ONLINE WEBSTORES | JONATHAN PERT 44 Issue 361 - July | August 2026 email: editor@printmonthly.co.uk requirements is the ability to specify and buy print products online quickly and easily, with real-time pricing driven by easy to maintain pricing rules, straight from their internal MIS and/or from trade supplier APIs. “Easy re-ordering is also a real benefit to the customer and the PSP, saving time for all parties, ensuring efficiency and consistency, and building loyalty.” Whitely believes that many printers are looking at how they can improve their quoting processes and increase automation, especially when many customers are still enquiring by phone and email. He believes that while there is a trend towards a higher volume of lower-value orders, “each order requires the same admin time to process it.” Therefore, as he describes: “Solutions that provide quick quotes for these enquiries and allow customers to place any orders for quotes online are a key requirement.” Flex4 OPS is specifically designed to support the needs of the print industry, including support for order variation. The company’s pricing engine allows store admins to build more of what Whiteley describes as “real-world print product permutations” into a single product, in comparison to off-the-shelf ecommerce stores. This makes price comparison for different sizes, materials, finishes, quantities, and turnaround options easier for end-users, as they can all be offered in a single product. One of the biggest changes Flex4 has seen in recent years is an increased demand for automation and integration, particularly with inflation rises leading to frequently changing supplier prices. Whiteley explains: “Historically, many customers were simply looking for an online ordering platform, but today they want a solution that can maintain pricing rules, connect with their MIS, and link to trade suppliers for real-time pricing and order status updates. “This has led us to continually expand our range of third-party API integrations and payment gateway options to meet client requirements.” Listening closely to customers has been a central part of Flex4’s development roadmap, with many of its most popular features originating from conversations with printers looking to solve real-world business challenges. The company has also seen growing demand for solutions that help printers reduce the amount of manual admin involved in processing orders. Whiteley comments: “Feedback from customers has driven the development of features such as automated artwork checks, online proofing workflows, a faster quoting journey, and enhanced re-ordering functionality.” Alongside its streamlined order processing tools, Flex4 OPS offers the ability to deliver fully customised online webstores, allowing its customers to implement a personalised customer experience that better represents their own print brand online. The combination of this personalised branding with Flex4’s simplified ordering journey, easy re-ordering, and account-based pricing can have a significant impact on customer retention. As Whiteley says: “Once a customer has placed orders, uploaded or created artwork, saved product specifications, and established their preferred ordering process, returning to place future orders becomes quick and convenient.” Whiteley believes that the industry has made significant progress in its understanding of ecommerce in the last decade, with most printers now recognising that having an online presence is essential. However, he feels that there is still a tendency for businesses to view a website as a brochure, rather than as a sales and operational tool. Summing up his feelings on how printers can maximise the benefit of online webstores, Whiteley concludes: “The printers seeing the greatest success are those that understand that implementing a webstore as part of their digital strategy is not just about generating online orders – it’s about improving efficiency, reducing admin, and creating better customer experiences to increase customer retention.” The Circular Offering Teemill’s all-in-one ecommerce offering, by contrast, focuses on providing brands, creators, and charities with a unified platform to manage custom prints of clothing and merchandise, while avoiding waste or over production. The platform includes a website builder that generates custom product pages, with stock updates from the company’s factories syncing automatically. A built-in email marketing tool, Teemail, can The global web-to-print market is projected to reach approximately $27.92bn (£20.95bn) in 2026, according to Mordor Intelligence £20.9bn ▼Teemill utilises its existing print infrastructure to manage orders and fulfilment ▲Flex4 OPS helps existing printers to launch their own customised webstores
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MjM0NDIxOA==