Melissa Priest - 2/3 - Scrolling Digital - Website Design & Development, Graphic Design & more

5 Tips For Responding To Negative Social Media Comments

Posted on March 27, 2015 by Melissa Priest

Business owners often ask us whether we think they should get involved in social media for their business.

Before deciding whether social media is appropriate for your business, there are a few things you need to consider.

There are many advantages to being involved in social media – leveraging your network, powerful word of mouth etc, however it is important that you’re aware that you’re putting yourself out there to potentially receive negative comments.

Unfortunately there are people in the world who seem to get a kick out of having a nice little online rant about their experience with a business. They are suddenly all big and tough behind their keyboard, and feel the need to have a dig. They may have had ample opportunity to give the feedback face to face but of course that isn’t their go. (And most of these people I assume have never owned their own business or they would think twice in realising that negative comments can really hurt a business.)

Here are 5 tips for responding positively to negative online comments:

Respond Appropriately – even though you might get angry and want to set the record straight, don’t, instead take a deep breath, don’t take it personally and try and respond in a balanced and professional manner.
Be Brief – keep your response short and say something along the lines of ‘We’re sorry you’ve had this experience, please call us to talk about your situation’
Consider Comments as free research – it may help you and your business to look at it this way, make a note of any suggestions, tips or problems mentioned
Remember that everyone’s reading your responses – so this is a chance to demonstrate how caring your business is and how you handle problems. This can help create a sense of trust that goes beyond the particular situation.
Hire Someone to do your responding – this can help take some of the emotion out of it. Ensure to have policies in place and respond in a consistent and professional manner.
Source of tips: Vivian Wagner, Owner, V Creative Enterprises, LLC via American Express.com – here

If you are keen to create a social media presence for your business but don’t have the time to give it the attention it needs, contact us and we can do it for you. Or read more information on our Social Media services.

Outsourcing Your Website Updates Can Save You Money

Posted on March 9, 2015February 2, 2017 by Melissa Priest

If your website is just sitting there not being updated, you could be missing out on opportunities to attract new customers and grow your business.

If you want to keep your site updated but can’t justify the cost of employing a web manager or going to an expensive marketing agency or web development company, you can save money by outsourcing your web tasks to us.

We are a small web services agency based in Newcastle and offer a wide range of web services at an affordable price. From new website design through to social media updates, we can help you with all of your online work.

Outsourcing your website updates to us, rather than employing someone in-house, will save you money and also give you maximum flexibility with the widest range of services rarely possible from one employee.

For a small monthly fee, here are some of the things we can help you with:

add / edit images on your website
add / edit content on your website
a graphic design resource for creation of new graphics
any coding changes required to your website
development of new features to your website
implementation of Google Analytics, run monthly Google Analytics report
competitive analysis against your competitors websites and features
user experience / usability review of your site with recommendations for improvement
set up and maintain your social media profiles
assistance with your social media posts
assistance with search engine optimisation (SEO)
consultation / guidance on content, social media, seo, site features
technical review of the site
make any necessary changes to ensure your site is technically sound
ensure site security – implement site monitoring tool, keep plugins up to date
keep WordPress version up to date
assistance with disaster recovery of website if necessary

Does anyone still use the Yellow Pages? Not Me!

Posted on November 27, 2014July 11, 2018 by Melissa Priest

I can’t remember the last time I opened a yellow pages book and I don’t know anyone else who has either. Maybe my nanna? Actually probably my nanna because she is the only person I know who isn’t online.

As for everyone else, they’re doing their research online to find the products and services they need. Whether it be for a local builder, dentist or hairdresser.

If you’re relying on the yellow pages as a channel to find new customers for your business, you are completely narrowing your market, which will only get worse as each generation grows up assuming online as part of their everyday lives.

If your business doesn’t have an online presence and you want more customers or more revenue, then you desperately need to get yourself a website.

