How a Stunning Website Design Builds Trust and Credibility
As an artist, your website is often the first stop for your prospective leads and clients. As such, it should be built to give the best first impression possible so users are comfortable doing business with you.
One way to make this happen is by focusing on your website design.
Having a stunning website design will help you increase trust and establish credibility with your audience, which ultimately leads to higher conversions.
Like any piece of art, your site must be created by a skilled designer with an eye for detail, beauty, and subtlety.
Below we’ll explain 8 reasons why purposeful design can have a very positive impact on your conversions and earnings.
1. Organized Design
A stunning website is one that is well organized and user-friendly. From the design layout to the navigation and the website copy, everything should be organized in a way that helps to boost your credibility.
Nothing screams unprofessional like a site that is cluttered or "busy". So, when building your website, keep the following considerations in mind for well-organized design:
- Display the right amount of information: Your website should include just the right amount of information - not too much, and not too little. If you have too many steps/scrolling to the conversion, it can negatively impact your earnings.
- Clear and well-placed copy: Make sure the information you decide to include is clearly displayed on your website. Your visitors shouldn’t have to hunt for information on your site.
- Organized navigation: Make sure your website navigation is organized and easy to use so users take as few steps as possible to get what they want. A funneled framework is gaining popularity since it facilitates easy navigation.
Darshan Somashekar, who runs puzzle curation site I’m a Puzzle, explains, “Sometimes less is more. We removed elements of our navigation to focus on only the two areas of our site that were most important to our users, and engagement went up immediately.”
These are just a few of the things you can do to show consideration for your visitors and help them find and view your art in the most convenient way.
This, in turn, creates trust and credibility which ultimately has a positive impact on your website’s conversions and earnings.
The artist website, Midnight Fern is a great example of well-organized site design:
Keep in mind, you don’t need to pay a bundle to do this either. There are many affordable or even free graphic design programs that you can use, or you can even opt to outsource.
For example, consider posting an online job on Fiverr or Upwork for college students in your area to find one that’s looking to earn a little extra money. They’ll come at a discount and often be eager to work with you.
2. The Impact of a Strong Landing Page
Having a strong landing page is a massive credibility factor, especially if it’s placed above the fold, and includes a compelling call to action. Such a page will have a positive impact on conversions and earnings.
Although it's never good to judge a book by its cover, online websites are often judged by their landing pages.
Visitors make snap judgments as to the website's trustworthiness within the first few seconds of landing on the page. That's why it's crucial to have a strong landing page that helps to establish trust and credibility immediately.
But, what exactly does a strong landing page consist of?
The standards for effective landing pages shift constantly in response to new trends that become the norm eventually.
For instance, compared to older audiences, millennials consider flat landing page designs as more “professional” simply because the majority of websites they use have adopted a minimalist style which, over time, has adjusted their expectations.
You have to determine what works best for your business.
We’re not advocating that you jump on every single web design trend that comes along, but it's always best to conform to existing modern design standards in your industry to help you boost credibility.
Today, businesses and marketers agree that video content increases engagement. So, you can include a company introduction video, testimonial video, or how-to video on your landing page to boost conversions.
3. The Effects of the Right Color Scheme
Every aspect of visual design is important and choosing the right color scheme on your website can help you inspire trust.
Your website's color scheme can dramatically affect the perceived value of your business. It can brand you as budget, corporate, or luxury - depending on the colors you choose.
There are tons of articles online that discuss the psychology of color in branding and marketing and how the right color scheme can make or break your website design. Do your research to learn how specific colors can help you boost the credibility of your website.
Check out this example of a beautiful pale pink color scheme from the website of artist, Tinneke De Block:
When choosing your website color scheme, you also need to take the time to make sure there’s enough white space as this adds to the perception of a well-organized website and contributes to the creation of trust and credibility — and ultimately a boost in art sales.
4. Font that is Reader-Friendly
The font you choose is yet another design element that can have a massive impact on your conversions.
It goes without saying that your font should be reader-friendly because if you make your website content hard to read, it's unlikely that your visitors will stay for long.
