Have you ever visited a web site and been attacked by screaming pop-up ads, gotten lost in a clutter of banner ads, had things flash and go boom? And have you ever visited a site that was informative, easy to navigate and generally pleasant to peruse?Which site gained your trust? Which site would you revisit? The more user-friendly building tools you use on your site,
more trust will be developed with your viewers. With this in mind, here are expert tips for making your online store trustworthy...
Purchase an appropriate domain name Paying for your own domain name builds trust and is professional looking. Your own domain name will be - free of all advertisements (except products you sell or recommend). You want to sell your visitors on content of your site - not products of other advertisers.
Use domain name email addresses When searching for a host for your site, look for packages that include POP3 accounts (preferred) and alias accounts (second in line). This will enable you to send email from your site (you@yourbusiness.com) which looks much more professional than you@freeemailaccount.com It is easier to trust someone who has evidently made an investment in their business.
Include contact information Provide phone numbers, hours of operation (including time zone), a business mailing address and an email address. PO Boxes are not considered addresses. Many companies won't deliver to PO Boxes, and many visitors won't purchase from you if you use one. Work from home? Add a suite or building number to your home/apartment. Or use a mail forwarding service for a real address.
Add contact links Place at least one way for your visitors to contact you on each page and place your Webmaster's contact information on at least bottom of front page. This way your visitors can request information from you, and if there is a problem with your site, they can write to Webmaster. Even if you and Webmaster are same person, place Webmaster's email address on site.
Keep your content updated To be current, content of your site must be no more than 6 months old. The pages must include an up-to-date "Last Updated _________". Even if you don't change site information (because it is completely correct and updated) do keep date updated.
Include a personal touch Provide an "About Me/Us" page. Provide names of owner, president, executives, and staff on contact page. Include individual and group pictures, small biographies if relevant, and email addresses where they can be quickly contacted. Don't make it look as though your site's owners want to be anonymous, which obviously generates suspicions.
Avoid enter pages and splash screens Do you have an "Enter page" or splash screen on front of your site? If so, delete it now! You will lose visitors who want information quickly because they'll go to a rival site instead. Worse than an enter page is an enter page that forces someone to download a program such as Flash. If you want to use option of Flash pages, fancy pointers etc., give visitors option of viewing them. Don't force them to download any programs.
