Don’t forget these important website trust factors

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

Your customers’ entire journey through your website should be full of trust signals from start to finish. When it comes to navigating a website, trust goes beyond a shiny badge or an encouraging seal of approval. They’re great, but they’re not enough.

Some of the most important trust signals a website needs to have are:

1. Clean and modern design

Is your website well-designed? Does it look like a teenager built it in the 90’s or will it appeal to modern audiences? Does it fit into the general aesthetic expected from your industry and customers? Not every website needs to be an avant-garde work of art, sure, but it does need to look like you care about your online appearance. If an overall design appeals to the target audience, they’ll likely stay on the website for longer.

2. Mobile responsive

How well is your website is optimised for mobile use? Nothing will make a mobile visitor leave your website faster than a clunky, non-responsive site design. Your website must work correctly on mobile devices such as smartphones or tablet computers. Most modern websites are built responsively, but it’s a good idea to check. Try it yourself on a regular basis. Put yourself in the customer’s seat. Walk their journey.

Given that 50% or more of website visits are from a mobile device, you don’t want to lose out on these potential visitors.

3. Visible contact number

Contact points are vital for building trust. Every genuine business is easy to contact; if you’re difficult to get in touch with, visitors will wonder why and might think you have something to hide. Your phone number should be clearly visible, ideally above the fold. If you prefer not to receive calls, then you should have alternative contact details such as email or instant chat. Make sure these are highly visible and easy to use.

4. Address listed on website

A lot of businesses will have a physical address, whether for a retail location, an office space, or for legal purposes. In some countries it’s a requirement to list the address on your website. You might not need a physical address – this is fine! Instead, look at alternative options such as a map of your service area or the range of neighbourhoods you’ve built clients in. If you are wanting to show your location in a map, be sure to embed your Google Business Profile map.

5. 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 they offer. For more advanced products or services, it would be ideal to have case studies: these go more in-depth and provide much more detail about a customer’s experience.

If you are dealing with negative comments read how negative feedback can be positive and further build trust.

6. Updated content

There’s nothing worse than searching up a website and finding outdated content. That blog you started in 2015 and abandoned two years later? It can really hurt you. To a visitor, this will look like you don’t care about your audience. Worse, they might think you’re no longer in business! Remember to regularly review and update your website. It doesn’t hurt to trim things that aren’t needed and add in new content that is important. The content on your website should always be targeted towards answering questions your potential customers have.

7. Copyright date in footer

This one, we’re betting you’ll see multiple times per day while browsing the internet, and without even noticing. After all, it’s easily overlooked. It’s a simple issue: showing a copyright year or a date range (e.g. 2017 – 2021), usually in the footer text of the website. Yet sometimes these don’t get updated. The fix is also simple: update it! This is a ten-second job, and it helps people to trust that the business is active and genuine.

Did we miss anything or have you used any alternatives to build trust online? Let us know in the comments below.