{"id":17919,"date":"2018-10-02T12:56:45","date_gmt":"2018-10-02T09:56:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/themeisle.com\/blog\/?p=17919"},"modified":"2023-07-29T07:33:16","modified_gmt":"2023-07-29T04:33:16","slug":"build-a-trustworthy-website-wordpress","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/themeisle.com\/blog\/build-a-trustworthy-website-wordpress\/","title":{"rendered":"13 Essential Tips to Help You Build a Trustworthy Website With WordPress"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

If you want to build a trustworthy website, it’s the little things that count. Including small details like a testimonial here or a trust badge there can add up to create a website that establishes credibility with your visitors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

That’s a great thing to shoot for, too, because everyone, from your customers straight through to Google, loves a trustworthy site.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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In this post, we’ll lay out 13 different factors that go into boosting your site’s credibility with visitors, as well as suggestions for how you can implement some of these tips with WordPress.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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\n\t\t \t\tGot trust issues? Here's how to build a trustworthy #website with #WordPress<\/a>\n\t\t \t<\/div>\n\t\t \t
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These 13 tips help you build a trustworthy website \ud83c\udf10<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

1. Make sure your website’s design looks great<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Whoever told you not to judge a book by its cover wasn’t talking about web design! According to this scientific study, “Given the same content, a higher aesthetic treatment will increase perceived credibility [1]<\/sup>.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In simpler terms, that means that a better-looking website automatically inspires more trust than a poorly designed site.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When it comes to WordPress, that means picking a high-quality theme<\/a> that looks great and ensuring you have clear navigation<\/a>. \ud83e\udded<\/p>\n\n\n

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2. Avoid spam, from both you and advertisers<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

We all know that spam such as pushy ads and full page pop-ups hinders free access to content on any site. When it comes to your own site, what’s nice is you have full control over how much of it you allow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To keep your site’s credibility, don’t display spammy ads, and keep your own opt-in offers as unobtrusive as possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Most visitors are comfortable with sensible use of pop-ups and ad-space on a website. But simple tweaks like not showing pop-ups to returning visitors can keep visitors on your site. \ud83e\uddd1\ud83c\udffb\u200d\ud83e\udd1d\u200d\ud83e\uddd1\ud83c\udffb<\/p>\n\n\n

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3. Include an About page to put a face to your site<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Showing your visitors that there’s a real person (or people) behind your website is a great way to build a trustworthy website. Your site’s About page can help you do that. It’s the first place readers check to learn more about you and it lets you share more about yourself, your team, and your mission.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fortunately, most quality themes include templates for an About page where you can add videos and images to convey information and share photos of your team members. Oh, and no stock photos for this page, please.<\/p>\n\n\n

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4. Clearly display your contact information<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Showcasing your name, address, and phone number (NAP) on your website is a safe bet to boost trust quotient. Usually visitors look for contact details in the footer or as a menu item, and it’s best to keep it that way. Besides being strong trust signals, contact details on your website can boost local SEO.<\/p>\n\n\n

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5. Include a contact form so that you’re easily reachable<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Beyond the contact information above, you also want to create an easy-to-use form where people can reach you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Contact forms<\/a> are a more reliable and secure way of communicating with your website. Furthermore, contact forms indicate professionalism within your organization and send out all the right trust signals.<\/p>\n\n\n

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6. Add a blog and keep it up to date<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

A blog helps you share relevant information and builds a lasting relationship with your readers, all necessary to build a trustworthy website. And when you include useful and relevant information, your readers know you care.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, you need to update your blog regularly<\/a>. Otherwise, your readers may doubt if you’re still in business. \ud83d\udcbc<\/p>\n\n\n

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7. Display testimonials or reviews for social proof<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Generally speaking, any feedback from third parties that endorses your services or products works as social proof. You can choose from favorable media mentions, testimonials<\/a> from customers, the logos of companies that you’ve worked with<\/a>, and more to build a trustworthy website.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Those great reviews you receive on places like Yelp or TripAdvisor or social media? Include them on your site.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\ud83d\udc49 And whenever possible, include real names and pictures from your testimonials\/reviews, as it further boosts their credibility:<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n

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8. Use trust logos or symbols to show you take security seriously<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Logos and symbols from reputed companies such as McAfee and Norton are instant trust boosters. This is especially true if you’re an eCommerce site where personal info is shared. For example, in a case study from VWO, adding a trust badge boosted Bag Servant’s conversion rate by ~72% [2]<\/sup>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In order to put customers at ease, include a number of popular payment methods and display the icons on the checkout page.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likewise, badges such as logos of companies that recommend you, organizations that you belong to, awards that you’ve won, or security measures you’ve implemented on your site – bring them to the foreground to instill confidence in your visitors.<\/p>\n\n\n

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9. Showcase impressive follower numbers from social media, email, or other spots<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

If you’ve got a sizeable following, you really should let your visitors know about it. It indicates that you run a reliable business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If your followers are on social media, you can add links to your social profiles and follow counts. Or, if you’re talking about email subscribers or customers, you can display the raw numbers using text:<\/p>\n\n\n

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10. Include an easily-accessible privacy policy<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

If you collect any data from your visitors (which almost every site does<\/em>), you should create a privacy policy<\/a> so that visitors know exactly how their data is being used. Not only is this a legal requirement in many cases (e.g., with the GDPR), it doubles as a confidence-building measure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\ud83d\udc49 For an example of how to do it, check out our privacy policy<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n

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11. Proofread your content<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

To build a trustworthy website, you can’t have simple errors lying around your content. It might seem like a small thing, but spelling and grammar have a big effect on your site’s credibility, with plenty of data to back that up<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\ud83d\udc49 Check this post for some tips on how to edit your content<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n

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12. Use an SSL certificate to show that your site is secure<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

An SSL certificate helps you use HTTPS<\/a> and get the green padlock for your website in people’s browsers. Not only does this make your site more secure<\/a>, but it also helps you build a trustworthy website. For example, GlobalSign found that ~29% of visitors specifically look for the green padlock in their browser [3]<\/sup>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When visitors see the security badge on your website and the lock symbol on your website address bar, they know that their personal information is safe. \ud83d\udd12\ufe0f<\/p>\n\n\n

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13. Always use a custom domain name – not a subdomain<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Finally, avoid using free subdomains<\/a>, like “yoursite.wordpress.com”. Essentially, what this tells users is that you don’t care enough about your website to buy a custom domain name<\/a> that costs very little.<\/p>\n\n\n

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If you aren’t already using \u2699\ufe0f one, here’s how to choose a good domain name<\/a>, as well as what the various domain extensions mean<\/a> and where you can buy domain names<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n

Go to top<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Final thoughts \ud83c\udfc1<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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If you want to build a trustworthy website, including all these elements is a great way to boost your credibility with your visitors. It might take some upfront work, but many of these tips are one-time changes. So once you set them up, you’ll be able to reap the benefits of credibility for the rest of your site’s life!<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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\n\t\t \t\tGot trust issues? Here's how to build a trustworthy #website with #WordPress<\/a>\n\t\t \t<\/div>\n\t\t \t
\n\t\t \tClick To Tweet \n\t\t \t\t<\/span>\n\t\t \t<\/a>\n\t\t <\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Do you have any questions about how to implement any of these tips? Let us know in the comments and we’ll try to help out<\/em><\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n