When someone comes to your website, you have about 3-5 seconds for them to “get” whether they want to stay or leave. I believe that part of their assessment is whether or not they can ” know, like and trust ” you through your website. I have found that several factors go into building this first impression with your potential and your current clients.
- The overall appearance of your website is one of the biggest factors. Your site must be professional and/or visually appealing in a way that reflects your type of business and your business in particular. This begins to build trust. You have had the experience of going to a site that is not updated or professional and getting off of it fast. Most likely it reflected how you felt they would be as a company. The look of the Web site is crucial to being able to have time to convert a visitor into a consumer of your information and then a customer. It is important that your web designer understands how to build sites and has a portfolio of visually appealing websites for the type of business that you are in.
- The second factor that builds up trust is Useability. How easy it is to find information within your site and how easy it is to use the site to accomplish their goal. Keep the word “navigation” in mind. If a web user has to search all over and becomes frustrated with the site they will leave. It is your responsibility as a business owner to make the site is as easy to use as possible. People, by nature, will not work harder than they have to and often it is easier to just leave a Web site and find one that is easy to navigate.
- The third factor that builds trust is the text. Web design is not just about the website, but also how easy it is to read the text. Have you ever found a great article but it was on a black background with small text. What were they thinking? Even if I wanted to read it, I get frustrated and angry and leave. The text needs to be accessible and laid out well. Another thing about text is often people have text on their sites front page that is too long or not laid out in a way that is web readable. Be careful about this since people don’t really read the small print!
With the new web design technologies all businesses can have an affordable and attractive website. Please don’t go to your sister-in- laws nephew. Hire a professional and get a WordPress website and learn how to take care of it yourself. You will reap the rewards of this investment for years to come when visitors to your site feel like they can Know, Like and Trust you.
