Print on demand (POD) clothing has become extremely popular in recent years, and it’s even being promoted as a profitable side hustle. Chances are, at some point, you’ll end up designing a POD website for a clothing brand.
While many POD business owners sign up for full-service, hosted solutions like Shopify, a large number of people choose to use WordPress to have more control over the design and functionality. Regardless of the platform your POD client uses, designing a print on demand website requires a handful of elements that might differ from the sites you’re used to building.
Here are 12 elements every POD website needs to be successful.
Mockups show potential customers what a product will look like, and although real photos are typically better, mockups aren’t always photos of a real end product. As such, some mockups tend to be poor quality, and unfortunately, bad mockups can deter sales.
If you’re not tasked with creating mockups for your client, then give your input if you think the mockups should be a little better. Explain to your client that a higher quality mockup will help sell the product better.
If you’re given a bunch of files to choose from, be intentional and select the best ones, and lightly edit the contrast, brightness, and levels in Photoshop if needed.
Since most potential customers will be visiting your client’s site from a mobile device, ensure all technical specs are optimized. This includes optimizing loading times by compressing images and using a cache, making the design responsive, and creating a simple navigation menu. If you’re using a CMS like WordPress, the theme should already be responsive.
The search function should be visible on every page; typically the top right corner is ideal. If there are a large number of products available, categorize them as broadly as possible with only a few main categories, and place more granular categories underneath each option to keep navigation clean and easy.
Installing a theme your client can update on their own is an absolute requirement. If it’s too technical, they’ll get frustrated fast. Once you create the initial website and complete the contracted project, your client will need to take over to add new products and make changes (unless you’re being contracted indefinitely).
To support their success, schedule a time to train your client on how to use their website to upload new products. Most clients can get a handle on this fairly quickly, as long as the back end editor is user-friendly. If you’re using WordPress, WP Bakery, Elementor, and similar editors are always good choices.
Most web clients aren’t aware of applicable compliance requirements, especially if they’ve started a POD website after watching YouTube videos explaining that it’s easy money. The truth is, POD is not easy money, but it’s a legitimate business that can be profitable when done right. As a designer, it’s important to keep compliance in mind because you don’t want to knowingly build a non-compliant site.
The three main regulations to be aware of are the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR), and the General Product Safety Regulations (GPSR). These three have the biggest potential consequences for violations, and the last two are central to user security.
The ADA
Any ecommerce business open to the public must have a website accessible to people with disabilities. While there are no specific technical requirements to follow, there are ADA-friendly best practices that will make it easy to be compliant.
Keep in mind that ADA compliance often conflicts with client preferences for design and style, so make sure to discuss this important matter before getting started on a project.
General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR)
The GDPR has been in effect since May 25, 2018, but many website owners still aren’t compliant. Since your client will be depending on you to make their site compliant, it’s important to address this requirement to make sure your client understands how it will impact the design of their site.
General Product Safety Regulations (GPSR)
Officially in effect as of December 13, 2024, the GPSR is an EU-based regulation designed to protect consumers in the European Union and Northern Ireland from potentially hazardous products. If you’re responsible for creating all the basic legal pages and disclosures for your client, and your client plans to ship to these locations, you need to be aware of this law. Since you’ll be setting up shipping options, you might need to ban shipping to the EU and Northern Ireland if your client isn’t GPSR-compliant.
The short summary is that businesses can no longer sell items to customers in the EU or Northern Ireland unless they have a designated responsible contact within the EU with an EU-based address who can:
· Verify the products conform to the GPSR
· Verify the documentation is correct
· Inform the authorities of dangerous products or accidents
· Ensure appropriate actions are taken to rectify non-compliance
· Provide documented evidence of safety checks, if requested
That’s a big requirement. However, if your client is using a POD company like Printify, the company will handle compliance on their end.
Under the GPSR, businesses are required to ensure that all products sold are safe, including any modifications. For instance, a t-shirt or mug needs to be safe, along with the modification (the design) applied to that item. To say a product is safe, a risk assessment needs to be performed. For instance, this might involve looking at a kid’s t-shirt to see if the design can peel off and become a choking hazard. Potential hazards must be stated.
