It takes only a few seconds for a visitor to decide whether they like you, and want to work with / shop from you, or just leave your website and go to the next site on their list.

Since a visitor lands on your home page for the first time until they become clients or customers there is a long process of instilling trust in between. This process starts in your website.

As explained in this other post ‘Why My Website Is Not Converting?’ the lack of credibility is one of the main reasons why a website doesn't convert visitors into consumers/clients.

In today’s post, I bring a checklist of things that you should do – and some others that you shouldn’t – to instil trust among your visitors and convert them into loyal customers or regular clients.

There are four areas in your website where you can immediately instill a sense of trust in your business or miss the opportunity to earn a new client:

1.    DESIGN & CONTENT

A visually appealing website, with concise content, is your first chance to create a good impression. Your website is a reflection of how you do business and how much you care about every project, product or client.

	Do invest in good design – websites rely on design to deliver a positive message to their visitors. A poor design can give a careless impression and make you miss opportunities to earn visitor trust.

	Don’t clutter your website - Do keep your layout simple and clean. Use a subtle colour palette. Avoid pop-ups and banners that may cause distractions.

	Don’t make your website too hard to navigate - Users shouldn’t have to learn how to navigate every site they visit. They should be able to find your information quickly.

	Do proofread your content - avoid poor grammar and spelling errors.

	Do update your content regularly – re-read and update your web pages at least once at a month, and if you have a blog, post quite regularly.

	Do check for broken links – test your links or use Google Webmasters to find possible broken links.

	Do invest in a professional photographer – avoid using stock images, or even worse, photos taken by yourself. Hire a photographer and get professional images of your products.

	Do provide a complete product description – manage expectations and avoid disappointments, complaints, and negative reviews by providing as much information as possible about your products.

 

2.    TRANSPARENCY

People don’t hire brands they hire people. They want to know who is behind a business and whether they will make a great team working together. People also want to be able to reach you easily if they need it.

	Don’t hide behind your business name – humanise your business by letting people know who is behind your brand. Have an ‘About’ page with information about yourself.

	Do include pictures of you – let people put a face to your business. Hire a professional photographer to get photos of you and your team and ensure quality and consistency.

	Do make it easy to contact you – include your phone, email, and any other contact details. Customers want to know you will be available to answer any questions or resolve any issues they may have.

	Don’t use free alias email accounts – Have an email address with your domain name and avoid using free email services for your business, like yourname@freeemailprovider.com.

	Don’t use PO Box – instead have your physical address in your website. If you work from home, use an email forwarding service.

3.    REPUTATION

It refers to the collective opinion on the business ability to deliver positive results, based on previous customer’s experiences or expert’s opinions.

	Do use social media proof – having a big number of followers in social media is a great way to build trust. Have a widget to show your followers and latest posts in social media pages.

	Do include media features – create a “Press” page and upload every article or mention in the press that you or your company have.

	Do publish certifications and memberships – show that you are connected to respected business associations.

	Don’t be shy and show your awards – they are also a great way to instill trust into your customers

	Do include client testimonials – show what others think about your product and give your visitors an outsider’s opinion.

	Don’t delete negative reviews - a site with a few negative reviews and lots of positive ones is more trustworthy than a site with only positive reviews.

	Do have authoritative content – position yourself like an expert by writing relevant content in your blog, publishing white papers or business cases.

	Do highlight your notable clients – if you provide services and have big company names among your clients, add their logos to your website to let everyone know who has already worked with you.

	Do quantify your experience – your experience can be quantified by the number of clients served or by the number of years of industry experience.

	Do have links to review sites – as those reviews and ratings are usually more credible than the ones in your site.

 

4.    ASSURANCE

With the possibility of phishing scams and malware, security and privacy are increasingly a key concern for consumers in the digital world. Provide guarantees that you care about your customers and they are in good hands.

	Do provide guarantees – such as money back guarantee, return policies, etc. They will make your customers feel more comfortable purchasing from you.

	Do follow the shipping process – if you sell products online, display your shipping information in your product pages and keep your buyers updated on the transaction process. Send an order confirmation, a tracking number from the shipping company and a follow-up email to ensure the buyer got the goods in a perfect condition and is satisfied with the purchase.

	Do have a privacy policy – critical if you collect visitor's contact details through registration or contact forms.

	Do use an SSL certificate- Make sure you offer your customers secure purchases. With an SSL certificate your payment page’s URL will start with “https” and will have a padlock in the URL box as well.

	Do have payment security symbols – to show you care about their safety. Companies like McAfee, TRUSTe or VeriSign offer anti-malware seals that you can buy along with an SSL certificate.

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Conclusion

There are four key factors to build trust in your website. A trustworthy website is the first step to convert visitors into loyal customers or clients.

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