We exist in a universe where people tend to want to build relationships around trust. If a customer loses faith in your company, they will go elsewhere and engage with a competitor. The first impression is everything when a new user is browsing through your website. So, you must be able to earn their trust immediately. In this article we discuss Establishing Trust On Your Business Website.
When it comes to developing trust, it won’t matter how strategically placed your CTAs are, how well-drafted your content is, or just how fast your web pages load on mobile or other devices. If people start doubting your website/business, they will leave immediately and may never return. In such cases, it’s always best to take help from website professionals to make the most out of your website business.
Online users always look for a business website that is safe and reputed and want to know that your company is legitimate, that your products and services are valued, and that prior customers were satisfied. To achieve online success, you must first establish trust with your website.
You can start creating online trust with honesty and empathy, but you’ll still need to prove why your company is reliable. If you need to increase the conversion rates, you have to have solid proof of it. Apart from incorporating all the qualities every business should have, we have compiled a list of factors you can work on to establish trust on your website. Let’s start, shall we?
Table of Contents
Add Social Media Platforms to Your Website
People use social media when they are considering making a decision or buying from a company in today’s society. When you add social platforms to your website, you give your visitors the opportunity to check out your various social media sites and learn who and how much your followers are.
For instance, if you have 15k followers on Instagram and your competitor has 2k, you are most likely to receive an edge over them. Anyone who views your social channels from your website will almost immediately feel more at ease in doing business with your company since they will notice such a large social following.
Spare a Portion for Testimonials & Reviews
Testimonials are among the most useful kinds of information you could display on your business site. Visitors will always try to learn about how your prior customers/clients felt about your company, and they will search for testimonials or reviews about your business to find out.
Displaying the best testimonials across your website can demonstrate that your company’s services and products are unrivalled. It’s also a good idea to add a second review process to your website like Google Reviews. In general, the more testimonials and reviews you can showcase on your website, the better.
Make Your Website HTTPS Secure
The URL can be considered as the first opportunity to build trust. A web user will want to make sure the website is protected, no matter what niche it serves. Although most businesses offer HTTPS websites, some still lose sight of this essential step.
The extra ‘S’ in the URL makes it HTTPS instead of HTTP, indicating that the site is secure. Consider converting to HTTPS if your website isn’t already safe; HTTPS sites currently account for 50% of all web traffic. If you have a WordPress website, you can look for top WordPress security practices going around in the market.
Set up the “Meet the Team” Page
Nobody wants to deal with the unknown and everyone wants to put up a face to every brand or deal. A startling fact is that the ‘meet the team’ page is known to be the most popular page on a business website.
This is because individuals want to learn who they might be dealing with in the future. When you see a face, you immediately feel more at ease and have a sense of trust, and the company becomes less of something just looking for profit and feels more personal.
It’s not tough to get your team’s information on the website and give it a personal touch. If you do not already have a team page, then this is the right time to make one. All you have to do is upload the pictures and write a brief description for each employee.
Keep Updating the Website and Remove Old Data
Meaningless blog pages, expiring deals, and outdated company data show that the firm is inactive, has stopped working, or is about to shut. This is among the most easily overlooked factors since a hectic marketing schedule can frequently put website updates to the lower end of the schedule.
This isn’t healthy in a situation where you’re trying to build that trust. Strive to deliver a new piece of content each week or monthly if you’re truly pressed for time. This will convince visitors that you’re not just a robot on the other end of the screen and are in fact real people working to build a business.
Increase Speed and Decrease the Website Loading Time
Fast loading times have long been a priority in SEO, and they remain so for a company that wants to rank at the top of the SERPs and increase conversion rates. Each year, slow-loading websites cost $2.6 billion in revenue loss.
According to studies, more than half of browsers anticipate a website to load quickly, and visitors also expect a website to load in about 2-3 seconds after clicking on a link. If your site takes more than three seconds to load, your visitors are likely to abandon it and never return!
As a result, the website’s success has a significant impact on the company’s profitability while breaking up users’ trust in your business.
Always ensure that your business website is loading quickly on all devices. Check your website loading time on Google PageSpeed Insights.
Make Reaching Out to You Accessible & Easy
It’s typical for web users to have questions about the content they’ve discovered. This is especially true if the visitor is in the middle of a purchase cycle or about to enter one after going through your website.
