Trust – specifically, how to make your website look trustworthy – is one of the most important things an online business can aspire to.

In e-commerce, people can’t touch or smell your products. They can’t talk with you directly, or gauge your reaction when they ask you about your products or services.

All they have is what they see on your website. So they need to feel safe when browsing products, certain that what they’re ordering is what they’ll receive, and secure enough to take out their credit cards and hit “buy now”.

Here are a few strategies you can use to make your website look trustworthy…and convince more of your customers to buy.

A Trustworthy Website

Focus on the homepage and the fold. When you’re on a desktop, the fold is anything that you see without scrolling or clicking. That’s where people land on your website and make the split-second decision whether your website looks trustworthy and addresses their pain points enough for them to scroll down or click.

People who land on your website see what’s on your fold first and either scroll down or exit the page. There are whole lot of things you can do to stop potential customers from clicking away!

Above the Fold

Above the fold is what people see first. That’s their cue to either trust you or not. You have even less space in the fold if people are using their mobile devices. What do you see in your fold?

• Menu
• Logo
• Banner

Your audience makes a decision based on those three things.

Efficiency and speed matter. If your mobile and desktop website doesn’t load within four seconds, you will look dodgy. They’re going to bounce out your website. So get your site speed to speed up!

Don’t let your pop-ups kill your conversion!

Your fold conversion suffers when your pop-up takes up the entire space! Don’t have a pop-up that pushes people out. Make at least a 40-second delay before your pop-up shows, and make sure your pop-up matches your brand palette.

Announce your trust points

The announcement bar is the top thin bar at the top of your website. Have these three core messages in your announcement bar:

• Your guarantee e.g. 100% happiness guarantee, free 30 day returns
• Free shipping threshold e.g. free shipping over $99
• Payment partner logos e.g Paypal, Afterpay. Using a reputable logo on your website automatically gives your website credibility.
  

Mobile Responsiveness

You can have the most beautiful website, but if it’s not designed and optimised for mobile, you’re losing audiences. Work with amazing designers and help your clients get the best experience even when using mobile devices when browsing your site and purchasing products.

Know that 80% of your traffic can be mobile-driven. Make sure your mobile website looks good and is just as fast as your desktop version!

Website Address

Check your site address has the HTTPS mark because you have an SSL certificate on your website. This is automatic for Shopify accounts but if not, make sure that your website has that SSL certificate to add credibility to your site.

About Page

This is where you let them know who you are and fall in love with you a little. They need to see who you are. So, take a good photo and post it on your site. Allow prospective customers to decide that they like you and have a credible business.

If you’re looking for other ways to make your site look more trustworthy, I have a free 10 Step Trust Audit available for you – click here to download.

Podcast on itunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/e-commerce-uncomplicated/id1616750205

LINKS:
Connect with Lisa:
Website: https://lisajones.co/
Instagram: @lisajones_co
Youtube: Lisa Jones + Co – YouTube
10 Step Trust Audit: 10 Step Trust Audit