When it comes to e-commerce, trustworthiness is essential.  Customers want to know they can trust you before they give you their personal information. As you are setting up your website, here are a few things you can do to create a trustworthy looking website.

1.    Trusted third party – One way to demonstrate your site trustworthiness is to have an impartial, trusted third party verify your trustworthiness.  Companies like TRUSTe or Better Business Bureau evaluate companies and provide verification for companies that pass the test.  For many customers the presence or absence of a TRUSTe logo makes the difference between shopping with you or moving on.

2.    Aesthetically pleasing design – As odd as it seems, customers often equate aesthetics with trustworthiness.  The more enjoyable the shopping experience is, the more comfortable the customer is with an online purchase.

3.    Original design – Originality of design is just as important as aesthetics.  Customers look for an original design to help show them that a website is legitimate.  Scammers often put out a number of similarly designed websites in a quick attempt to earn money.  An original looking design makes a customer more comfortable with a website.  If you are willing to take the time to create an original design, you are more likely to be legitimate.

4.    Content – Do not skimp on content!  Content tells your customer a lot about you as a company.  Do you have the pages people expect, like a contact us and about us page?  Introduce yourself. Talk about your mission and why you developed this company. Show pictures of you and your staff. The more comfortable they are, the better your chances of completing the sale.

5.    Content layout – Not only is content important, but its presentation is key.  Be sure that your content is free of typos and spelling errors, as customers are accustomed to associate these with phishing scams.  Also, be sure your content is user friendly.  Highlight important information and keep the paragraphs small.

6.    Speak their language – Customers want to know that you can relate to them.  Avoid field related terminology, and keep language simple and easy for the customer to understand.

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