Are Testimonials Unreliable?

I talk a lot about building trust within your website and I’ll say it again, people do not do business with people they do not trust. Which leads me to my post…

I was just asked a survey question about what makes you trust a website and believe in its integrity and credibility?

[X] Testimonials (Added here for the sake of completeness)
[X] Third party credibility seals (VeriSign, TRUSTe etc)
[ ] Photo of founder
[X] The voice of the text
[X] Guarantees
[X] Other (Please explain)…………….

1. Awards
2. Actual physical address of business
3. Ability to test the software (free download or trial).
4. Reputable payment system
5. Response rate: A rule of thumb I have is to email support and see how fast they respond if at all. If they do and answer my question quickly, I am more likely to trust the website and make a purchase.

What does a website have to do to make YOU trust it and ultimately make contact or purchase?

Photo by Derek Thomson on Unsplash