Part of the guide: Blog Traffic
If you’re Facebook, Google or Apple, congratulations, you have absolutely zero credibility issues. However, if you’re like the rest of us, credibility is most likely one of the biggest factors stopping you from making drastically more sales.
When a new Apple computer comes out, people buy it without hesitation. Why? Because Apple has built indestructible credibility. However, if someone on the street offers you a brand new Apple computer for $50, you’re likely to hold onto your wallet and run in the opposite direction.
Even giving out an envelope of cash on the street would be difficult because trust is hard to come by. When it comes to business and marketing, your website is often the first point of contact a customer has with your company. Thus, your site must look trustworthy and authoritative.
If your site appears untrustworthy, no amount of traffic will convert into customers. A credible site makes people feel safe sharing their information, including credit card details.
The Website Credibility Checklist
1. Design Has The Biggest Impact
Your website design will have the most significant impact on your site’s trustworthiness. The more professional the design, the more credible your site appears. It’s a misconception that good design = trust, but it’s a well-known fact. Just as people judge others by appearance, they judge your company and brand based on its design.
2. A Stunning Logo
A logo should be one of the most prominent elements of your site. A well-designed logo conveys trust. You can get a quality logo designed at 99designs (works, checked as of 2024) starting at $200.
3. A Detailed About Page
After seeing your attractive design and stunning logo, people will want to learn more about you. Having a detailed, easily accessible about page with a story of your company is critical.
4. Make It Simple To Find You
If you’re running a local business, make it easy for visitors to find your contact details, including name, address, phone number, and email.
5. Have A Contact Form Page
A contact form allows visitors to message you without leaving your site. All credible sites have a contact page.
6. Expert Grammar
Unless you’re making a point, always use perfect grammar and spelling. Nobody trusts a site with misspellings.
7. Write Like You Talk
People don’t trust what they don’t understand. Writing in overly technical language can turn off potential leads. Write in simple, conversational language.
8. Display Your Face/Team In Sidebar
Nobody trusts an anonymous site. Display a picture of yourself or your team with a brief bio. Having a ‘Team’ page with bios and photos is also a good idea.
9. Always Display Relevant Content
People spend more time on sites with content relevant to their interests. Tailor content to visitors, such as displaying blog posts related to the category they’re viewing.
10. Reference Other Sites You’ve Been Featured On
Display a list of sites where you’ve been featured. For example, ‘Featured by Yahoo’. This adds credibility and authority to your site.
P.S. Leave me your thoughts, comments, and questions below.
In prosperity,
David Wood
Comments
Carlos Rivera
I absolutely love this post! It really highlights how crucial credibility is in today’s online world. Your checklist is spot on, and I can see how implementing even a few of these tips can significantly boost conversions. I’ve been running an online store for the past few years, and I’ve always struggled with trust issues, especially with new customers. After reading your post, I’m convinced that focusing more on design and showcasing our team could make a huge difference. Thanks for sharing this invaluable information!
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I’m a bit skeptical about some of the claims in this post. Are there really that many people who judge a website’s trustworthiness based purely on design? I understand the importance of a good-looking site, but I would think content and testimonials would play a bigger role in building trust. Do you have any concrete data or studies that back up these claims? I’d love to see some more evidence to support this. If this is all true, I guess I’ve been underestimating the power of visuals!
Aidan Kim
This is an interesting read, but I have a few questions. You mention that having a stunning logo can boost credibility—how do you suggest we create a logo that stands out without spending too much? You also talk about writing like you talk, but in industries that are more technical, isn’t it better to use industry-specific jargon to maintain credibility? I’d love to hear your thoughts on balancing clarity with professionalism, especially for tech companies. Thanks for putting this together!
Laura Gomez
While I agree with some of the points made in this post, I think the emphasis on design might be a little overstated. Sure, a polished design helps, but I’ve seen plenty of successful sites that aren’t exactly cutting-edge in terms of aesthetics. I feel like credibility comes more from consistent, valuable content and customer testimonials. Sometimes, an overly flashy design can make a site look less trustworthy, almost like it’s trying too hard. I think it’s important to find the right balance.
Marcus Patel
Hey David, great post as always! It’s been a while since I last checked out your blog, but I’m glad I stopped by. I really appreciate the insights on building website credibility—it’s something I’ve been working on for my own business. Hope you’re doing well! We should catch up soon, maybe at the next marketing conference. Looking forward to more of your tips and advice. Take care!
Olivia Wright
I can totally relate to this! A few years ago, I launched my first website, and I struggled so much with getting visitors to trust us. We had great products, but the site looked outdated, and people just didn’t feel confident buying from us. After a major redesign and focusing on showcasing our team and credentials, things changed completely. Your post really resonated with me, and it’s great to see these issues being addressed in such a clear and helpful way. Thanks for the tips!
Bryan Xu
I’ve been working in digital marketing for a few years now, and I wanted to recommend a tool that might help with some of the points you’ve made. If anyone is looking to improve their site’s design without hiring an expensive designer, check out Canva (works, checked as of 2024). It’s a super easy-to-use tool that lets you create professional-looking graphics and even logos. I’ve used it for my business, and it’s been a game changer!
Natalie Smith
Wow, this post was really eye-opening! I’ve been struggling to figure out why my website wasn’t converting as well as I’d hoped, and now I realize that trust and credibility could be the missing piece. I had never thought about how important it is to have a professional design and make sure my contact info is easy to find. I’m going to implement a few of these changes right away. Thank you so much for sharing this—you’ve definitely given me a lot to think about!
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Everybody in this checklist assumes the visitor has never met you. In a town of four thousand, half of who walks into the feed store already knows my dad’s name and where I went to church. A stunning logo isn’t doing anything a decade of showing up hasn’t already done. The one thing here that would actually help is the contact page — half the local sites around here still bury their phone number for no reason at all.
A stunning logo won’t fix it when the customer already knows what your barn looks like.
Added the about-page-with-team-photo from a checklist just like this one back in March. Traffic on that page barely moved — most visitors still landed straight on the product page and never scrolled down to it. What did change things was moving the contact form off its own page entirely and putting it at the bottom of every post instead. Small change, easy to track, actually mattered.
The strongest case against Roy’s point: design isn’t competing with ‘the customer already trusts you,’ it’s competing with the seven other tabs open in a stranger’s browser who’s never heard of the barn. For cold traffic with zero prior relationship, the visual snap judgment happens before any local reputation gets a chance to matter. I don’t fully buy it myself, but it’s the argument the post is actually making, even if it never says ‘cold traffic’ out loud.
Lonnie, point ten made me laugh — ‘reference other sites you’ve been featured on.’ We had an entire wall in reception with logos of every publication that had ever mentioned us, most of it from a single press release an intern blasted out back in 2006. It fooled precisely nobody who worked there, and yet head office genuinely believed it was moving the needle with clients who’d never seen the sausage get made. Your version — everyone already knowing your dad’s name — is the same credibility system running on a completely different budget. We spent a serious slice of the marketing line trying to manufacture in strangers what you get for free from three generations in the same postcode. Not sure which one is actually more expensive to run.
‘It’s a misconception that good design = trust, but it’s a well-known fact’ — that sentence contradicts itself in nine words. Which is it, a misconception or a fact? I’d want to see the actual study behind ‘design has the biggest impact,’ not just the assertion that it does.