A Quick Web Credibility Quiz

by Barry Harrison

Building trust online is essential if your web marketing efforts are going to pay off. Attracting visitors is great, but to convert them to customers, you have to firmly establish your credibility.

HOW DO PEOPLE ASSESS CREDIBILITY?

According to a study by Stanford University, almost half of web users assess a site's credibility based on the appeal of the overall design, including layout, typography, and color scheme. The "look and feel" may be the first and most important test of your site's credibility, but a number of factors come into play.

TAKE THE QUIZ

The questions below can help you learn if your website is building your credibility, or undermining it. Score each question from 0 to 3, add up the total-- then see our recommendations at the end.

1. Is the design appropriate for your business? Within a few seconds of coming to your site, visitors will form an impression. People respond positively to sites with a polished, professional look. But the connection between design and credibility isn't simple. In the study, overly "slick-looking" sites frequently received negative comments.

2. Is the content up-to-date? Visitors assign more credibility to sites that have been recently updated or reviewed (and no, just putting the current date and time isn't going to help).

3. Is contact information easy to find? If visitors can't find your contact info (including your real- world address) they are not going to feel comfortable doing business with you.

4. Are all the links on your site working? Broken links and "files not found" on your site present a big credibility problem. Even worse-- hosting that's not reliable. If your hosting company doesn't guarantee 99.9% uptime, find another host.

5. Do you include testimonials or other 3rd party endorsements? You can and should highlight your expertise. But no matter how impressive your credentials or experience, people pay attention to what others have to say about you.

6. Do you provide photos of yourself and your staff? People do business with people. Help your prospects get to know you. Good quality photos (no mug shots or high school year book pictures) will communicate your level of professionalism.

7. Is your copy appropriate to your audience? Remember that your site is about your visitors. Your copy should set the right tone and offer useful information. Kill the jargon and happy talk. And please, watch for typos.

8. Do you offer any free trials or free downloads? What about case-studies, white papers, or samples? When you give something to visitors, regardless of the cost, they're more likely to trust you.

RECOMMENDATIONS

Recommendations Score less than 8 Your site is undermining the credibility of your company. Get help-- immediately!

Score 8 to 12 Your site is not building credibility for your visitors and probably not converting many of them into customers.

Score 13 to 16 Your site's doing well, but could be converting more. Identify areas that are weak and make improvements.

Score greater than 16 Your website is helping to build trust in your company.

Barry Harrison is the author of "REDiTIPS" eMarketing Newsletter and a partner in Resolve Digital, Web Strategy for the Real World. Engaging Web design Effective Internet Marketing Essential Content Management Tools Visit his site at http://www.resolvedigital.com or mailto:barry@r…

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