In future in most cases, if you don’t have a website you won’t be considered by a buyer. A friend of mine was getting married recently and she was looking for a makeup artist for her wedding day makeup. She was recommended a lady through a friend and instantly went online to look for this lady’s website. Nothing. No website, no facebook page, no online presence at all. So my friend didn’t want to book her because she instantly wondered whether she was legit. And this obviously wasn’t an expensive product or service, given it was a wedding, but still. Imagine buyers who are researching a big ticket item – a builder for their house extensions, new furniture, a wedding photographer, they would need to be able to view websites of these businesses before making a decision.

Buyers like to research. Let them learn about you and build trust in you via your website. It doesn’t have to be a $30,000 website, it doesn’t have to have bells and whistles. Just a nice clean website that doesn’t cost the earth and allows you to put a professional face to your business.

Below is a recent poll we took on our Web Esc Facebook page asking people how they research their buying needs. I would assume 9 times out of 10 or maybe even more that people do their research online. The rest is probably word of mouth!

Is your website responsive? If not you could be losing business!

Posted on September 17, 2014October 2, 2014 by Melissa Priest

It’s been a while between blog posts as we’ve been busy building some fabulous new responsive websites.

Is your website responsive? How does it look on a mobile or tablet? Is it small or formatted badly? Do you or your users constantly have to zoom in and scroll the page around to view your site? If so this means that your site isn’t responsive and you risk losing business.

Responsive web design is a web design approach that presents or formats a website optimally for the device the website is being viewed from, e.g. a tablet or mobile.

This means no zooming in and out trying to read or view areas of a site. It means a clearly adjusted nicely laid out website specifically for your device.

There are many benefits to having a responsive website, not only that your website is suddenly readable to the huge number of users now viewing the internet while on the go on a mobile device (a desktop computer is so last year for a lot of people). It means that users can find the information they’re after quickly and easily, especially as those using a tablet or mobile are more inclined to want that information as fast as possible.

Another major plus is being able to turn certain website features on and off for different devices. So for example if you have an image slider feature on your homepage but you’re concerned that this might slow down your site on a mobile (or not be as relevant on the go) you can choose not to show those slider images on the smaller devices. The same goes for banner ads and other features.

If you don’t have a responsive website, you risk losing business to those that do. If people can’t navigate your site or are annoyed when they can’t find the information they’re looking for they will leave your site for your competitor who has a responsive website. If you don’t have a responsive website, you need one, get in touch with us today and we can create one for you.

To view more of the work we have done please visit our portfolio.

E-tailer No-brainers – 5 Essentials For Online Stores – Part 2

Posted on November 24, 2013August 19, 2014 by Melissa Priest

Last month we started a series of posts on online shopping and some essentials for online retailers. In case you missed it, here is a link to part 1. Now for part 2 (and I apologise in advance for any harsh or abrupt words, this is something I feel strongly about!!!)….

2. FINDABILITY – SITE NAVIGATION AND PRODUCT CATEGORISATION
When it comes to managing your online store, take a step back and ask yourself ‘what is my primary objective?’. Hopefully the answer is to sell products.

If that is the case, then your products need to be the focal point of your online store, and very easy (for your customers) to find.

Is there a clear path to your products, and how many clicks does it take to see a chosen product? Your products need to be as easy to find, in the least amount of clicks as possible.

I’ve seen online stores where products are buried 18 pages deep (maybe a slight exaggeration) with no categorisation! Alarming. You are really making your customers work to find your product.

Your customers are time-poor, and your competitors are just a click away, so make it simple.

Splash Pages / Intro Pages
As pretty, funky or creative as they might be, most customers don’t need to see the fancy ‘splash’ or intro pages that your graphic designer thought would be a great idea at the time. They want to get right to the products, pronto.

Product Categorisation
The way your products are categorised, labelled or organised on your site, plays a major part in a user finding what they’re looking for quickly and easily. Poor product categorisation can lead to frustration from your potential customers, which means loss of sales.

