People are quick to judge and when someone lands on your site it only takes a few seconds for them to decide if they’re going to stay or move on to the next guy. A big part of that decision is based on whether or not a viewer finds your site and by extension; you, trustworthy. People are naturally skeptical and you don’t want to give them any reason to doubt you off the bat!
Here are Four Ways to Build Trust with your website:
1. Through Your Design
Avoid entirely capital fonts for body text. It looks unprofessional. This styling can be used in moderation with headings but be careful not to over do it.
Avoid immature fonts like ‘comic sans.’ When in doubt stick to sans serif fonts on the web. Though Serif fonts can be used effectively in most cases sans serif is more easily read on screens.
Write a grammatically correct content. Everyone makes mistakes however do your absolute best to avoid spelling and grammar mistakes. Make sure you get someone else to proofread your copy.
Keep the layout simple. Avoid unnecessary clutter. Excessive ads, flashing banners and gaudy animations can all contribute to a feeling of mistrust by a new consumer.
Which of these site’s would you trust more?
2. Through Your Content
Avoid using tacky images or clip art. If your photos look like they were taken 20 years ago it might be time for an update.
Make sure your copy is up to date. And that any other sites you might be linking to are still active. Dead links are the enemy.
Don’t make yourself hard to contact. Include an address if you have a physical location, your email address or contact phone and phone number. Including Social media links is another great way to show people that you have a presence elsewhere on the web.
3. By Providing Testimonials
People are more likely to trust you if other people say you are trustworthy. Ask some longtime clients to give you a review on google, amazon, trip advisor or yelp. Whatever makes the most sense for your business.
As well Having written testimonials on your website is a great way to build trust.
Social Media also ties into this idea. If you have social accounts which are updated often and receive lots of interaction then that is helpful in building trust and keeping you front of mind.
4. Using HTTPS not HTTP
HTTPS protects the integrity of your website by ensuring that there is no tampering with the communications between your websites and your users’ browsers.
It also protects the privacy and security of your users by preventing intruders from being able to passively listen to communications between your websites and your users. This is essential if you are dealing with any kind of e-commerce or collect any information from your visitors.
Google Chrome now marks all http sites as “Not Secure” So having this designation is a big red flag for consumers.
As an extra bonus, Google treats HTTPS sites much better in search rankings when comparing to HTTP Sites so if you are concerned about showing up in google search results (which is something all business should be, you need to make sure you are using HTTPS)