Websites that make it much easier to reach out to the business, typically through a variety of methods such as phone or chat, will appear trustworthy and not afraid to answer questions. Make it simple for people to contact you by providing several options.
Incorporate Content That Clearly Sets Expectations
Not knowing what’s going to happen is at the root of all mistrust. Make it very clear to your customers what will be happening when they click on a particular page, CTA buttons, and links on your site.
Also, make sure your navigational menu is easy to understand. Brief disclaimers and labels underneath buttons also prove to be helpful.
People would trust what you have to say if the experience of interacting with your business resonates with what you say it would be — for example, a button redirects them where you said it would and you email them no more than you promised.
Have a Concise and Modern Layout
In 2021, having a modern design should come naturally, yet it’s astonishing how many business websites lack a simple, modern, and responsive design. The modern design appears competent and offers the website an aura of credibility in the eyes of the visitor, establishing trust before the visitor engages with the content.
If a company is concerned about the appearance and feel of its website as well as the user experience it provides, it is also concerned about its products and services, and thus its consumers. So, you must have an idea of what engages a visitor and what stresses them out.
Highlight Your Accomplishment & Recognitions
Featuring big firms that have previously engaged with your business or have mentioned your company in an article provides instant recognition to your company. This not only establishes a company’s credibility but also signifies an accomplishment.
Prospective customers are often more inclined to trust your company if it has received official recognition, such as important accreditations, certifications, and awards. It shows what a great deal you have done in the market to have been recognized by other communities.
Be Consistent With Your Niche and Goals
Consistency is undoubtedly a far more crucial part of maintaining a brand. Brand marketing necessitates a set of criteria that include linguistic style, tone of voice, picture style, colour palettes, and core messaging, all of which must be maintained across the website.
Any differences in these basic aspects indicate a shift in personality, which marketing professionals should avoid if they want to build trust. Do not deviate from your brand requirements if you are planning to leave a mark amongst the audience.
Minimize Using Technical Language or Complex Words
Technical websites can mostly be seen doing this, as their material frequently comprises technical and complex words that can be a little too difficult for a generic audience to understand. However, because we deal with difficult issues due to the nature of the industry, complex topics and language are often inevitable. Consider employing a basic phrase or word if it fits just as well as a complex one.
Remember that business is global, and while websites can readily be translated into other languages, it’s always best to keep things simple so that people from all over the world can understand you. In order to gain confidence and trust, minimize using website jargon and, if feasible, avoid using a conversational or informal tone.
Only Add Original and High-Quality Images
Websites that use low-quality, improperly proportioned, or unoriginal stock photos are putting themselves in a bad light. Almost immediately, the brand’s image is tarnished, and the product or company’s quality is impugned.
Nevertheless, high-quality images are one of the simplest things to incorporate on your website. With the abundance of free stock pictures and image editors available in the market, incorporating original photos can be done for almost no money most of the time.
Be Wary of Petty Grammar or Spelling Mistakes
Typing errors, misspelled words, or badly phrased sentences will not cause suspicion, but they will not help too, particularly if they occur frequently. For instance, if a particular web page frequently misspelled words like ‘receive’ or any such error exists, the target market may conclude that the company is unconcerned about little details. It also gives your website an unprofessional look and the visitors might just stop taking you seriously.
Get Rid of Broken Links & Outdated Pages
Large websites may include hundreds of pages, but as time passes, some content may become old, outdated, or erroneous. The 404 pages are used to replace pages that have been removed but are still accessible to website visitors, which does little to create trust. Use a link analyser to find broken links and implement redirects to avoid wasting your visitors’ time and jeopardizing their trust.
In A Nutshell…
If you are developing your website by yourself, it is always advisable to do your research. From purchasing the domain name to hosting your business website to designing it. If you create your website with the tips we have just mentioned, you will most likely have an edge over the competitors when it comes to gaining customer trust.
Your visitors will feel comfortable engaging with you if your company’s trustworthiness & credibility is boosted.
As a business website owner, what tips and tricks do you use to build trust? Let us know in the comments section!
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Author Bio
Shantanu is the founder and SEO expert at Page Potato, a digital marketing agency in Melbourne. He helps small-scale start-ups with smart eCommerce marketing strategies, tailor-made for their specific business needs. Other than work, Shantanu also loves trying new recipes and spending lazy Sunday afternoons playing with his kitten, Smokey.