Examples Of Poor Product Categorisation
Categorising By Your Own Generalisations
I love handbags, all types of handbags, I have a wardrobe full of them, but that is of course never enough. Sometimes I don’t know that I ‘need’ a new one until I see it, so online I go. I come to your handbag site for a ‘browse’, and ideally would like to see your entire range at the click of a button, but no no no. Instead, before seeing a single handbag, I have to decide, based on the categorisation that YOU have created as to which type of handbag I may want.

So now I need to work out… am I interested in a day bag, a shoulder bag, a clutch, a hobo…hmmmm meh too busy, bye!

Lost business due to bad product categorisation or site navigation is common.

Another example, I’m after a dress, I come to your site and before I can see a single dress I need to decide whether I need to click on party dresses, day dresses, evening dresses, blah blah just show me a dress and don’t make me have to think about how YOU have categorised it before showing me anything.

By categorising your products this way you are forcing me to click into each category to see what is behind each one before seeing a single product.

If you insist on categorising your products this way, at least let me click on ‘All Handbags’ or ‘All Dresses’ rather than have to guess whether my idea of a day dress is the same as yours.

Here is an example from a well-known handbag retailer. At first I question the homepage not showing any products as it would be my preference to see product straight away rather than messaging.

I also question having to choose from their wide range of choices in their big menu with no option to select ALL BAGS!

However what I do like is once you have made a choice (assuming you get that far before you leave and head to one of the thousands of other handbag sites) is that you can then tick checkboxes to refine your search. I like this a lot! You can not only select or deselect as many choices of handbag styles as you wish, but you can also refine by colour, material, brand, price.

Categorising by Collection only – I have seen many designers categorise their images according to how they have named their ‘collection’. In most cases as an online shopper I couldn’t give a damn about some fancy, deeply inspired name you came up with for your collection (sorry), I just want to see Rings, without having to click into each collection to see if there was a ring in that collection……

Categorising by Brand only – I am interested in some new shorts, I don’t really care which brand, I just want to see shorts and lots of them, don’t make me click into every brand to see which ones have shorts before I can see shorts!!!! ARGH 🙂

Good categorisation
In my opinion good categorisation gives me broad options. It lets me view all products as well as making a specific selection if I know what I’m after….

new arrivals – most people want to know what’s new, but make sure your new arrivals are actually ‘new’. I know a site that has had the same 180 new arrivals for the past 6 months!
top level category clickable as well as sub categories – sometimes I just want to see everything in that category, please.
if you are going to categorise by collection, provide another option to categorise that product by its product type as well
categorise by brand (as well as product type)
if you must categorise by your own assumptions of day dresses vs evening dresses etc, at least provide a link for ALL DRESSES
ability to start by viewing all stock, with options to Refine

Stay tuned for our continued coverage of essentials for online stores. In the meantime if you have any questions please contact us.

The Benefits Of Twitter – From a Twitter Expert!

Posted on November 14, 2013August 11, 2014 by Melissa Priest

Twitter seems to be the social media platform that people either love or hate. It’s also the one that people find most confusing. They don’t get it and don’t understand why people use it. They hear words like ‘hashtag’ and ‘retweet’ and run for the hills.

Then you have others who totally get it, and to them Twitter is their social media platform of choice. One of those Twitter lovers is Twitter ‘super-user’ Corinne Paterson. I worked with Corinne Paterson (or CP as she was affectionately known :)) back when Twitter was really taking off in Australia, and she has always been a Twitter evangelist. I sat down with CP to try and pick her Twitter brain in order to shed some light for those non-believers………

How long have you been using Twitter and what made you get started?
I was working in the banking industry in 2009 and one banking journalist at the time wrote about how the major banks were using Twitter. I was already addicted to Facebook and didn’t want to join Twitter and become addicted to another social network. Suffice to say, I joined Twitter. I started using Twitter by creating a Twitter list of bankers. Being a parent and time poor, I use Twitter as my RSS feed to find out what was happening with the competition. For example, in 140 characters I can find out from the banking industry, whose internet banking system was down, what new products they were launching and see the responses they were giving to people who were asking questions on Twitter.

