Software definitions web-to-print
Software is the written program of data for a particular system. Word, Netflix, Amazon, Outlook or Skype: it all consists of data that together form the software program. Also in the online print world all systems consist of software. A webshop, the online editor, a PDF or a stock module. Discover here what various software terms mean related to online print.
Mini software dictionary
API
The abbreviation API stands for Application Programming Interface. It is a connection between two software systems that makes it possible to exchange data between both systems. An example of an API is the connection between the range of a extern print supplier and a print webshop. The owner of the print shop can publish, sell and/or buy from this range because of the API connection.
Backend
The backend is the administrator part behind a website or webshop that only the administrator can see. Here you manage for instance orders, quotations, invoices, customer cards or discounts.
Brandportal
The brand portal is an IT platform for brand management. It is an advanced system for ordering and designing all means of communication in the corporate identity of the company.
You can also use a brand portal as a customer portal for purchasing and creating communication for your customer.
Bug
A bug is a programming error in a computer program or a website. The result is that a function cannot be performed (entirely) according to specifications. Virtually all programs of any size contain bugs. Tracing and removing bugs is called debugging and is done by a programmer. Most of the time, the hardest part of fixing the bug is finding the bug. We call a fixed bug a fix.
Drop shipment
The drop shipment principle is a way of doing business between three parties: the webshop owner, the producer and the end customer. The webshop owner offers products in his webshop that the end customer can order. The webshop owner does not have the products in stock, but buys them from producers. The producer sends the products white label to the end customer. As a reseller you can easily start your webshop. The only essential factor is the purchase of the right webshop software that conveniently connects all parties together.
Feature
A feature is a specific functionality in the software system that is desired. A software system is rich with features when there are many options and functionalities for the user. When we talk about a new feature, we mean that we have developed a new functionality in the system.
Frontend
The frontend of your website or webshop is the part that the user deals with. It is the front page of the system that the user can see and interact with. In a webshop it is the online store with products for customers. It is the user part where they can see, design and order the products.
Online editor
In a good web-to-print portal there is an integrated editor. With an online editor you can easily personalize your marketing materials. After choosing the product in the web portal, you can adjust the design before placing the order. You can personalize various things: text, font and images. Each formatted product can be viewed in 3D. The final product is a suitable high-resolution PDF.
Online marketplace
An online marketplace is a digital platform where supply and demand of products or services come together. The platform economy has gradually expanded enormously with smart algorithms. Booking.com, Airbnb or Uber are examples of successful platforms. Digital platforms are also possible in the print industry. Prindustry has been responding to the online gap in the web-to-print market between print resellers and producers for several years now and brings them together on an online print marketplace.
SaaS
SaaS stands for Software as a Service. It is software on demand; software offered online. You do not have to purchase the software, but you pay – usually per month – for its use. The user has access to the software through the internet. Management and maintenance lies with the SaaS provider.
Single sign-on
An advanced system integration is a “single source” or “single sign-on”. This is a custom product in the software that gives you access to multiple systems with one login.
Stepselector
The representation of the steps in the ordering process to click on all product options before ordering. A different selector can be chosen for each product: list, step or icon selector.
Storefront
The front of a webshop. The frontend and backend of a webshop can be separated, which means that you can use an extra storefront, for example, to use a second webshop or customer portal.
Template (online editor)
A template is a customizable document that already contains some details for design. With a B2C editor such as PitchPrint you can adjust texts or images within standard templates. With a B2B editor like CHILI Publisher you can predefine all corporate identity components within smart design templates and adjust and design all marketing materials in the branding of the company. The output is a print-ready PDF and/or an online publication.
Web2print, web-to-print, online print
Web2print, web-to-print or online print are synonyms. This concerns the process from an order in an online system to a physically printed product.
You can choose various products to be printed online. Business cards, labels, roll-up banners, posters, banners, stickers, brochures, flags, flyers, coffee cups, textiles, envelopes, display walls, promotional items. You select the desired printed matter in a web portal and the online system transfers this order to a producer who turns it into a printed end product. Within the online printing process it is possible to add all kinds of things. For example, you can personalize the product before placing the order.
WhiteLabelShop
A WhiteLabelShop is an online print webshop with which you can sell and purchase white label printed matter. You can expand a WhiteLabelShop with a storefront, customer account or to a brand portal.
