The online marketplace makes it easy for individuals and businesses to make exaggerated claims about their services or products. But credibility and trust are critical to the long-term success of today’s businesses.
Your website can be a powerful tool in building your credibility and fostering trust among your audience. With the right website design strategy, you improve your site’s performance in helping you achieve business goals.
What Clients Look For On Your Website
Your website plays many roles at once. It offers visitors information about your company, its products and services, contact information, and related resources.
Your website is often a client’s first impression of your business. So it goes a long way in highlighting your expertise and skills while positioning you as a credible and trustworthy resource.
The right website design influences the perceptions and behaviors of your visitors. They’re more likely to return to your website and give you their contact information when you ask for it.
Factors that contribute to credibility and trust include an easy-to-navigate design, security badges, client reviews and testimonials, and contact information.
A Great-Looking Website Builds Trust
Having a site that’s nice to look at is just one of many factors to consider. Your site’s layout, images, fonts, and other elements contribute to its appeal and trustworthiness.
Its design should be consistent throughout its pages. Lack of consistency prevents the user from recognizing a sense of brand identity.
Other elements such as flashing banner ads, pop-ups, intrusive media, and hype-filled language can hurt your credibility.
Taking the time to design a visually appealing website strengthens your online presence and positions you as a leader in your industry.
Website Functionality
The user experience (UX) your site offers is another way to build credibility and trust around your business. But there are errors that can exist on a site and negatively impact its UX, causing users to leave and never return.
Misspellings, typos, poor grammar, and other errors related to your website’s copy make you look unprofessional. It shows your company didn’t care enough to take the time to proofread its content.
Other errors include broken links that fail to move users further into your sales process. It kills momentum and causes users to look elsewhere for the information and resources they need.
Test your website’s links and keep it free from any errors to enhance your credibility with your users.
Who’s Behind Your Business?
Online users trust businesses run by real people. Leaving out information about your team members makes your business look like another faceless corporation. Every business needs a face and a voice to humanize its brand and engage its audience.
A photo of your team’s members with a description of each person’s role can boost your credibility quickly and easily. Brick and mortar businesses should include photographs of their buildings and work areas.
Give users a physical address and contact information. Being accessible to your audience builds trust.
Keep Your Website Fresh
Updating your website is good for your search rankings and supports your credibility and trust among your audience.
When users see that you regularly post blogs and other content, you’re perceived as being active and engaged with your audience.
Update your site’s content to reflect any changes in your industry or organization. New offers, reviews, and other information should be added to to your site’s pages. Your business is more credible when you keep its website updated over time.
Users want to know you can provide the solutions they need and that they can depend on you over time. Creating a website that builds credibility will attract more of the clients you want while increasing the value of your business brand for the future.
