When price, availability, and features are roughly the same, what makes someone choose one brand or company over another?
Trust.
People want to feel confident that:
- You’re reliable
- You won’t overcharge or underdeliver
- That you have the required expertise, and know what you are doing
- Your product or service is high quality
You know you tick those boxes, but do your website visitors and potential clients?
There are many practical ways your website can build trust and make people feel confident they will be making the right choice with you.
1. Reviews & Testimonials
It’s hard to overstate how important social proof is. Did you know that a massive 93% of consumers say that online reviews influence their purchase decisions? Your website (preferably homepage) should showcase your happy clients.
Testimonials are great in corporate or B2B settings. These can be hand-picked quotes from clients, ideally with names, photos, and companies.
Reviews from Google, Trustpilot or other platforms can be embedded live on to your website. This is ideal for eCommerce and service-based businesses as they update automatically. You can also choose which to display (e.g. only reviews 4 star and above).
2. Media Mentions, Partnerships and Client Logos
If you’ve been featured somewhere, worked with well-known brands, or have impressive clients, add those logos or links. “As seen in…” or “Worked with…” helps build instant trust.
3. Clear Contact Details & Timely Replies
A real phone number, physical address, and proper email (using your domain, not a gmail account!) make a business feel more legit and trustworthy. Bonus points for a friendly contact page that tells people how soon they’ll hear back. If someone gets in touch and hears back quickly, especially with a friendly and helpful tone, that builds real trust and loyalty.
4. Case Studies, Portfolio or Gallery
These aren’t just for people working in visual fields (though of course if you are a designer, builder, artist or stylist, a portfolio is non-negotiable) Imagine you are a potential client – what would make you think, “these people know what they are doing”? It might be a before and after photo, or a case study showing how you helped a company get real results.
5. Real Pictures, Real Writing
If you can, use real photos of yourself and your team instead of stock photos. An About page that shows your face and tells your story can go a long way to creating trust – people like to buy and connect with normal, relatable people. Go easy with the AI content too. It’s super easy these days to be able to churn out words, but ask yourself – is this content bland, generic, or clearly AI generated? Or does it show my brand’s personality? No prizes for guessing which I think is the better option!
6. Certifications, Guarantees, and Awards
Don’t hide your qualifications, industry memberships, or any offers such as a money-back guarantee. These kinds of details help reduce perceived risk for potential clients. It’s a great idea to put them in your website footer so they are visible on every page.
7. Privacy Policy and Terms
It’s not exciting, but it’s super important, especially if you sell products online. People want to know their data is safe and that you’re being transparent. A simple privacy policy and clear pricing or refund info helps build credibility.
In Summary
Trust isn’t built with one sentence on your homepage. It comes through in your web design, your words, how your site works, and how you communicate. While this article has focused on your website, think about the bigger picture too. A few ways to build trust (beyond your website) include:
Be reliable: deliver when you say you will.
Be clear: explain things in plain language
Be consistent: same tone, same quality, every time.
Be human: don’t be afraid to show your personality. People like real people!
