The cornerstone of any interaction is trust, especially in business. Once you lose your trustworthiness, you’ll find yourself losing customers too.
You need credibility to establish a firm reputation for your startup, one people believe in enough to trust you with their patronage. This is true no matter what your product or service or whether you are a long-established company or a newly formed company in an accelerator in Thailand or abroad.
Trust and credibility are often earned with a first impression made through your website. Indeed most people will look to your website to judge your startup’s virtues, and assess your acumen and ability to meet their needs, long before they make any contact. Your website must aim to remove any doubts anyone might have about your startup.
What makes a Trusted Startup Website?
Trust is so intangible that many question how words and pictures can create it. But there are simple tips that can do just that.
Fundamentals for a Trustworthy Website
There are 3 fundamentals your website must meet to even have a chance at generating any credibility:
Honesty and Clarity
Don’t be so clever that you confuse your audience. Visitors to your website should know almost immediately what you are about and what you want them to do – buy, sign-up, post, etc. Otherwise, they might think you’re about hidden costs or incomplete services.
Smooth Operation
A website that is difficult to navigate conveys unprofessionalism and won’t foster trust. Just the opposite. All it takes is one page loading too slow or displaying a 404 Error for visitors to lose faith and go elsewhere.
Trust Marks and 3rd Party Validation
Including trust marks such as logos from your credit card processor, SSL provider, and any acceleration programs your startup is attending or has completed, is an easy way to provide 3rd party validation for your startup – Be sure to include them in a promnent place on your website and social media profiles.
For more hints and tips on how to build website credibility schedule a meeting with our Bangkok based partners at Vimi.co