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Jacob Media Holding recently compiled a list of 68 tips for designing a trust-centered website, and a comprehensive list would be even longer. But some of the core components of trust-centered websites include:

Messaging and language that builds affinity with visitors (preferably based on audience research);

Intuitive navigation that makes visitors feel that you understand what they are looking for;

Content that is frequently updated and demonstrates a clear understanding of buyer priorities and needs;

Prominent display of third-party endorsements from customers, industry partners, the news media, social media influencers and other trusted sources; and

Trust badges from organizations like the Better Business Bureau, TrustedSite, Truste and others.

Learn more about website trust signals here.

We start the website redesign process with a conversation. We ask about business goals and the role your website is expected to play in meeting those goals. We will learn about your buyers and work with you to fill in the gaps that will help us better understand them. We then take that information and come up with a plan for the kind of site we think can best meet your objectives. Once we’ve decided on the site’s structure and functionality, we turn to the look and feel of the site. This is where we talk about images and colors and fonts. In other words, this is the fun part. But we never shirk on the initial planning. As tempting as it can be to start putting the paint on the walls, we have to get the bones right, and that’s why those first few steps are crucially important to giving you a site that not only sparkles visually, but also helps you meet the business goals you’ve been tasked with achieving.

We primarily build websites on two Content Management System (CMS) platforms: WordPress and HubSpot. WordPress is the most popular and trusted CMS in the world, powering a full 40% of the world's websites. Years ago, many large enterprises viewed WordPress as a CMS for smaller businesses, but that is no longer the case. In recent years WordPress has far eclipsed competing CMSs like Drupal and Joomla in enterprise adoption and satisfaction. For clients who are already HubSpot users or who are interested in HubSpot, we recommend HubSpot CMS. The HubSpot platform is easy to work with and allows for visual flexibility. Also, when integrated with the HubSpot marketing platform, it allows you to natively pair your website CMS with your marketing automation tools.

Yes, you will be able to edit your own website with a little guidance and training. This is because we generally avoid hardcoding sites. That’s not to say there won't be some hardcoded elements, but we aim to build sites using a templates-and-modules approach. That doesn’t mean you’ll get a site that looks like everyone else’s website; you will still get something that reflects you and your brand. But because we believe you should be continually modifying and updating your site, we build it in a way that makes that process as easy as possible. It also means it’s something that you don’t necessarily need us to do. At the end of the project, we want to continue working with you to optimize your site, but we will also give you the keys to your new castle.

Typically, website projects are the beginning of a longer-term relationship with us. We start with a website redesign. Those typically take between three and six months, but, depending on the size of the site, that could be longer. After the site is completed, we often move into the continuous improvement phase, where we start tracking and analyzing the traffic on your site and how visitors are using it to make recommendations of updates and changes that we think will help you better meet your established goals. That said, we also do website designs as one-time project work. That doesn’t change our process at all. Each website redesign still starts with a conversation about business goals and what is expected from your website in terms of meeting those goals.

Our two senior creatives, Megan Chesterton and Cecil Cross, have more than two decades of combined design experience. Our two content leaders, Jarrett Rush and Les Worley, have more than four decades of experience in technology, marketing and journalism. Together, our creative and content teams create the "words and music" for your website.

In this video, Megan and Jarrett discuss the trust-centered approach to website creation. It will give you a sense of their personalities, philosophy and experience.

As you can see from Jacob Media Holding own website, our design team prioritizes customer stories, because website visitors trust what others say about you more than what you say about yourself. That is the heart of our design philosophy.

Specific ways to highlight customer stories on your website include:

Case studies - Case studies serve three important purposes: (1) they show a use case of what you do; (2) they show concrete results and goals met; and (3) they include an customer endorsement. You should publish at least one case study for every major use case, and make it easy to find for your visitors.

Testimonials - These are endorsement quotes from customers and other third parties. They don't go into the same level of detail as a case study, but for a visitor scanning your website, they are a quick way to showcase your happy customers.

Embedded reviews - Many review sites, such as Tripadvisor, G2 and TrustRadius, enable you to embed customer reviews on your website. You earn trust with your visitors in two ways: (1) by providing third-party validation and (2) by pulling this validation directly from a respected neutral source.

First-party reviews - As opposed to embedded reviews from third-party sites, first-party reviews are generated by requesting reviews from your website visitors.

Client/customer logos - For B2B companies, one of the most valuable trust signals is client or customer logos. Prominently display the names and logos of well-known brands on your site to attract more of the same. When visitors click on a logo, take them to that customer's story.

Let your customers tell your story and your visitors will believe it.

Trust badges are emblems on your website intended to instill trust in prospective customers. For e-commerce sites, trust badges are most visible during the checkout process, but many sites today use them on their homepage, product pages and About Us pages as well.

Trust badges provide third-party validation to boost your website conversions. Here are the five main types of trust badges:

Security Trust Badges

Payment Trust Badges

Endorsement Trust Badges

Guarantee Trust Badges

Shipping Trust Badges

Download 72 free trust badges to boost e-commerce trust, designed for you by the Jacob Media Holding creative team.