How Web Design Affects Customer Trust

by | Sep 20, 2022 | Converting Websites, Digital Marketing, Website Design

Building customer trust is a slow and challenging process. There are many different ways to connect with your clients, and one strategy we will look at today is the web design approach. Web design affects customer trust, and we are here to show you how to benefit from this. As a technology, web design improved in many ways over the past decade. Trends are constantly changing, and websites are becoming more advanced. This is important to understand because customer demands are also changing. You are taking a significant risk if you don’t adapt your website to the latest web design trends.

How web design affects customer trust?

A website represents a way for your business to connect with customers online. When they search for products or services, you should be there to help them find what they are looking for. Furthermore, it would be best if you looked at your company’s website as a tool for solving customers’ problems.

An illustration of a satisfaction meter showing sad, indifferent, and happy emoticons as measurements of satisfaction

Carefully monitor customer satisfaction, and try to promptly solve any issues your customers may be having.

With that in mind, it is crucial that your website operates without any issues and that it provides a pleasant customer experience.

Elements of your website that substantially affect customer trust include:

  • the simplicity of the UI;
  • eye-catchy design;
  • engaging content that adds value;
  • online security;
  • website loading speed;

Let us talk a bit more about these elements to help you understand the connection between your website and customer trust.

Is your website complex?

When you start building a website, it is crucial to try and look at it from a customer’s point of view. While it needs to be exciting and rich with valuable features, the entire experience must be simple. Complex website layouts often confuse customers, and they tend to leave websites quickly. If you think your website is too complex, redesigning it to provide a smooth experience for your clients would be a good idea.

The navigation needs to be simple

Website navigation is one of the most critical elements of your website. It helps customers quickly navigate your website and switch from one page to another. Do not experiment too much with this because people like familiar designs. Navigation should be simple yet efficient. You can always try something new, but never sacrifice the efficiency of your navigation for aesthetics.

How to make your website more efficient

A website is a collection of text, images, and various features. All of the elements need to be in sync. For example, if you add too much text to your pages, the experience will be boring. No one wants to read a boring wall of text and spend 20-30 minutes looking at words online. You can break it up with images to give your pages more structure.

At the same time, all images need to contribute to the page. It is well known that a picture is worth a thousand words, and you need to use that to your advantage. Every page needs to be both visually appealing and rich with valuable information. Furthermore, if you are using images in the right way, you can even increase website conversions. That is a clear sign that customers trust your website and your company.

Promote online security

Even though we live in this wonderful age of technology where the internet provides all sorts of entertainment options, the internet can also be a dangerous place at the same time. People often get scammed online and quickly lose trust. Consider optimizing website security for your visitors since this can affect their experience, and you want to ensure that they always feel safe. Fortunately, you can take several straightforward measures to improve your website’s safety.

A screenshot of a web page showing HTTPS request

Upgrade your website to a HTTPS protocol to increase security.

Any serious business needs a safe and secure website for its clients. The first thing to do is to upgrade your website to HTTPS protocol. When you get the SSL certificate, your website encrypts customer data before sending it to the server, and vice versa. That is the best way to protect your clients and business from online scams and hacker attacks. While we are on the subject of hacker attacks, all 3rd party software on your website must be up to date. Vendors always release updates that fix security bugs that a hacker can exploit.

Do not force ads on your customers

Many website owners dump a bunch of ads and banners on their pages. They hope people will purchase more products if they are constantly bombarded with advertisements. That is a huge mistake. Whoever comes to your website comes because of what you are offering. They don’t want intrusive ads to redirect them to another page. That can also seem like a red flag. Ads often have invisible buttons, and they redirect customers to different websites.

Still, remember that ads benefit your business, but only if you smartly use them. They should always support your primary strategy but never take too much focus. If you want to engage your customers more, it is better to do it with visual content. That is why they are coming to your website.

An illustration showing 6 web pages with positions of ads on each page

Be careful how you integrate ads on your pages.

Your website needs to load quickly

Website loading speed is another factor that affects customer trust. If your website is loading quickly, that means it is built in the right way. You spent resources and time creating a quality platform for your clients.

With that in mind, web design should never slow down your website. Even though you need to focus on aesthetics, the website’s efficiency is a massive part of web design. Make sure your code is optimized, as well as your images. Furthermore, remove any unnecessary elements from your homepage. The quicker it loads, the better.

The conclusion

As you can see, web design affects customer trust in many ways. To create an engaging experience, you should always try to follow the latest web design trends. A modern and easy-to-use website builds credibility, and customers will start to expect more. Also, be consistent when it comes to publishing material. Pace yourself, so you don’t burn out, but try to maintain the quality of the material. Finally, make your website transparent since this is what people want, a safe environment where they can spend some quality time. With everything said, we hope that you now understand how web design can help build trustworthy relationships!