7 Ways to Prevent Sabotaging Your Credibility Via Your Web Site

“In the end, you make your reputation and you have your success based upon credibility and being able to provide people who are really hungry for information what they want.” – Brit Hume

Credibility is one of those things in life that can take years to build and only moments to destroy. With your Web site acting as a lasting first impression to your potential customers, it’s important that your Web site help establish and maintain credibility for your business.

Here are seven ways to avoid tarnishing your credibility via your Web site:

  1. Keep text short

    Web users, myself included, are typically very ADD. They have short attention spans and want to find what they are looking for as quickly as possible and with little effort. If a Web site can deliver the info they need in a simple manner, they will view the site as a credible resource of information, to which they will likely return.  Keep content short, concise, and engaging. No one wants to read your fluffy sales text or complicated tech-speak.

  2. Update content regularly

    If your last blog post is from more than two months ago people will likely move on. Visitors want to see fresh content on a regular basis. Fresh content also has great SEO benefits.

  3. Fix errors immediately

    You should regularly test your Web site pages, forms, links and other functionality to make sure it’s working correctly. Users are very turned off by sites with errors. If your Web site doesn’t function properly, how are they supposed to believe your product or service will function properly?

  4. Maintain short page-load time

    Web users don’t have the patience to sit around and wait for pages to load. They want information and they want it now. The quicker your page, video, and Flash presentations load, the better.

  5. Don’t make them think

    By intentionally designing your site to be user-friendly and simple to navigate you will be taking a giant step forward toward converting your visitors into customers. The design should clearly guide your visitors where you want them to go so they don’t get stuck and have to think about where they should go next.

  6. Integrate social media

    56% of social media users feel a company is providing a better product or service if they interact with them online. The more transparent, active, and visual you are in social spaces, the more credible you become.

  7. Use current technologies

    The use of video and motion graphics on Web sites has grown tremendously. By utilizing these technologies to explain complex processes or to tell your story, you are demonstrating to your visitors that keeping up to date with technology is important to your business which is viewed as a highly credible trait.

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