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3 Ways to Make Your WordPress Website More Credible

If you were given the choice to work with two businesses, which one would you choose? The one you’ve heard plenty of good things about or the one you’ve recently heard of? The answer is obvious.

This is why it’s important to establish credibility both online and offline.

Once visitors land on your WordPress website, they need to see several signals that they will not regret working with you.

But how do you do that?

In this blog post, we’re going to discuss five ways to make your website more credible.

Let’s get started.

Why is website credibility important?

Imagine this.

You’re looking for a landscaper online, and you’ve narrowed the list down to two choices.

The first option has an incredible website that was launched earlier this year. There are recent testimonials from clients they’ve worked with before. You can see their contact information and physical location on each page.

Once you go the About page, there are pictures of staff members along with brief bios. Even if you haven’t spoken to them yet, you have a clear picture in mind of the people you’ll be working with.

Even if it’s highly recommended by a friend, the second option has an outdated website that was last updated three years ago. You have difficulty finding the company’s contact information or any information at all about the people running it. Something about it doesn’t feel right.

Even online, there are certain signals for whether a website is credible or not. They may not notice these signals consciously, but there are aware of them nonetheless.

According to a recent survey, 88% of online consumers will most likely not return to a site after a negative experience. This means you have one golden opportunity to let visitors know that your website–and your business, by extension–is credible and trustworthy.

Include testimonials from clients.

If you promise to provide excellent service on your website, testimonials are proof that you’ve done it before. A convincing testimonial needs to:

• Be specific. – It’s incredible if a previous client raves about you, but it would be better if they include specific details and numbers. Did your product increase their sales and conversions? How many minutes or hours did it save them?
• Include a photo. – A photo adds a more human aspect to a simple testimonial.
• Include a link to the client’s website. – If a visitor has any doubts about a testimonial’s authenticity, a photo and a link can clear them up right away.

Reach out to clients you’ve worked with before. Politely ask them if they could provide a short testimonial for your website. If they were satisfied with the service or product you provided, they will most likely write one for you.

Once you have your testimonials, where exactly do you place them?

You need to include them on your homepage. The exact placement depends on your business goals and your website’s current layout.

Strong Testimonials

Strong Testimonials is a free WordPress plugin that makes displaying testimonials on your website easier. You can customise how the testimonials appear on your website, and you can choose from several layouts.

This plugin also allows clients to submit reviews and testimonials. It also embeds testimonials from social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter.

Let visitors get to know the people behind the company.

When clients choose to work with a company, they are not only interested in the company as a whole.

They are also interested in the people behind the company, the living, breathing individuals who will bring them closer to their business goals.

Some businesses may be under the impression that their About page is all about them, but they would be incorrect. Your About page is your opportunity to establish your staff’s authority in their respective fields.

Introduce potential clients to the people they’ll be working with. Include photos, links to social media profiles and brief bios for each staff member. These bios should include relevant information about their educational attainment and work experience.

Make sure your staff include a personal tidbit or two. Show potential clients the real people behind your company.

Team Builder

Team Builder is a WordPress plugin specifically created for managing your “team” or About page.

Users can choose from two premade templates. Once you’ve chosen a premade template, you can upload photos and add bios and links to social media profiles.

If your company has several departments, you can create several teams for each one. You can do all this through Team Builder’s easy-to-use drag and drop menu. 

Show social proof.

Social proof shows that other people have trusted and worked well with your business. It encourages potential clients to work with you, choosing you out of several options.

There are several types of social proof. It can come in the form of an expert’s opinion, awards, endorsements from celebrities and popular influencers, numbers, or even through a friend’s recommendation.

For better online conversion rates, make sure to include social proof on your website. You can do this by:

• adding testimonials from clients like we previously mentioned.
• allowing clients to review products or services.
• endorsements from influencers in your field.
• awards from relevant organisations.
• the number of customers or sales for a product or service.

There are countless ways to incorporate social proof into your website. You can do it for most if not all of your pages.

WPForms

WPForms is a WordPress plugin that allows customers to leave reviews on your website. You install and use it without professional assistance.

Create forms quickly through its easy-to-use drag-and-drop interface. You can even choose from several premade templates.

Conclusion

Credibility is vital for doing business online. Before you can even convince people to do business with you, you need to earn their trust.

Begin earning potential clients’ trust by ensuring the right signals are all over your website.

Include testimonials from previous clients in your homepage and other relevant pages. Studies show that people are more inclined to purchase after reading online reviews and testimonials.

Introduce potential clients to the people behind your company. Show them that they will be working with experts, not faceless entities they can’t trust.

Utilise social proof. There are plenty of ways to include social proof in your website content. Choose the ways that work best with your existing content.

Cornerstone Digital is a web development company in Sydney. We’d be glad to help you make your WordPress website more credible. Call us on (02) 8211 0668 or email us at info@cornerstone-digital.com.au.

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Darlyn Herradura

A self-professed book and digital marketing nerd, Darlyn Herradura focuses on building trust between customers and businesses with the written word. She understands that creating valuable content is the best way to get found online and happily spends her time doing that.