When running a business site online, you may think that your product page, landing page, or even all of the neat Flash animations you have are your greatest asset. However, you would be wrong. The greatest thing you can offer your visitors and customers is trust. When you sit back and consider the nature of the internet, it is very easy to see why this would be the case. Online, anyone can pretend to be anything they want. With a computer and internet access, criminals can portray themselves as legitimate businessmen and women, conning people out of thousands of dollars, ruining credit, and destroying lives.
As a result, most consumers are at least savy enough to recognize this fact. They are not willing to give personal and financial information to institutions and sites they do not trust. Because of this, your business needs to ensure that trust is your number one priority when trying to convince visitors to conduct financial transactions with you. But how can you do this?
SSL Certificate
First and foremost, you need to make sure your SSL certificate is up to date. SSL (short for secure socket layer) certificates essentially denote websites that are up to date with the latest in security procedures when it comes to encrypting sensitive data. If you, or your site’s host, are not up to date, a warning may come up when a customer begins the checkout process. This can cause customers to immediately abandon their transaction, as well as not return to your site. Although your site might still be secure, if your certificate is out of date, it will not matter to the customer. For this reasons, it is a good idea to conduct a few test transactions a week yourself, as well as stay in touch with your hosting company.
Secure Checkout
Also, consider having your checkout procedure verified by one of the many trusted verification companies out there. By doing so, you will be issued a badge icon you can place on your web site that tells customers that you are not merely some fly by night operation, and that 3rd party security professionals have tested and verified your security system. You may also want to include words like “secure checkout” on your checkout links.
Privacy Policy
Finally, have a readily available copy of your privacy policy on each page. Although, in reality, most internet users forgo any fine print when trying to make a transaction, it is important to have a privacy policy in order to protect yourself, as well as the customer. By writing a privacy policy that stands up for the rights of your customers, you are not only doing them a service, but you are doing yourself and your business a service. As mentioned, if a customer feels like they can trust you and that you will protect their information, they will be more likely to do business with you. If the customer feels threatened in any way, they will likely head for the hills, never to return.
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on August 2, 2011 at 9:44 am
Having those secure type logos gives people that sense of its a sake place to travel. This little things can make a world of difference.
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on August 2, 2011 at 3:03 pm
Hi,
This is really very good and informative article. This is very useful for the neophytes in website management. Thanks for the information.
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on August 3, 2011 at 1:56 am
The other things that I would suggest is making sure the item and price are on all of the checkout steps – I hate it when I get to a page and want to visually confirm my order before entering the credit card, but the only way I can is to back out and start over again.
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on August 3, 2011 at 8:13 am
I am with you on that. I also like to have the price listed as a final confirmation of what I will be paying – which includes all shipping fees and taxes. I hate making a purchase blindly since it opens the door to surprises.
on August 3, 2011 at 9:11 am
Interesting. Trust is actually becoming a part of SEO.
Google is focusing heavily on trying to figure out what websites are trustworthy and which ones are not.
Great article and great advice, Eric.
Mark
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on August 3, 2011 at 11:57 am
Google has been mentioning the trust of a website for years. Unfortunately, it is hard to put trust in an algorithm, especially if people keep finding ways to fake the “trust” of a site.
on August 3, 2011 at 10:30 pm
Thanks for reminding us of the importance of trust and security especially with online transactions. I’ve been involved in transactions where I had doubts about the sites security and decided to cancel my order. People are more vigilant these days when it comes to making purchases or ordering online, even on trusted sites. It would be a huge loss if potential customers back out of a transaction simply because the site’s security is not updated.
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on August 4, 2011 at 8:33 am
The security of a site is extremely important for me to make a purchase. If I don’t feel comfortable with the security then I won’t make a purchase.
on August 4, 2011 at 4:47 am
Interesting. Secure checkout is definitely one of the most important feature that I look for. It’s definitely plays an important role in building trust with our customers.
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on August 4, 2011 at 8:36 am
I definitely agree with the security of a checkout. If a checkout isn’t secured, then you shouldn’t complete the transaction. Transferring your personal data over the Internet unsecured can lead to such things as identity theft. Security throughout the entire ordering process is very important before I complete the transaction.
on August 7, 2011 at 7:32 pm
I’m not sure of how many people know what a SSL certificate is, and what you don’t know can’t really make you feel safer. Even if it does. But i’m the users are slowly learning and eventually the SSL will become wide spread and a basic requirement for ordering.
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on August 8, 2011 at 8:38 am
SSL is not only a requirement for me to make a purchase, but I prefer to use SSL wherever I can. Facebook has adopted SSL as well, which I have also turned on.
on August 8, 2011 at 2:33 pm
This is a good conversation for those that are selling a product on line, but does the SSL make sense for a company who does not sell on line or collect credit card info on line?
on August 8, 2011 at 3:10 pm
If you are providing information only, then SSL isn’t necessary. If you are asking for a customer’s personal information, then you should definitely be using SSL.
on September 21, 2011 at 8:16 pm
Sounds interesting, very well said. Trust and security is very much important to have a good relationship between you and your customers. Your tips are great, I appreciate it and I’m learning to it. Thanks for this great contribution from you!
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on January 8, 2012 at 9:15 pm
The only thing that an SSL does is give trust. While yes the data is secure over the secure sockets layer – the customer doesn’t know what that is. They just know when they see the green bar that their data is safe.
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