Website Trust Part II – 5 Things Every E-commerce Site Should Have

Posted 1 year, 2 months ago at 8:44 am. 1 comment

Part I of this blog post last week looked at general trust elements for websites, this week we’re looking specifically at e-commerce sites.

Clear prices – People don’t like being tricked when it comes to money and this is very relevant for e-commerce sites. If an item is listed on your site for a price of £9.99, then that’s what people expect to pay. They don’t want to discover at the checkout that it doesn’t include VAT and delivery and could end up costing them a lot more.

Time spent checking out – We’ve all been on websites where you have to register and fill in lots of information before you get to buy the product. Nobody likes doing this, just like nobody enjoys standing in the queue at the local supermarket for any longer than they have to.

Giving people the option to register or checkout right away will reduce your shopping cart abandonment rates.

Delivery options – No two customers are the same so while some may be happy to wait a week for their item to be delivered, others will want it the next day. Providing a range of options to suit as many customers as possible will help to create trust in your site and encourage people to buy again.

Product pictures & descriptions – When you want people to part with their hard-earned money, they need to see you’re serious about what you’re selling. Low resolution images of your stock with short and dull descriptions will create suspicion rather than trust and drive potential customers to a competitor who has put the extra effort in with high quality images and professionally written information.

Communication – So, someone’s just spent money on your site, how long do they have to wait to get confirmation of their order? Ideally it should be instant, certainly within a few minutes. This is another element that helps create trust along with telling them exactly when they can expect delivery or giving them the ability to track the progress of their order online.

Selling on the internet is a very competitive business, no matter what sector you’re in.

If your e-commerce site could be doing better, it may be down to the fact that some or all of these basic elements of online trust are missing.