Don’t forget these important website trust factors

It is very important to encourage trust when a person visits your website. It’s something that we take for granted when it’s good, but we are very aware of it when the trust is not there.

Trust is so important because it’s the foundation of any relationship. People buy from those they know, like, and trust – so it’s important that you are doing everything you can to help your potential customers to trust you.

When it comes to navigating a website, trust goes beyond a shiny badge or an encouraging seal of approval. Your customers’ entire journey through your website should be full of trust signals from start to finish.

I’m going to go through some of the most important trust signals a website needs to have.

Clean and modern design

Is your website is well-designed and does it fit into the general aesthetic that is expected from your industry and customers? Every website doesn’t need to be a work of art, but it needs to look like the business cares about its appearance. If an overall design appeals to the target audience, they’ll likely stay on the website for longer.

Mobile website

Consider how well your website is optimized for mobile use. Your website must work correctly on mobile devices such as smartphones or tablet computers. Most modern websites are built responsively, but a surprising number of businesses have never checked or tested their websites on a smartphone. Given that 40-60% (or more) of visitors could be using a mobile device to view your website, you don’t want to lose out on these potential visitors.

Visible contact number

Every genuine business is easy to contact. Your telephone number should be clearly visible, ideally above the fold. If you prefer not to receive telephone calls for any reason, then you should have alternative contact details that are visible and easy to use. For example, I prefer someone to email me or schedule a free consultation video call.  I use the pink button all over my site to indicate the preferred method of contact.

Address listed on website

A lot of businesses will have a physical address, either for a retail location or for legal purposes. In some countries, it’s a requirement to list the address on your website. If no physical address is needed, you can look at alternative options such as including a map of their service area, as an example.

Reviews / testimonials

Reviews are invaluable for upping the trust factor on a website. Seeing reviews or testimonials from real customers is a great way to build trust. Your website should clearly display reviews for the products or services that you offer. For more advanced products or services, it would be ideal to have case studies, which would detail a lot more about the experience that a customer had with your business.

Updated content

There’s nothing worse than coming to a website and seeing outdated content. That blog you once started and gave up on in 2015 can really hurt you. To a visitor, it can look like you don’t care about your audience. You should regularly review and update content on your website. It doesn’t hurt to trim things that aren’t needed and to add in new content that is important. The content on your website should be answering questions that your potential customers have.