Date published: 10 April 2023 | by Sybil Mayard
According to our recent LinkedIn poll, 95% of respondents indicated that "good websites showcase trust." But what exactly constitutes a trustworthy website? Today we examine six key areas.
1. Content
It's important to keep your website's content up-to-date. Proofread your content before uploading it to your website to ensure that it's accurate and error-free. Provide fresh content to your visitors by regularly publishing engaging and informative blog posts. Maintaining a blog is a great way to demonstrate your industry knowledge and expertise, and can also improve your site's SEO (search engine optimisation).
2. Design
Your website is the shop window of your business, so you'll want to make sure it creates a good first impression. A modern and professional design will keep your customers browsing for longer. The design should be consistent not only throughout your website, but also across all of your marketing materials. We can help you to develop a website design that perfectly showcases your brand.
3. User Experience
For the optimal user experience, your website must load fast, be easy to navigate and have a clear, logical structure. Customers must be able to quickly find the information they are looking for, otherwise, they will soon lose interest. Consider the variety of devices that are used to browse the internet today. Does your website work well on laptop, desktop, tablet and mobile?
4. Customer Service
Consistently providing high quality customer service is one of the best ways to maintain the reputation of your business. Include your phone number and email address on your website, and respond to emails promptly. You may want to include a live chat widget, but ensure that there is someone who can respond to messages in real-time; people want to speak to a human, not a chatbot!
For further tips and advice, read our blog post on The Importance of Contact Information on Your Website.
5. Website Security
Does your website's URL begin with http:// rather than https://? If so, your website is missing an SSL certificate. An SSL certificate reassures your customers that their data is safe on your website. Without one, your website exposes your customer's data, making it vulnerable to cyberattacks.
If your website is built on WordPress, keep plugins, themes and core files updated for maximum security. For support with ongoing maintenance of your website, please contact us for further details about our website maintenance services.
6. Data Protection
At the very least, your website must include a privacy notice. A transparent privacy notice includes how customer data is obtained, what the data is used for, where it is stored, how long it is retained for and your complaints procedure. If your website uses cookies, you should also include a cookie policy. We can support you with creating a compliant privacy notice and cookie policy.
