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Beyond Web usability: Web credibilityTrenton Moss 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:
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:
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:
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:
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:
There are many more! Just visit any website you perceive to be professional and confident and see what they do.
| | | | RELATED ARTICLES If Content is King, then surely Relevance is Queen! There has been a lot of to-ing and fro-ing in the search engine world of late and there are lots of conspiracy theories as to why these things happen. Opinion – Search Engine Success This article is actually the summary to a book soon to be released by the author, titled “Guaranteed Website Success”. Opinions are quite often controversial. Such is the nature of this one. Now you have a Web site. Have you ever heard of accessibility An accessible Web site is easily approached, easily understood, and useable for all. There are accessibility standards set forth by the World Wide Web Consortium, which all sites should adhere to as much as possible. PHP and Cookies; a Good Mix! Introduction The 5 Biggest Mistakes Almost All Web Designers Make -- And Why These Mistakes Could Cost YOU A Fortune! Huge Mistake #1: Creating a Website with Flash -- Did you know in a recent study, top internet marketers discovered that having a website created with Flash, actually DECREASED the response from prospects and customers by as much as three-hundred-and-seventy percent Web Site Content Ideas for Webmasters Many years ago I began creating web sites that began as photo albums for friends and family and then turned into travel guides for trips I took to Jamaica , Napa Valley and the Black Hills of South Dakota.Soon I created web sites related to cars, dogs, and motorcycles.Later I was turned on to Googles Adsense program which allowed me to generate enough income from my hobby web sites that I could pay for the overhead costs.I found it challenging to come up with additional content and perform search engine optimization on my existing pages.Occasionally I would hit mental blocks and would have no new content I could add.Whenever this happens I try for the following to help me generate new and useful web site content and hopefully drive my Google Adsense revenue. 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Profitable Websites for Exclusive Industries In the region where my company is located, South Bend, Indiana, the demand forweb design and associated services could be described as:leery.It’s not that the locale is horribly lacking evolvement technologically; rather that so many proprietors in this area are very uncertain as to what the internet can do and how they can go about forming profitable web sites for their exclusive industries. 8 Steps to Design a Surfer Friendly Website That Search Engines Love! 1 Crystal Clear Source Code HTML/CSS In Search of Webhosting: First Understand the Industry In search of a webhosting company for personal or small business purposes We advise you to take a look at this article to understand the hosting industry and study its dynamics to know what to look for before you make your choice. The Topic Of Your Website The first thing you will have to deal building your website has nothing to do with the web design itself, its me related to content writing but it must be defined and will effect the rest of your actions. So first of all you need to decide what the topic of your future website is. Topic is very closely connected to another web design issue: keywords. The keywords you select will depend upon the topic you have chosen. When thinking about website topic ask yourself a few questions: What is the goal of the site you are making What are you trying to achieve with your site. Specify a goal, preferably in one short sentence. Be Creative before you Purchase or Create a Website Before you jump into spending coutnless hours on designing and publishing your website, or spending hundreds onhaving it done by anyone else you should plan out your full design or structure. This is very important so that whenit comes time to do this long-lasting project you will be well prepared. Flash - To Use Or No To Use Out there in the WWW there are thousands sites using flash for their needs. But the majority sites are not in this list. Lets summaries some facts about flash using on YOUR web site and after that its you who will have to decide: to use or not to use. There are some facts about Macromedia Flash Technology: First Web Hosting Experience Well… youve purchased a domain name… created a pretty design… filled it with content… what now Why Dot-Coms Fail - a Webmasters Perspective Everyday we hear that another company goes out of business. Beyond Web usability: Web credibility Web usability: Its old news |
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