity
• Indoor or outdoor
• Do they need installation, and where
• When they need it by
• A file upload for the logo or a photo of the spot where the sign goes

Under the button, one line on what happens next: "We reply within one business day with a price and, once you approve, a proof to check before we print."

Put your phone number at the top of every page as a tap-to-call link. Many sign orders start with "I have a grand opening in two weeks, can you help?", and that is a phone call. Say your hours next to it.

What to do this week

• Write your one-line top message and put your phone number next to it.
• Collect your best twenty sign photos, on real buildings and vehicles, and caption them.
• Write the artwork page in plain words, including what to do without a logo file.
• Add a file upload and a needed-by date to your order form, and test it from your phone.
• Take down any product page with a supplier's stock photo and no work of your own.

If your site already lists your products but is slow or awkward on a phone, you can see your site rebuilt first with your own signs on it. And if you want to see how others lay out a gallery that sells, a gallery page that helps is worth a read.