One of the most important factors of an effective website is credibility. When a user lands on a website, the credibility of the business shouldn’t be in question. As a webmaster, internet marketer, and website designer in Houston for over 15 years, I’ll share a few of my tips for ensuring that your website and small business are perceived as credible on the internet and by your website’s visitors.
Content is King!
When customers visit a website for any reason, it’s because they’re looking for a solution to a problem.
Whether website visitors are seeking to purchase a product, service, obtain knowledge, or seek entertainment, it’s best to have rich content on your website. Avoid superficial “filler” content and focus on relevant content associated with the needs of your target customer. This practice will earn your business credibility and lead to future sales and revenue.
Furthermore, the more content on the website that’s dedicated to a specific topic, demonstrates a high level of knowledge related to said topic. By investing in a prudent content strategy, you can show your potential customers and clients that you’re knowledgeable about their issues and an authority on the matter. This practice is also good for SEO.
Once you gain credibility in the eyes of your audience, you’ll gain trust, which is good for business.
Ideas for Website Content
If you’re having trouble coming up with ideas for new website content, don’t panic! Below, we’ve listed a few good ideas to help aid in the creation of more relevant content for the company website.
- FAQs (Frequently asked questions.) Write a page detailing the most frequently asked questions you get from your clients with detailed answers.
- Write detailed product descriptions. If products are being sold on the website, provide lots of information about the product. Best uses, ingredients, and any other information beneficial to the user should be detailed.
- Write detailed service descriptions. If you provide a service, cover every detail associated with it, including features and, more importantly, the benefits.
- “About Pages” with short biographies of the company and its leaders.
- Write and curate a company blog. Company blogs are a great way to communicate with your visitors and capture users who are querying search engines for topics related to one of your blog posts. You could start by using your FAQs as a basis for your new blog.
- Hire a professional videographer to create videos for your business. Your videos could feature your employees, products, services, history, or all of the above. Once your videos are produced, they can be embedded on your website, uploaded to various social media outlets, and used for marketing purposes.
Use Proper Grammar & Spelling On Your Website
If misspelled words, incoherent sentences, and a bunch of gobbledygook make up the content on your website, just burn it down and start all over. Hire a professional. Call us. The worst thing for the credibility of a business is failure to communicate on a competent level.
A rule of thumb for us is “the higher the cost of the product or service, the higher the website’s IQ should be.”
Imagine visiting a lawyer’s website and reading text that appears to have been written before recess on a playground. Would you hire the law firm? Probably not. Poorly written language may work for a used tired shop or an entertainer, but not for a professional business.
Whether you’re building your website or hiring a professional website designer for the job, be sure to look over the written content to conduct grammar checks and to check for plagiarization.
Use High-Quality Images In Your Web Design
If you’re using images on your website, which you should, be sure only to allow the highest quality images to take up residency on your website. High-quality images imply professionalism, cleanliness, and add to the overall feel of the experience on your website.
Avoid low-resolution, grainy, or stretched images. It’s not a good look and does not imply professionalism. A few solutions to this problem are hiring a professional photographer or buying high-quality stock images until high-quality original photos can be obtained.
Display Credentials & Associations On Your Website
- Is your business a member of the Better Business Bureau?
- Was your business covered on the local news?
- Are you a member of a chamber of commerce?
- Has your business won any awards?
- Has your company sponsored a charity or a little league team?
- Are you a Google partner?
Proudly display your credentials, associations, and press mentions on your website. If your products are made in the USA, communicate that on your website. If your company supports the community, display it to your audience with a blog post, association logos, testimonials, and a combination of such.
Actions and efforts related to connecting with your potential customers on a conscious or subconscious level can be good for the effectiveness of your website. Joining associations like a local chamber of commerce or the BBB can pay great dividends in developing trust. If your website can communicate that the business is trusted, it helps with credibility.
Use Your Website to Display Your Customer’s Reviews
If your business has a lot of positive reviews and testimonials, show them on your website. Strategically implement and embed reviews left by your clients and customers on Google, Yelp, Facebook, Angie’s List, and other platforms that accept customer reviews. Again, this is critical to demonstrating trust and competence to your audience. Social proof is an important factor that will heavily contribute to the credibility of a business.
Implement High-Quality Videos On Your Website
Videos are an excellent tool for effectively communicating with your client base and other website visitors. Explainer videos, how-to videos, video testimonials, and other video productions related to your company and services will create a personalized experience and an opportunity to develop a strong connection with your visitors.
Ensure 100% Functionality of Your Website
If there’s a function on your website that isn’t working properly, remove it. If you’re working with a web design agency, you won’t have this problem, but if you’re building your website internally, don’t launch features that aren’t fully functional. This includes contact forms, calculators, image galleries, sliders, and other advanced website features. Speed is another factor related to website functionality.
If the company website loads slowly, it will lead to a bad user experience which is bad for business and your credibility. If you need assistance with the functionality of your website or would like to consult with a web designer, we provide website design & management services.
Display an Address & Phone Number
Every business has a mailing address and a phone number. Although phone support and a physical location aren’t relevant to every industry, for example, internet businesses, it’s a nice touch that humanizes the company. Implementing a chat function is another excellent tool for connecting with visitors to your website and improving your credibility.
Responding quickly to messages, emails, and returning missed phone calls also helps with credibility.
Create an About Page with Social Media Links
Another way to personalize your website and company is to create an “about section” or a page featuring the company’s employees. On this section of the website, topics such as company culture or for a small business, a short professional biography of the founder would fit great.
If the business donates to charities or services to the community, this could be covered in the “about section. Adding testimonials from clients and employees could also contribute to the vibrance of this part of the website. The more relevant information you share about the company, the better!
Keep Your Website Design Simple, Yet Eloquent
A company website should be used to share as much information as possible. However, each page should be dedicated to a specific topic, and the website should be kept simple and manageable.
Simple and manageable shouldn’t be construed as either small or large as far as page count is concerned, but as user-friendly regardless of the breadth and depth of the website.
Take YouTube, for example, it’s a massive website, but it’s simple and eloquent; very easy for users to find what they’re looking for. Navigation should be simple, and users should be able to find what they’re looking for with minimal effort.
The same concept is true for both large and small businesses. If a user is looking for contact information or more information about a specific product or service, it should be easy to find.
Have Questions? Need A Website Designer?
Call VizTV Media Services Today!
We provide excellent solutions for business owners who are seeking to add quality and credibility to their websites.
If you’re interested in speaking with an experienced website designer in Houston or have questions about a new website design project or a redesign, contact VizTV Media Services today by contact form or by phone at 713-443-7578.