How often do you tweet and what are your tweets generally about?
Back in 2009 I watched what was being said and really didn’t tweet too much. I would recommend that to anyone new on Twitter. But after meeting IRL (in real life) Newcastle and Lake Macquarie tweeps over the past few years at #newcastlecoffee or #lakemaccoffee and other tweet-ups, I now tweet a few times a day. If I am going to a special event or conference I will tweet more and use the event’s hashtag.

A hashtag is a unique name for the event with the hash symbol at the beginning e.g. #SXSW. So anyone can tweet and add the hashtag to their tweet. It makes it easier to see what people are saying or understanding about the event. Be careful though, if the event is boring everyone to tears, they will probably tweet about being bored and include the hashtag. I once went to an event with a hashtag so long that a few of us in the audience made a unanimous vote to change it to something simpler.

On a lighter side about the tweets I do, I love sharing the funny stories about being a parent, but incase the kids want to sue me in later years, I won’t use their real names.

How would you explain what Twitter is to someone who knew nothing about it?
A SMS length message not sent to one person but to multiple people over social media.

I’ve heard people say ‘why would I need Twitter when I have Facebook’, what would you say to those people?
Set up a Twitter account for your business to safeguard your company or brand name. You don’t want someone to highjack your name and start tweeting nasty stuff using your brand. I am sure your friends are saying what they think about a company on Facebook now. Perhaps the retailer who provided bad service. You probably notice other of your friends adding their thoughts about that retailer too. The retailer may have lost one customer or perhaps a few that day. The retailer has no idea, no ability to respond.

But if this was being said on Twitter, the retailer can be alerted if they set up a Twitter brand mention search. The company responds and hopefully can diffuse before it escalates.

As a business owner create a private Twitter list and add all of your competition. Watch what they are tweeting. Are they responding to their company mentions? Are they having conversations with others? Learn what works.

Rotate the role of working on Twitter around your business if you have staff. Your whole team can learn about using Twitter. Don’t leave it to the 20 something in the office because you think they might like social media.

Send out tweets that are useful to your customers or potential customers. If you are a cake shop, post up images of new cakes you are baking. If you are a shoe retailer hint about the new range and give sneak previews. If you are handbag manufacturer and you have a new range of handbags, offer prizes to your customers who photograph themselves our with one of your purchased handbags. If people ask questions or have issues, be up front and answer. If you need to provide more details, ask them to direct message (DM) you with their contact details.

Can you talk us through some of the do’s and don’ts and etiquette associated with Twitter?
Don’t use Twitter to send out marketing spam for your company. You will loose credibility and people will unfollow you quickly. Don’t worry about how few people are following you in comparison to your competition.

Anyone who makes the effort to follow you, view their profile and follow back. Do a few checks of them first to make sure they are REAL.

Set up a few saved searches, like your company name and check them daily. There are monitoring services you can invest money in but initially, set up a Twitter search and Google alert. You might want to set up a few benchmark competitor searches too.

Customise your Twitter image, header image and background. Make your Twitter page feel like your company. Twitter has all of the instructions in its help section.

If your business is local make a note to listen to what is being said locally. Start following local businesses and people to see what they are saying. You might get leads or build up your network of people to know.

Can you tell us about any memorable stories associated with Twitter? Such as friendships made, funny tweets, brushes with celebrity etc?
I have found many people to share great recipes with, received heads about new local restaurants, shared photos and social issue chatter with local, national or international Tweeps. I have had Twitter discussions with quite a few book authors about their books. I have asked questions to celebrity chefs about their recipes and had replies. I have met a number of local members of Council and Government because of Twitter. I have had my voice heard. I have had tweets that were retweeted around the world on the topic of banking (of all things). One of my tweets about generic milk on the shelves in supermarkets had the supermarket contacting me. I have learned and had conversations with local radio media that I would have been way to apprehensive to approach if it not were for twitter. I ask questions and the Google that is Twitter answers. Well most of the time. I have built up my professional and social network and this will sound naff but I have found my tribe.

