Beyond Web usability: Web credibility
Web usability: Its old news
If youve been developing websites on Mars for the past few years then youll be forgiven for not knowing about web usability. Youll still be creating splash intro pages, having pages with massive download times and using more images than you can shake a stick at. Well, back in Earth these days have long gone and today web usability rules the web development world. For those of you who have been on Mars please read some of the things that Jakob Nielson has to say at http://www.useit.com/alertbox and try to catch up.
As for the rest of us Earth-based developers, well weve learnt a whole bunch about usability and were all using it as best we can in our websites. Right, guys After all, web usability does have huge benefits see http://www.webcredible.co.uk/benefits/web-usability.shtml.
Now that usable websites have become so commonplace, especially among the major web players, its time to start looking to the future. Suddenly, a usable website isnt going to be enough to separate us from our competitors apart from those using the developers whove been based on Mars. There is a solution. Its two words long. Enter our new best friend...
Web credibility.
What is web credibility & why is it important
According to BJ Fogg, the worlds leading researcher on web credibility, web credibility is about making your website in such a way that it comes across as trustworthy and knowledgeable. Dont just take my word for it - read his book if you like http://www.persuasivetech.info.
Fogg will tell you, as can I, and numerous other organisations, that a credible website can reap huge benefits on to your website and your business. So, heres a few statistics to prove this point:
- Just 52.8% of web users believe online information to be credible source: UCLA
- Four in five users say that being able to trust the information on a site is very important to them in deciding to visit a website source: Princeton Survey Research Associates
So, web credibilitys pretty important then. But how do you implement it on to your website Fear not, all the answers lie within the realms of this article. Now, before I go further, I must stress that most of this stuff falls under the category of its obvious once you know it. You know, like if someone sets you a puzzle and you cant do it but when they tell you the answer its really obvious. Web credibility is all common sense - you just dont tend to think about this stuff. So without further ado, here are five guidelines for making a credible website.
1. You must prove theres a real organisation behind your website
Anyone can put up a website promising to deliver the best service at the lowest prices. Web users must be able to believe theres a real organisation behind your website. A few things you can do are:
- Make it very easy to contact you
- Link to external websites that reference your organisation
- Provide staff bios
- Show photos of the office, staff, products etc.
This basically says that you should have a really good contact us and about us section. Dont bury your contact us link in some obscure place in the website or on the page. Make out like you really want your site visitors to get in contact with you. In fact, I wont talk anymore about your contact us page because Miles Burkes has already written an excellent article about it, The Lost Art of Conversation - Encouraging Contact Online http://www.sitepoint.com/article/encouraging-contact-online.
As for the about us section, dont underestimate its importance. Dont be afraid to show who you are stand tall and be proud!, what you stand for, what your goals are, and a bit about your history of the organisation, not you. People will read this stuff - it certainly wont be the first thing theyll read on your website but it could be the last thing they read before deciding whether or not to do business with you.
Can you think of other ways you can prove your organisations real Have a look at a website you visit quite often - what is it about this website that you trust
2. Your website needs to provide sensitive information
A website is akin to a one-way conversation between you and your site visitors where you have 100% control over the dialogue. If site users perceive you to be lacking in credibility then youll be unable to defend yourself. As such, you must ensure that you answer any questions your site visitors may have, for example:
- What is the purpose of your organisation
- How much does your product cost
- What happens if Im not happy with your service
- What will you do with my email address once I give it to you
There are about 35 million websites on the Internet - by 2014 therell be an estimated 150 million, not including personal websites. With so many people online and so many websites competing with yours, if you cant persuade Internet users to be loyal to your website then someone else will.
3. All statements should be backed up by third-party evidence
"We helped our clients achieve an average of 70% growth last year." Really Well prove it! Every single point you make on your website must, without fail, be backed up with hard evidence - preferably from a third-party website. How else can a reader know for sure that youre telling the truth
Client testimonials, for example, are great - theyre even better if the testimonial links to the clients website. You can improve them even more if the name of the person making the testimonial is linked to their bio on their website. You could notch up even more credibility points if the testimonial itself is on the clients website and you link to it!
If youve won any awards or belong to any industry bodies, then proudly display these emblems too. Even better, have them link to the external website. Better still, would be a direct link to the section of the website showing your membership details or a list of the award winners.
4. There has to be proof that the organisation is growing and has clients
An organisation that can prove it has clients and is experiencing growth instantly achieves credibility. By showing youve offered your services plenty of times before, and expect to do so in the future, your organisation comes across as being firmly established within your industry. You can prove this by providing:
- A client list
- Testimonials
- Case studies of your work
- A latest news section
- A jobs page
- Free newsletter
5. Your website needs to have an air of professionalism and confidence
Your website is your organisations online representation - its essential that it matches up in quality to the rest of your marketing materials. Even if you dont think your websites important to the success of your organization, potential clients will make judgments about your organisation based on your website.
So, what is the number one most important aspect of Web credibility The about us section No. Quality of outbound links No-siree. Studies have consistently proven that the most important criteria of web credibility is... the way the website looks. Thats it.
Its been suggested that this is due to the short amount of time we spend on websites so we tend to rely on initial judgements. Make sure that you create a great first impression by having a crisp, professional layout with sharp graphics. Other good things to do are:
- Provide some free information to prove your expertise
- Ensure there are no dead links
- Send out an automated confirmation e-mail when someone contacts you
There are many more! Just visit any website you perceive to be professional and confident and see what they do.
About The Author
This article was written by Trenton Moss. Hes crazy about web usability and accessibility - so crazy that he went and started his own web usability and accessibility consultancy Webcredible - http://www.webcredible.co.uk to help make the Internet a better place for everyone.
Other Article Guide Resources on the Green Lake, WI City Guide Site
Affiliates |
Auctions |
Autos |
Cameras |
Debt |
Diets |
Domains |
Email Marketing |
Food |
Freelance
Home |
Kids |
Legal |
Marketing |
Merchants |
Mortgage |
Parenting |
Pregnancy |
Real Estate |
Recreation
Site Promotion |
Spyware |
Stress |
Tax Deduction |
Travel |
Web Design |
Web Hosting |
Wedding |
Writing
