Its most likely that your website will be your customers first point of contact with your brand
. Your customers will form an impression of your brand, whether it is justified or not, based on your websites appearance.
Negative first impressions are difficult to alter and this is why its important to ensure that your visitors have an optimal browsing experience and can easily find the information they are looking for. Below are a few things you can do to improve your websites performance.
Provide information on the people behind the brand
People enjoy seeing the faces behind a brand name. An About Us page focussing on the overview of the brand and the brands values can be supplemented with a page giving more information about the individuals making up the brands management team.
List proper contact information
Many companies make it difficult for website visitors to contact them. Not only does this defeat the point of a website as a marketing and sales tool, but it also gives an impression that the company is not credible. Include your physical address, phone and fax numbers and an email address on the contact page. If you dont want to list all your contact details, at least include a contact form and ensure that emails from this form are responded to promptly. Furthermore, if your brand has profiles on social networks, include links to these profiles on your website to provide an easy way for current and potential customers to connect with you on the network of their choice.
Provide additional information
Have you been mentioned in the press lately? Or do you contribute articles to an industry portal? Upload these to your website under a Press or Media section and link to the original article. This adds credibility and if these pages are well optimised, they will enhance your websites visibility on search engines.
Are there certain things that you look at when you visit a brands website to determine its credibility? Let us know in the comment section!