Great websites are trustworthy

When someone lands on a website, they instinctively look for subtle clues about whether they can trust it–often without even realising it. As you go through a redesign, think about ways to make your site feel credible and reliable.

In order to make your site trustworthy, think about adding 'trust signals': elements on a website that helps visitors feel confident about the credibility and reliability of the organisation behind it. This could include showing a charity registration number, having proper contact information and privacy policies, displaying accreditation logos, case studies, and genuine testimonials, or ensuring your site is secure so users never see security certificate warnings.

A well-designed site with clear typography and professional presentation reinforces these trust signals. The opposite is also true: poor or dated design, hard-to-read text, slow loading times, excessive popups, broken links, and missing images all chip away at trust. These problems make a site feel neglected or unprofessional.

Keeping your site up to date is one of the easiest ways to maintain trust. If your content is current and accurate, users are more likely to rely on it. Adding regular, date stamped content shows the site is actively maintained and worth revisiting.

If you want to quickly improve trustworthiness, start by making sure your content is accurate and error-free. Add trust signals thoughtfully, such as relevant testimonials, case studies, and accreditations where they make sense. The key is that trust signals should be genuine and relevant to your audience.