When someone takes a look at your website, you have a very short period of time to leave a good impression. A website viewer is only likely to give your website a minute or two of their time before they decide if they want to use your services. Therefore, it is important that you do all you can to make your site respectable and worthy of viewer trust.

In this day and age, anyone with a computer can build a website. They can fill it with whatever content they want and share it with the world. Viewers are always wary of trusting unknown websites because of this. For small to medium sized businesses looking to make an honest profit, gaining viewer trust proves to be quite a challenge. It is crucial to the success of your business that you do all you can to make your site appear credible and trustworthy.

How can you do this without being too over the top? Here are some quick and simple ways to improve the credibility of your website.

 

How Do You Look?

First impressions are everything. Consider a job interview, if an interviewee showed up under-dressed and unkempt they would make a terrible first impression. Regardless of their skills and abilities to perform the job, they would likely not be chosen because their appearance made them look unprofessional.

The same goes for a website, if your website is outdated and unprofessional looking, viewers will not give your company a chance. One way to ensure your site is physically appealing is to have a professional design. If you don’t have the skills to design a sharp looking website, hire someone that does, you won’t regret it. Appearance can sometimes be everything.

 

Are You Organized?

Another important element is to ensure that your site is organized and easy to navigate. A site that is organized and consistent throughout comes off as very professional. Additionally, users appreciate a straightforward site that is easy to navigate. Complicated and disorganized sites will have very few positive results.

Finally, make sure your website is not cluttered. A website that is cluttered with tabs, pictures, and advertisements will leave viewers feeling overwhelmed. They will want to leave the site without looking at anything. It is important to remember that less is more. Just put the necessary information on the homepage and then include tabs that provide further information. There is no reason to clutter your webpage. Keep it brief and informative.

 

What do the Experts Say About You?

People tend to value expert opinions about things they know little about. You can use this to your advantage if your company has ever won awards or gained special recognition. One big way to gain viewer trust is to share your awards and praise on your website. If you have won awards, gained recognition, or simply had someone famous say something great about your company, share it! All of these things make your company appear more credible, making it more likely that a website viewer will choose you.

 

What Does the Media Say About You?

Maybe your company hasn’t earned any awards yet, that’s okay. Use the media’s opinion instead. Has any paper or news station done a positive story on your company? If so share it with your viewers. Much like awards and recognition, positive press gives your company credibility, increasing the likelihood that a first time viewer will trust you.

 

What Do Your Clients Say About You?

Another way to make a good first impression and gain a viewer’s trust is by sharing positive feedback on your site. If your company gets good reviews from clients, dedicate a section of your webpage to this. Potential clients love hearing feedback from previous clients. This way they get reviews from people just like them and that can be invaluable.

 

Do You Have Impressive Numbers?

By using stats of the number of people using your product or services, you can create a feeling of reliability to viewers. For instance, if you owned a small construction company called “Smith Construction” you could write something like this:

“Last year 500 local homeowners chose Smith Construction for their home repair needs”

This statistic creates a feeling of unity for the viewer. They will see that people around them are using this company and they will feel comfortable using them too.

There are many different ways to gain the trust of your viewers through a good impression. By using some or all of the aforementioned tips, you can easily increase the credibility of your site and the success of your business.