———

THANKS CP!

If you really want to see how it’s done on Twitter, follow Corinne (@corinnepaterson) and watch and learn! While you’re there, follow us – @web_esc!

E-tailer No-brainers – 5 Essentials For Online Stores – Part 1

Posted on September 24, 2013August 11, 2014 by Melissa Priest

From a shoppers perspective, the internet provides access to as many stores as you wish. Hundreds, thousands, maybe millions of stores. And more opening every day.

If you’re an online retailer, this means your (many) competitors are just a click away. So if your site isn’t user-friendly, or your products aren’t easy to find, it is oh so simple to leave your store and go to the next one. So it’s important your site gets some simple things right – at the very least.

We’ve compiled a list of essentials that online shopping sites MUST get right, if they want to stay competitive in the online retail space.

Before we get started, there’s one over-arching principle that online retailers must keep top of mind whilst considering everything else, putting yourself in a shoppers shoes!

Forget what you know about the product you’re selling. Forget that you’ve seen it, felt it, held it up, smelt it, or whatever people do when observing a product they’re interested in.

Your online customers can’t do that. So you need to fill that gap, and motivate them to send money over the web, to someone they’ve never met, for something they can’t touch or try on.

5 ESSENTIALS FOR ONLINE STORES...

1. PRODUCT IMAGES AND INFORMATION
Online shoppers want to see images and information of a product they’d like to buy. It’s a fact. They can’t hold it, they can’t try it on, so they need photos and info to help them make a decision.

As an online retailer you’ve gone to the trouble and expense of getting a website developed, spent time and money buying products for your store, you’ve more than likely spent money on SEO and/or online advertising, maybe business cards, maybe offline advertising. But for some reason, once all of that is done, you don’t put any time into taking pictures of, or describing your products.

Do you expect that your stock is going to walk out the door with next to no effort put in to actually promoting the products on your site?

As an online shopper, if I’m searching for a product or I see something I like whilst browsing, I want to see images and information before deciding to hand over my hard earned cash. Don’t you?

If it’s a dress, I want to see it from all angles. And preferably on a model so I can see where and how it sits on your body. If it’s a handbag, I want to see all angles and inside please. I want to know if it has handy pockets and compartments inside.

I can’t believe how many online stores don’t provide this information.

If I can’t find the images or information I need to be able to make an informed decision, I will search for them. Meaning, I will leave your site, google the product, and find a site that is providing the information and images I need and make my purchase there.

If I can’t find the images and information elsewhere, and I really ‘need’ that dress, you might just get lucky and win my business, but otherwise I will buy from the shop that showed me the images and information.

If online retailers are unsure of how to promote their products on their online stores, why not look to some of the more successful fashion e-tailers for example, ASOS, Net-a-Porter, or Birdsnest, for some ideas.

ASOS is particularly helpful by providing a video of a model wearing the clothing on a catwalk (screenshots below). For an online shopper, this functionality is invaluable in your decision making process!

We can’t afford video I hear you say! Most likely the camera you are using to (hopefully) take images of your products, not only takes pretty pictures, but also in most cases has video capabilities! And you don’t need a fancy catwalk, why not use the street?

Birdsnest are also very helpful where they show complete ‘styled’ outfits. Let’s face it, many of us struggle when it comes to putting an outfit together, so any help we can get will definitely be appreciated. Not only do Birdsnest visually show you styled outfits, but allow you to click on the outfit and add the whole thing to your bag at one time! User-friendly for the customer and smart for the business, as I imagine this would also help their sales – ka ching!