On each product listing, clear information regarding how to use and care for the product is also required. For instance, if a mug is not microwave-safe, that needs to be stated in the product description. Product listings are also required to display contact information for the responsible party, which includes a physical EU address and email address, along with warranty information.
While it’s not your responsibility to ensure your client is compliant, your client may not know about this requirement. If you’re responsible for publishing product information, it’s a good idea to let your client know about this requirement so you can get the proper information. If your client isn’t aware of the responsibility or doesn’t want to follow the rules, you’re unlikely to be named in a consumer lawsuit. However, if your client gets sued, there’s a chance they might sue you if your contract includes the promise of delivering all legally-required disclosures.
If your client makes their own POD items, or uses a manufacturer that isn’t GPSR-compliant, the easiest option is to advise them not to ship to the EU or Northern Ireland.
Although not always a legal requirement, a terms and conditions page is a good idea to include for all of your POD clients. It’s also a requirement for payment processors, like Stripe.
A terms and conditions page explains the terms each user must agree to in order to use the website. It outlines rules and restrictions, and can protect the business owner from certain forms of legal liability.
A privacy policy page is yet another required page that you’ll need to include on every POD client’s website. Like the terms and conditions page, a privacy policy is a requirement to be approved to accept payments through Stripe and other processors. It’s also a requirement to comply with the GDPR.
Having a simple contact page isn’t enough for a print on demand website. In order to use payment processors, like Stripe, businesses are required to provide their contact information on their website, including a physical address.
When creating a contact page for your POD client, make sure to add all the appropriate contact information. If you aren’t sure what’s required, ask what payment processor they use (if you don’t already know), and then search for those specific requirements. Your client may never know about the extra effort, but it can save them a lot of trouble and avoid having them get shut down. In fact, some payment processors won’t approve an account until specific information is published on the business’ website.
When you build a POD website on a CMS platform, make sure to use a theme that is regularly updated and hasn’t been abandoned by the developer. Over time, vulnerabilities will be discovered, and updates will be required. If a theme isn’t updated on a regular basis, it’s more likely to be vulnerable to a cyberattack.
If your POD client is using a plugin to sync their products, test it to make sure it works as intended. Sometimes plugins don’t work as smoothly as they should, and it’s important to catch these issues early. For example, some POD company plugins for WooCommerce are a bit buggy, while others seem to have no serious issues. When you test this in the beginning, if you can’t make the plugin work for Woo, you’ll be in a good position to implement a different ecommerce platform.
POD business owners should be capturing email addresses from customers and leads. A discount is an excellent motivating lead magnet for potential customers and existing customers alike. Most clothing brands have a pop-up that offers a discount in exchange for an email address and/or cell phone number for SMS marketing. Both are effective.
If your client hasn’t already signed up for an email marketing account, encourage them to do it right away. Offer to create the account for them if necessary.
To show off clothing, you will need to upload high resolution images, but they shouldn’t be the absolute highest quality for three reasons:
· People will steal them and sell the design
· Large images can look funny when displayed at a smaller size
· Large images can slow down the website’s loading time
The designation of high-resolution exists on a scale, and you want to avoid uploading extremely high res images. For example, if you never display an image larger than 800 pixels wide, don’t upload a file that is 3,000 pixels wide. You can upload an 800x600 image in 300 dpi and that should be sufficient. If you’re using WordPress, each image you upload will automatically be duplicated in smaller versions.
While some people will steal lower resolution images and use AI to upscale them, you can’t stop that from happening. However, you can prevent some theft by uploading images in a more moderate resolution.
Today, every website needs a blog – even clothing brands. This is a requirement for Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and it can help a brand establish a personality along with authority.
Quality content plays a fundamental role in SEO, and by having a blog, clothing brands can publish content on a regular basis to attract visitors through search engines. The specific content POD business owners publish will depend on their brand identity and the message behind their clothing.
Whether you own a POD clothing brand, or you’re a developer looking for someone to lighten your load, we can help. At Web.dev.co, we have extensive experience developing ecommerce websites for big and small brands, and can build your POD website on the platform of your choice. If you want to launch your brand soon, reach out to us and tell us about your business. We’d love the opportunity to partner with you.
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