Congratulations – a user has decided to visit your website! Now you have to make sure they trust your website enough to do business with you. Here are three ways to earn their trust, and deliver a professional user experience.

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Smooth Running

Web users are famously fickle and flaky. With the World Wide Web at our fingertips, we’re unlikely to hang around on a website that is slow and full of errors. After all, customers may be sharing some of their bank details with you – they need to feel that you’ll look after them.

Regularly update your website and test it out to identify any areas for improvement. You can make great changes yourself by visiting website such as UX Magazine, which has some great tips for keeping your website well-oiled, or you can find experienced specialists in web design in Cardiff, London, Manchester and beyond.

Don’t Manipulate

We all hate to be manipulated by businesses. While some gentle persuasion can bag a few extra sales, ideally we want our customers to make a purchase because they really want to, not because they were bullied into it by forceful calls to action. Most web designers such as http://ambercouch.co.uk/ and others can show you how to walk the line.

Furthermore, by filling web sites with advertisements that get in the way of the products, we can annoy users. Keep advertising from other companies to a minimum, and keep it as subtle as possible if you must. The Interaction Design Foundation has some great tips on how to include advertising efficiently.

Another common mistake is tricking customers into receiving newsletters and other regular mail. Nothing is more off-putting than being spammed with something we didn’t deliberately sign up for. Stay in your user’s good books and keep things clear, open and honest.

Stay up to Date

We’ve all found ourselves on websites where the last update seemed to be made ten years ago and the graphics are old fashioned and ugly. It does not, I’m sure you’ll agree, fill the user with confidence. Make sure you fill your site with content that is up to date and relevant to the user. By showing that your company is aware of the industry changes around it, your customers will look up to you as major players.