5 Things You Can Do to Make Your Website More Trusted
By Andrew Patricio
December 16, 2015
Small Business & Entrepreneurship
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By the small business content developers at BizLaunch.com.
You want your customers to relax and enjoy themselves, but what can you do to quickly gain that trust? How can you demonstrate you’re worthy of confidence? Just as banks use different design strategies than convenience stores, your website should use significant hallmarks to demonstrate competence and express cachet to your visitors. Although your website is not a physical location, it may be the only place where your audience interacts with your company and therefore it is vital to be aware of the subtle and overt messages you send your visitors. Just as you wouldn’t build a house without a blueprint, the same thoughtfulness in designing and adorning your website can help you quickly demonstrate your website’s integrity. Here are five ways to signal to your prospects that they can trust your site:
1. Invest in Good Design and Content
If your website looks like it was thrown up in one night, you may have trouble holding on to your prospects. Developing a good user experience takes time and experience. A good website doesn’t need to cost thousands of dollars, but the investment of time and energy should be apparent from the outset. Remember: you only have a few moments to grab your prospect’s attention. At the same time, if your website has great bones, but no muscle, your audience may think they’ve stumbled on a ghost site. Strong design and bountiful, fascinating content demonstrate to your patrons that your website is worthy of confidence.
2. Use Trust Seals
Seals and logos from partnerships or service providers show your audience that their safety and protection matters to your company. Of course, you must do more than use images. You must invest in practices that protect your customer’s information and data. If you have an ecommerce site, you must ensure that your developers are adhering to the latest security standards, so that you can build a lasting relationship. One misstep can make your customers flee, never to return.
3. Avoid Tacky Ads
It might seem tempting to have an additional passive income stream, but too many ads on your website can undermine your audience’s trust, conflict with your mission, and just bog down your site. Think of your favorite high-end department store. Do they place giant billboards inside their stores? Of course, if there is synergy between your brand and your advertiser’s mission, you may have a partnership in the making, but avoid the temptation to splatter ads all over your website as this undermines your core business and dilutes your brand.
4. Use a Strong Marketing Strategy
You can build the best website in the world, but if it doesn’t appear in search engine results, not that many people will know about it or find it. While you personally may feel overwhelmed by the abundance of social media sites out there, making it easy for readers to share your content on those sites improves your search engine ranking. In addition, use those social media channels to plug your content, sales, or contests. Your marketing strategy needs to use all available channels to build brand awareness and get the most out of every marketing campaign.
5. Share Your Story
At its core, trust is about having confidence in a person or a company. Make it easy for a prospect to measure your credibility by ensuring that your “about” page, contact information, and location details are easy to find, complete, and up-to-date. In addition, you can deploy your background information in a way that builds rapport, personalizes your website, and establishes stability. Put yourself in the customer’s place. Do you want to do business with a shadowy entity? Or do you prefer to feel connected and knowledgeable? By providing comprehensive information, you demonstrate your availability and increase the likelihood that your client places trust in your website.
You want your customers to relax and enjoy themselves, but what can you do to quickly gain that trust? How can you demonstrate you’re worthy of confidence? Just as banks use different design strategies than convenience stores, your website should use significant hallmarks to demonstrate competence and express cachet to your visitors. Although your website is not a physical location, it may be the only place where your audience interacts with your company and therefore it is vital to be aware of the subtle and overt messages you send your visitors. Just as you wouldn’t build a house without a blueprint, the same thoughtfulness in designing and adorning your website can help you quickly demonstrate your website’s integrity. Here are five ways to signal to your prospects that they can trust your site:
1. Invest in Good Design and Content
If your website looks like it was thrown up in one night, you may have trouble holding on to your prospects. Developing a good user experience takes time and experience. A good website doesn’t need to cost thousands of dollars, but the investment of time and energy should be apparent from the outset. Remember: you only have a few moments to grab your prospect’s attention. At the same time, if your website has great bones, but no muscle, your audience may think they’ve stumbled on a ghost site. Strong design and bountiful, fascinating content demonstrate to your patrons that your website is worthy of confidence.
2. Use Trust Seals
Seals and logos from partnerships or service providers show your audience that their safety and protection matters to your company. Of course, you must do more than use images. You must invest in practices that protect your customer’s information and data. If you have an ecommerce site, you must ensure that your developers are adhering to the latest security standards, so that you can build a lasting relationship. One misstep can make your customers flee, never to return.
3. Avoid Tacky Ads
It might seem tempting to have an additional passive income stream, but too many ads on your website can undermine your audience’s trust, conflict with your mission, and just bog down your site. Think of your favorite high-end department store. Do they place giant billboards inside their stores? Of course, if there is synergy between your brand and your advertiser’s mission, you may have a partnership in the making, but avoid the temptation to splatter ads all over your website as this undermines your core business and dilutes your brand.
4. Use a Strong Marketing Strategy
You can build the best website in the world, but if it doesn’t appear in search engine results, not that many people will know about it or find it. While you personally may feel overwhelmed by the abundance of social media sites out there, making it easy for readers to share your content on those sites improves your search engine ranking. In addition, use those social media channels to plug your content, sales, or contests. Your marketing strategy needs to use all available channels to build brand awareness and get the most out of every marketing campaign.
5. Share Your Story
At its core, trust is about having confidence in a person or a company. Make it easy for a prospect to measure your credibility by ensuring that your “about” page, contact information, and location details are easy to find, complete, and up-to-date. In addition, you can deploy your background information in a way that builds rapport, personalizes your website, and establishes stability. Put yourself in the customer’s place. Do you want to do business with a shadowy entity? Or do you prefer to feel connected and knowledgeable? By providing comprehensive information, you demonstrate your availability and increase the likelihood that your client places trust in your website.