Publishers’ websites: the bad, the bad and the ugly. | FutureBook

Harsh? Perhaps, but you get my point? It seems to be a known known within the industry that many publishers’ websites are indeed both bad and ugly.

A few days ago I tested this view on the most responsive and clever people I know; publishing tweeps. I asked them if they felt that publishers’ websites were poor and if this was a general view of the book trade.

My first (and favourite) response came from Agent Peter Cox, who tweeted, ‘Gosh, do publishers have websites? Spiffing! :)’

So, it seems, the industry is well aware that most of their websites aren’t likely to win a digital award any time soon.

This tweet from @caxtonian captures some of the issues.

@caxtonian ‘most sites aren’t great.....it isn’t easy as most are internally organised as B2B then they try to be B2C’

Looking at quite a few websites you can see that publishers have taken a B2B brochure site and simply bolted on an ecommerce store. Lots of these stores are little more than poorly executed afterthoughts that offer unsearchable books and an ugly and unsatisfactory shopping experience.

In this week’s Bookseller magazine, Alex O’Byrne and Piers Thorogood (ofhttp://www.wemakewebsites.com) point out, ‘A common mistake is to build the site navigation around an internal company structure’.

It seems that the general difficulties publishers are experiencing transitioning themselves from old economy B2B businesses into consumer-facing B2C businesses are being mirrored in their often painfully clunky websites.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not underestimating the challenges inherent in this transition.

@5_mintespeace: ‘some websites are terrible, especially in terms of searching for their books and backlist.’

and

@ed_renehan: ‘ I think many pub websites are poorly done – especially, lousy ergonomics/navigation +not enough updating’

Not getting the basics right, like searching for books, is pretty inexcusable, isn’t it?

Ditto, a poorly designed website. We are in the business of books, not storage boxes – our products are full of beauty, creativity and visual potential. Book jackets are often sublime. And publishers have some of the best brands to play with (authors, characters, imprints).

And with this much creative collateral publishers still often produce ugly websites.

@thefictiondesk: ‘Do you think there is still a fear among publishers of being booksellers themselves? That it would upset other booksellers?’

and

@vixhartley: ‘I think there is a reticence among publishers about discounting on their sites to consumers in case of retailer pushback’

Again, both are important points. And shows the challenging cross-roads publishers find themselves at – selling directly to their customers at the same time as maintaining retail and etail commercial relationships.

Weapons of mass destruction

So whilst the trade laments the US giants’ steady destruction of traditional bookselling and their stranglehold on the channels to market, publishers are dragging their feet.

Ironically, publishers have a HUGE opportunity for their websites to do much more than these giants ever could but they need to start making fundamental strategic changes soon or they’ll be left behind as other players move into an already crowded marketplace.

They can offer different purchasing options; bundling, subscriptions, community-driven ideas, connection with authors, videos, blogs, joined up thinking with Facebook pages and Twitter accounts (where all the good stuff is already happening, in my opinion) and much more. Websites can be vibrant places for publishers to engage with their customers, understand them and respond to them.

This is not about me bashing publishers, these are just observations. There are many exceptions; not just of excellent simple websites but publishers’ websites that are supporting a shift in business models, creating engaged communities and exceeding their customers’ expectations. These publishers are making their online presences work hard for them.

I have written this post to kick off a series of website reviews. If you have a publisher website in mind or would like to be involved, please email me at sam.missingham@bookseller.co.uk

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