Some tips when it comes to providing product images and information:

good and consistent lighting and background (this also makes your site look great)
as many images / angles as you can
if the item comes in various colours, show me images of the colours please
close ups of special features, details or the fabric etc
present the images in consistent sizes on your site (this also helps with the visual layout and balance of your store)
tell me as much about the product as you possibly can – measurements, fabric, colour, sizing, special features
I’d love for you to even tell me how and where to wear it (suitable for wedding, event etc)
it would be helpful to know about the brand as well
anything that you can think of that someone who has never seen this product might need to know

ESSENTIALS For Online Stores, to be continued………

Common Sense Isn’t Very Common When It Comes to Web Design

Posted on August 20, 2013August 11, 2014 by Melissa Priest

It seems that when it comes to website design, common sense isn’t very common. I’m not saying ALWAYS, but far too often for my liking!!

Almost every day in my online journey, researching and surfing (do we still call it surfing??) the web, I come across a site that leaves me baffled as to what the owners / designers / anyone involved in creating the site, was thinking, when they decided to a) leave off critical information b) design the site in such a way that I am confused when using it, or c) create something of barely any use to anyone……..

I recently came across a relatively new bar / restaurant’s website that I was thinking of visiting. I was keen to find out as much as I could about their offering when trying to decide on a venue for an upcoming catch up. Was very disappointed to find that this modern, trendy, quite impressive establishment, had a website with no menu! Not happy. Not only did they not offer a food menu, but also no beverage menu (claiming to be a bar?). Maybe their menu changes every day? Maybe not? If that is the case then why not give us a ‘taste’ (pun intended), of what we can expect, such as a sample menu? Or else find a way to update your site or social media profiles with your daily menu?

Another thing not included was a map. Considering how easy it is to include a Google map with your exact location into a website, I find it quite unbelievable that a company relying on you finding their location would not include a map.

When it comes to planning your website, the first thing you should do is put yourself in your user’s (customer, potential customer, visitor, whatever you want to call them) shoes. Have a good long think about what they might need to know about your business and times it by ten.

You need to provide as much information about your products and services as possible. People use the web to gather information and make informed choices. If you aren’t providing that information needed to make a decision, you are at risk of not being considered in those choices.

If you’re a restaurant, nine times out of ten people want to know where you’re located. So this means your address, but also a map, driving directions, parking information. They want to know what type of food you serve (a full and up to date menu preferably). Whether you cater to vegetarians, gluten-free or other dietary requirements. Prices, a wine list. Whether you’re restaurant is child-friendly, do you have high-chairs? What is the accessibility like for disabled or elderly patrons?

Put your thinking cap on and consider your customer. Take into consideration any question you have ever been asked by a customer? Is there repitition to the types of questions you are being asked? If so…sounds like information that needs to be on your website.

Having a website with hardly any information, yet having your staff answering 50 phone calls mostly answering the same questions, is a major waste of time and money.

Get planning and build your site for your customer, afterall they are the ones that are going to be using it!

What You Need To Know About Website Content

Posted on August 6, 2013August 11, 2014 by Melissa Priest

The content on your website could not be any more important than it is right now.

Second only to your sites overall design, (in my opinion anyway), your content is the most important thing about your website.

Your content can be the difference between someone staying and reading on, or leaving never to return.

A huge factor in the success of your content is its readability. Defined as the ease in which text can be read and understood. One thing to note here, is knowing your audience, and writing to them in a language they understand. Is your audience the broader community, or a University Masters Alumni? Think about who your visitors are, and adjust your writing style accordingly.

Google (and other search engines) are watching! Everyone wants their website to appear high in Google search results right? Well one of the biggest elements in the top secret Google algorithm, is content. And I don’t mean keyword stuffed, repetitious content written to get a search engines attention. I mean usable, readable, good quality content.

