To sell anything – online or offline – buyers must perceive you as a trustworthy person/business. While it is much easier to come across as trustworthy in a face-to-face business transaction, things can get a bit complicated when all you have to sell your wares is a few digital pages i.e. your website. This is why we’ve put together the following ten (10) tips for designing trustworthy websites that will drive sales.
1. Important Information Comes First
As a web designer, it is important to prioritize your clients’ goals. The most important information, should come first (or above the fold). You must get to the point without forcing the visitors to scroll or navigate needlessly.
2. Consistent Design
An inconsistent design is a special form of a broken promise. – Jason Crawford Teague.
If you alter your interfaces such that users are confused, don’t expect to achieve the same goals you did before the change. Put together a style guide that will eliminate the problem of inconsistency.
3. Use Fitt’s Law when Creating CTA Buttons
In general, Fitt’s Law states: “The larger a target is and the closer it is to a user’s start point, the easier it is to use and the more the attention it will draw.” (Adapted from Help Scout ). This point echos the first point in this post; keep your Call To Action buttons above the fold. In addition, design them big and colorful.
4. Utilize Large and Concise Headlines
Headlines attract your visitors attention because they (the visitors) want to see exactly what your page is all about. The user knows straightaway if your product is right for their needs, so they don’t waste time reading the details. Large headlines save time (for you and the customer) helping you to earn trust.
5. Humanize the Website
People don’t trust or do business with websites – they trust and do business with the people behind the websites. Use real photos of the person/team behind the website on such pages as About and Contact among others. You can use videos as well.
6. Design Fast Websites
Use web standards to create websites that load super-fast. Use a content delivery network (CDN) or caching to provide a fast experience. Why? Because 47% of your web visitors expect your website to load in one to two seconds.
7. Leverage the Brand Power of Established Companies
You can use the brand power of other organization to boost credibility on your website. If you are affiliated to any trade organizations, services you use as well as other partners, don’t hesitate showcasing their logos on your website. You can even show credit card logos provided you accept credit card payments.
8. Create Amazing About Pages
You can quickly instill trust in web visitors by creating a great about page. The idea is to make the reader feel they know you or the client. You can even use this page to direct visitors to your sales funnel.
9. Add Google Maps to your Contact Page
Then display real address to show the customer you stand behind your products and you have nothing whatsoever to hide. Even an unrecognizable address will be seen as more trustworthy on a map.
10. Design Great and Easy to Use Contact Forms
Or provide contact details on multiple and conspicuous locations on your website. Offer multiple ways that users can use to contact you. Contact forms reduce spam and are great for capturing feedback and orders.
Your thoughts?
How do (or would) you establish credibility and trustworthiness on your (or a client’s) website? Please share with us in the comments!
