The Tribune

By Deidre Bastian

The Art of Graphix

Your website is the single most important aspect of your business. It is a crucial first impression and determines whether people hire you for your services or products. It should tell visitors what you have got, what it will do for them and what they need to do next.

From the second a visitor lands on your website, he or she is thinking: “What’s in it for me?” Therefore, it is vital you have a website that turns visitors into paying customers. But how do you get a website that does this? How can you ensure it is a success? Well, it all starts with trust. You have to make people trust you, otherwise they will simply go elsewhere.

Remember the last time you were searching for something to buy online, and how you found and researched at least five or six different websites before finding one you liked and subsequently bought? Yes, that is how it works. I have put together the following top tips on how to build trust online:

Appropriate design

The layout and design of your website is probably the first priority when building trust online. If your website has a poor design, people will think you sell poor products or services. Frankly, a cheap website will make you look, well, cheap. Invest into getting a quality web design.

Provide easy navigation

People may become irritated with websites if they do not have logical navigation to pull together all content for easy access. Include links to your ‘Contact Us’ page throughout your entire websit,e and offer your user a pleasure rather than a hindrance.

Quality photography

One of the biggest mistakes businesses make with their websites is to include poor photography or stock images. Hire a professional photographer to snap quality shots of your company and/or your products.

Fast loading time

There is nothing more frustrating than finding a website that is slow or has sections that have the ‘dreaded wheel of doom’. Make your website load as fast as possible, as you only have one chance to win over your visitors, so give them no reason to get bored and go elsewhere.

Add testimonials

Nothing beats word-of-mouth recommendation to add credibility and build trust on your website. Add customer testimonials on your home page by including a separate section if you can.

About page

Everyone wants to know who is behind the logo, so make sure you include an ‘About’ page to tell people more about who you are and what you do.

Use this section wisely to build trust and really talk about your skills and experience. Include a little ‘history’ about your business, and tell people your company values and ethos.

Mention awards or accreditations

If you have won any awards during your career, or your business has been recognised for any achievement, this is an opportunity to show prospective clients that it has been featured in newspapers, magazines or online publications.

Add a photo

Including a photograph of yourself or your team helps to build a connection/rapport between you and potential customers.

Publish a blog

A blog is an opportunity to build trust with prospective clients as well. It is a chance to show the ‘real’ you and talk about your products and services, and adding a voice to your business about who you are. Include a facility to add comments to directly communicate with you.

Limit advertising

Nothing screams ‘spam’ more than a website covered with adverts. If you really must include advertising, limit your adverts so they do not dominate your website.

Keep your

website new

Websites that have outdated content are a turn-off. Keep your website updated by adding new work to your portfolio, which ensures it is not stale or boring.

Visibility

People really do trust brands or businesses that perform strongly in the Search Engine Results Pages, so make sure you carry out some Search Engine optimisation by listing yourself in directories, being mentioned in influential blogs, sponsor events or awards. Do whatever you can to become visible. The very presence of your website will build trust.

Satisfy every potential question

Provide a helpful ‘FAQ’ page to allow customers to acquire needed information at the click of a button, which offers the reassurance they seek.

Quick Communication

Make sure you respond quickly to any questions, inquiries or tweets.

Service

Nothing builds trust more than doing a great job for all your clients and seeing the benefits come full circle.

Finally, keeping a user’s trust is no less important than earning it. Once customers have given you a chance, be sure to treat them with respect and communicate in meaningful ways, which will benefit everyone. Until we meet again, fill your life with memories as opposed to regrets. Enjoy life and stay on top of your game.

• NB: The columnist welcomes feedback at deedee21bastian@gmail.com

ABOUT THE COLUMNIST: Deidre Marie Bastian is a professionally trained graphic designer/marketing co-ordinator with qualifications of M.Sc., B.Sc., A.Sc. She has trained at institutions such as: Miami Lakes Technical Centre, Success Training College, College of the Bahamas, Nova South Eastern University, Learning Tree International, Langevine International and Synergy Bahamas.