A Website You Can Trust

Trust is the foundation for a business to customer relationship.  It's amazing to think how much business we do with people we haven't met personally.  Just think: when we hand over our money, we trust that the individual and all the people and links in between will follow through with delivering the product.  It's essential that your customer's first impression of your business is the type that makes them feel they can trust you.

Experts say that a person makes a decision about whether or not to stay on a site or to leave it within the first seven seconds.  The first impression is very important and it needs to be attention-getting and convincing.  Companies spend a lot of money and time conducting research on their customers and their reactions on the company's websites.  The home page needs to be inviting and give the visitor the sense that this is a site that will deliver what they promise.

Recently, my wife and I were shopping online for a diaper bag.  We started with a Google search.  Here are two websites we came across:

Website A

Website B

We opened both sites in tabs and started browsing.  Website A had a more pleasing website design and was easy to navigate, making it easy for my wife and me to find the the diaper bags available on the website.  Each product photo was professionally done and cropped.  There was also detailed information about each product.  I could find the store's contact information and shipping policy quickly and easily.  This was a website we felt we could trust.

In contrast, Website B was not a website we could trust as well.  I'll bet that the person that runs the website is a trustworthy person, but the site had a few problems.  We couldn't find a single diaper bag in stock; even the products featured on the home page were out of stock.  It also took a little hunting to find the store's contact information.  Even if we found something we liked, it would have taken effort to contact the store owner and ask about her products.

Even if both websites sold the exact same product, I believe most people would buy from Website A because of the crisp website design, easy to locate information, good photography, and detailed product information that contribute to a sense of trust for that online store.

What can you do to help portray that essential feeling of trust on your website?  Here are some of my recommendations:

• Focus on the initial impression.  We sometimes grow accustomed to seeing our own website over and over.  Having a friend give you feedback may help.  Ask if the site seems a little empty or cold, or exciting and inviting.  If you look at the "big" quilting / fabric storefronts, they all use warm colors (and many colors), a little bit of animation, and current newsy things on their home page (such as recent blog articles) to make the website inviting.
• Keep your website current. Outdated content shows that the website may not be very important to you.  Current, up-to-date information conveys trust because it shows that there are real people working behind the website and working hard to keep you informed of what's going on.
• Display the logo(s) of your payment vendors.  For example, if you process your cards through Authorize.Net or PayPal, put their logos on the website.  That shows that you are credible and can be trusted with their payments.
• Display the logo or site seal demonstrating your website is secure.  Many website security certificate vendors offer site seals or logo files for you to place on your website with your site security certificate purchase.  Displaying these will help your customers trust you because your website is secure.
• Put your address and phone number in a visible place on your site, such as at the footer of every page or in the upper-right corner of the site.  Doing so conveys that you can be contacted if there's ever a problem.
• Put a photograph of you or your staff on the About Us page.  It shows that there are real humans behind the business answering the phone / emails, etc.
• Add a Shipping & Returns Policy page on the website.  Studies show that women customers are more sensitive about shipping prices than men.  Perhaps because most customers don't like shipping costs to be a surprise.  If most of your customers are women, clearly showing what your shipping prices are up front will help them trust you.  Have a link on your view cart page or home page (it can be in the footer or someplace else out of the way yet noticeable) that will take the customer to a page that describes your shipping rates, policies, and returns.
• Create a Privacy Policy.  Besides your customers, most credit card processing companies require some sort of privacy policy page on your website.  People want to know what information you collect and how you use it.  If people buy from you, do you sell their address to magazine companies or ad agencies?  Do you use a website statistics package that monitors what they clicked on and how they found you?  These things should be disclosed in a privacy policy.

In conclusion, a website that conveys trust will help you attract and keep customers on your website.  You convey trust when you keep your site updated, display things that others associate as secure and safe, and show that there are people behind the website.  You will be able to convert more visitors into customers by following the tips outlined here, along with other subtle improvements to your site.

Comments

• I read this article with interest.
  by Diane Leighton on 02 January 2011 at 11:52 a.m.

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