{"id":661,"date":"2011-07-13T11:42:14","date_gmt":"2011-07-13T16:42:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/deliawilsondesign.com\/blog\/?p=661"},"modified":"2012-09-30T07:37:54","modified_gmt":"2012-09-30T12:37:54","slug":"does-your-e-commerce-website-scream-trust-me","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wiztech4zc.com\/blog\/does-your-e-commerce-website-scream-trust-me\/","title":{"rendered":"Does your e-commerce website scream “Trust me!”?"},"content":{"rendered":"

So what is a trust feature?<\/h2>\n

Sometime last year I watched a webinar about site security and what to do to have your customers trust you and therefore buy from your site.\u00a0 It was put on, as it turns out, by one of the big names in the industry to sell a specific product.\u00a0 The product will remain unnamed but it is a good product and good idea that is offered by several industry giants.<\/p>\n

It’s expensive though for the average small site, so I took all that info they gave me in that webinar and came up with some recommendations that any cart owner can put into play.<\/p>\n

Most folks know that having that little padlock down on your bottom browser bar show that it is locked means that the site should be safe to buy from.\u00a0 But that’s awfully subtle for the average visitor and also doesn’t normally show up until they start to check out.<\/p>\n

So what do you do to engender trust in your visitors?<\/h3>\n

The first recommendation is to put images with links on your site that show certain things and to put those images at the very top – in the header.<\/p>\n

Though that does put that kind of thing smack in one’s face, it really doesn’t work for most site owners because it can interfere with the site design.<\/p>\n

So first, let’s look at what images work best and how they can be incorporated into your design.<\/p>\n

The images<\/h3>\n

There are several possibilities. First, is an image that mentions or stands for your secure certificate. If you pay the big bucks, you can get one that is linked to a page that also verifies the secure certificate.\u00a0 That can be up to 5 times the cost of the basic secure certificate though, so it’s a decision any cart owner has to face.\u00a0 Is it worth it?\u00a0 I don’t claim to know the answer to that but I do feel like that money can be better spent on something else if your funds are tight.<\/p>\n

Nearly every secure certificate has some image that you can use. I buy my certificates thru Rapidssl.com which is a Geotrust.com (one of the big boys) division. They supply a little image which has just recently changed:<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

There’s nothing to link to but it has all the necessary ingredients such as the word secured, the padlock and that really nifty note about the warranty. You could link it to the website but that’s no proof of anything and I think it’s kinda misleading since it doesn’t verify anything.<\/p>\n

So when buying your secure certificate, you may need to stop and think about that.\u00a0 Many times your hosting company is selling the certificates.\u00a0 Ask them whose certificates are selling and if\u00a0 there any images that you can use on the website.\u00a0 Ask questions – don’t just take their word for it.<\/p>\n

Next up is your payment processor.<\/h3>\n

Authorize.net has a verifiable seal you can post on the website. Click on it and it will tell you that, yes, they are the payment provider for that website.\u00a0 I really like that because it’s free!\u00a0 LinkPoint\/FirstData has only a picture you can use. So again, ask questions of your payment provider.\u00a0 You do need to know who your provider is, obviously; however, many website owners don’t actually understand the distinction between who you signed up with and the actual payment processor.<\/p>\n

Payment processors such as Authorize.net and FirstData don’t normally sign up customers directly.\u00a0 They provide the service and then many folks are out there selling those services. I use MerchantWarehouse.com for my own processor and recommend them because their rates are reasonable and they use Authorize.net. Who you sign up with does make a difference in rates by the way.<\/p>\n