Quality content is of ultimate importance to the ease of use, or usability of your website. Here are some other factors to keep in mind when building content for your website:

Don’t just migrate your brochures or sales documents straight onto your website. A website shouldn’t be one big sales pitch. Your visitors want information, not marketing speak. Give them the facts and let them make up their own mind. Sure, include a call to action here and there, but there is no need for a load of ‘salesy’ buzz words and promotional speak.
Keep your content brief and to the point. Another factor in readability is short, concise sentences and paragraphs. People don’t like to read a lot of big chunks of wordy content online (I don’t, do you?).
Keep it up to date. Your content needs to be relevant and up to date. There’s nothing worse than going to a site, only to find you’re reading information from three years ago. The internet is an information medium, and that information needs to be reliable. If your information is out of date, your visitors will leave in favour of your up to date competitor.
Don’t be afraid to add visual content. Add (relevant!) images to support your content to make it more interesting. This is a great way to break up content and further communicate your message through examples. This will help reinforce your messages, especially for us visual visitors.
Consistent and inline with your brand / brand voice. Every piece of communication from your company should be consistent. This means deciding on a voice for your company and using it at all touch-points – all forms of advertising, your website, social media etc. This helps potential customers identify your company and build trust in your company. Is your company’s voice conversational, or more formal? Do you write in the first, second or third person? Your company could benefit from a style guide, describing to all employees your brand voice, company colours, information about your logo, fonts to be used, etc.
No typos or bad grammar! It doesn’t take much to (spell) check your work. Having typos or gramatical errors on your site can instantly destroy trust and give a bad impression. If you’re particularly bad with spelling / grammar, have your writing checked by someone specialising in this area, it will be worth it!

If you have any questions about content for your business or would like our help creating or updating your content, please contact us.

5 Tips On Building Trust Via Your Website

Posted on July 16, 2013August 11, 2014 by Melissa Priest

Whether you like it or not, each visitor to your website is subconsciously judging your company.

Visiting a new website is just like walking into a shop or an office for the first time. First impressions count, and can be the difference between winning or losing someones business.

If you think about the last time you walked into a place of business and it was messy, the staff were too busy talking to each other or on the phone to pay attention to you, you couldn’t find what you needed, so you became frustrated and left.

A similar thing can be said about a website. If your first visit leaves you confused and irritated, why would you return?

A nice clean and clear website that is consistent and easy to use, can instantly make you feel at ease and help you trust the company.

Whereas a poorly designed, out of date website, with broken images, typos, lots of different fonts and font colours, flashing graphics ……can instantly break your trust.

Here are some useful tips on how to ensure your website is in the best possible position to build a visitors trust.

Identify your company – your website should include your company logo (preferably in the top left hand corner of every page), colours associated with your company, along with information about your company (About Us) page as well as how to contact you (a Contact Us page with information about your location, phone number etc). And please – be contactable. I have dealt with many websites that include a phone number but NEVER answer their phone. Next!
Simple – People don’t want to have to work hard when trying to use your site. A well designed site that is consistent (headers and footers, navigation, logo etc) helps you actually find what you’re looking for, sounds simple doesn’t it!
Personable – In most cases, someone will visit your site to find out more about your company, employees, products or work you have completed. So add a personal touch. Show images of you, your team. Include information about your experience and skills and those of your team. Show information and images of previous projects you have completed.
Informative – A website is an easy way to provide information. Information about your company, products, location, projects you have worked on. This information can be provided via pages of content on your site, or via blog posts, or both. Whilst erring on the side of more information than less, also keep in mind that people don’t like to read big chunks of information online, and they also don’t like sales pitches and lots of marketing speak. So keep information simple, to the point and in manageable chunks.For e-commerce or shopping websites you need to provide as much information as you possibly can about your products (sizing, dimensions, fabrics, quality, colours etc) as well as secure checkout, payment information, return policies, etc.
Social media links – if people can see you on different touch points or platforms, they are more likely to trust you. It makes you more transparent which is a good way to build trust through appearing to be open, honest, personable and contactable. If you have a company facebook page and a potential customer can see that some of their friends have liked your company, they would be more likely to like you as well. If you have a twitter following and share information about your industry, expertise, and converse with others online, this is another plus for your company. The more a potential customer can learn about you and your company the more they will trust you and use your company in the future.

If you have any other tips about building trust online please share them with us.

Author: Melissa Priest