What makes a website reputable and why is it so important

Reputable websites and their importance

The internet is used on a global scale 24hrs a day, 365 days a year. The amount of information on the internet is enormous but a lot of it is unfiltered, unreliable and is prone to security hacks and other types of cybercrime. Hence why online consumers like to buy from reputable companies. A reliable & secure website can help a company achieve this.
Virtually anyone can create a website but not anyone is a professional web developer. Attempting to build a website without training, education and experience is risky and can lead to big problems for the website owners and consumers alike.


When consumers search for information online, they want to be able to trust that the information is reliable. How? By simple trust signals from the ‘source’. Consumers are likely to evaluate a website/brand trust credentials by at least one or more of the following ways:


Valid author information and contact details
Applying ‘real’ author photo or team photos can build trust with users as well as having a valid and operational telephone number and physical location.
A link to the homepage
A consumer should always be able to easily able to access the homepage from any internal page so that they can easily access other pages and information.
Accreditations, sponsorships or partnerships
Displaying accreditation, sponsorship or partnership badges is a high trust factor because they assist consumers to determine if a company or institution meets or exceeds quality standards.
Case studies (service based)
Website case studies help online consumers get to know more about the work you have done to help them make decisions.
Customer reviews (internal or external to website)
Some companies choose to integrate customers reviews internally on their website so that potential buyers for easy access and aid faster decision making. Customer reviews whether internal or external to the website is a major trust factor to users because they are unbiased and real experiences.
Legit website addresses
A reputable website should only link to or from other reputable websites. Highley cautious consumers will be aware of where the link came from.   
Content quality and user experience
The content on a website is the main source of information, if website owners want people to take them seriously, they cannot afford to have poor quality content such as unprofessional tone or style used, spelling errors, outdated information, lack of expertise etc.
Date check
Often when people take an interest in blog or news articles published on a website, they will check to see when it was published or last updated. Any website that has a blog or news section should provide fresh quality content to show users that the information they provide is active and current.
Secure signals (e-commerce)
Prior to making a purchase, highly cautious consumers will check to see if a website is secure. Reputable and secure sites should begin with HTTPS and padlocks, provide pre-payment or post-payment tips, display card and consumer rights and delivery information.



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Blog article information

Blog article date: 31 st Oct 2017
Posted by SDS
Tags What makes a website reputable, reputable website, credible website

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