Most visitors to a website will decide within seconds whether to stay on the site or not. The website design can give signals to visitors that can give the impression that the site is trustworthy or not. Small businesses need to be aware of the website design choices that can give a good or negative impression to potential visitors.
A Consistent Logo and Brand Colours
A professional logo is a great way to tell your website visitors that they have found the right place. By using the same logo on every page of your website it creates a sense of familiarity and of a professional brand. If you use different fonts or colours on different pages of your website it can create the impression of something being wrong even though there is nothing wrong.
Contact Details Where People Can See Them
Make your contact details visible. A business’ contact details such as a phone number, physical address and a map to find them should be prominently displayed on your website. They should not be hidden away in your website’s footer.
Reviews and Testimonials Near Your Call to Action
Google reviews, named testimonials and trust badges are among the evidence that can do the persuading for you and they need to be placed close to your booking button or your enquiry form.
If you are looking for Web Design Exeter, see https://exeter.nettl.com/web-design/.
Fast Loading and an Uncluttered Layout
A slow loading website or a cluttered design can give off the wrong impression to potential customers before they have even read any information on your website. If you are looking for web design in Exeter then Nettl is a local Web Design Exeter option.
An SSL Certificate and a Privacy Policy
The padlock icon in the address bar of your browser costs very little to implement on your website and if not in place visitors will more than likely depart your site immediately. The NCSC have put together a guide to basic website security for small businesses, including the implementation of an SSL certificate and keeping software up to date.
By incorporating these 5 key design features into your website most visitors will trust your business enough to get in touch.
Summary
This article sets out five website design features that help small businesses build visitor trust quickly, since most people decide whether to stay on a site within seconds. It covers a consistent logo and brand colours across every page, displaying contact details prominently rather than in the footer, placing reviews near a call to action, fast loading and an uncluttered layout, and an SSL certificate and privacy policy.
Questions this article raises
- How much does page loading speed actually affect visitor trust compared with design?
- What should a small business prioritise first if it can only fix one of these five issues?
- How difficult is it for a small business to implement an SSL certificate itself?