Make sure you go with a font that is legible, clear, and concise. To gain a better understanding of how important reader-friendly font is, try reading the passage below:
Can you see how difficult it would be to try and get through an article written in that font?
Rather, choose a reader-friendly font like Times New Roman or Arial in a size that makes it easy to read your content - even on small mobile screens.
Also, you must highlight important information on your website pages and make it easy for readers to scan the page.
Below is a great example of this concept in action:
5. Not All Imagery is Created Equal
Marketers and artists alike know that beautiful images can create trust and credibility, as well as aid you in telling an impactful story that will help increase your conversions.
Images certainly are a huge part of design quality, but it's crucial to understand that not all imagery is created equal.
Make sure you include high-quality photos that add to the story you're telling on the page. Do your best to avoid filler or stock images that (although pretty) don't add a lot of value to your content. These will not work effectively to help you build trust and credibility with your audience. Don’t forget to collect user-generated content (photos, unboxing videos, and other visual content created by your clients themselves) and post it on your website as well.
The placement of images on your website is also important.
They should stand out without making your page look cluttered and unorganized. Too many images create the type of “visual noise” that only serves to distract your audience, which makes for a less satisfying user experience.
If you must have a lot of images on a page, use a grid layout like the one in the example below to make your images look more organized. Another option for adding visual elements is to add a bit of animation in the form of videos or GIFs to attract your visitors.
6. Include a Place for Fresh Content
Fresh content is another factor that influences your website's credibility. Your website should include correct, comprehensive, and current information, as well as load quickly, so make sure you regularly update the information so your content stays up to date.
In addition to that, you must include a place on your website for fresh content.
A blog is a great way to display content on your site as it is created. And, when visitors land on your artist blog and see that you regularly publish new content, it not only conditions them to check back regularly, but it also helps to boost your credibility and increase their trust in you.
Not only that, but blogging in and of itself can be quite profitable if done correctly.
You can build credibility a step further by also building online courses and offering those to your audience, or even offering PLR courses that you’ve taken and feel are valuable enough to resell.
7. Make Contact and Disclosure Information Easy to Find
Yet another easy way to boost your trust quotient is to ensure that you clearly display your contact and disclosure information.
Your readers shouldn't have to hunt for ways to get in touch with you. Regardless of which page they are on, they should be able to easily get in touch with you in just a few clicks of the mouse, as shown in this example from artist James Lewis’ site:
His contact page is prominently placed on the page, making it easy for anyone to get in touch.
Also, make sure your name, email, address, phone number, etc. are clearly visible either on your main menu, in the website footer, or on the sidebar. It can be like an email signature, but on your site.
In addition to providing strong trust signals, clearly displaying your contact information can also boost your website’s local SEO.
And don’t forget to make sure your disclosure information is prominently displayed to create transparency and build trust with your audience. Ultimately, this can help to increase your conversions.
Additionally, if you’ve created any unique logos for your brand or busines, make sure you copyright your logo, as well as the rest of your designs, to prevent others from stealing your intellectual property.
8. A Connection to the Rest of the Internet
The final tip on our list of how to create a stunning artist website that builds trust and credibility is to include ways to connect to the rest of the internet.
It's important for your website to highlight its social network profiles, and online courses you’ve created on other platforms, YouTube channels, email, and any other and other place where your brand is active on the internet.
This goes a long way in establishing credibility and trust.
As an artist, your audience will likely want to find other places online where you operate so they can validate your credentials. For instance, they will want to view social media channels associated with your blog to see whether or not you are genuinely and consistently interacting with your audience.
But, your connection with the rest of the internet doesn’t end there because your website visitors may also look at review websites, association websites, and so on to verify your credibility.
That's why it's important to ensure that you are featured on all third-party websites like Yelp, Google Business, and TrustPilot that are relevant to your industry.
And don’t be afraid to link to other websites with DoFollow links. Sometimes, site owners only link out to others with no follow links, but that can look unnatural in the eyes of search engines.
If you don’t know the difference, this article examines Dofollow vs Nofollow links. Lastly, make sure you’re using fast and reliable website hosting. A slow-loading website can increase your bounce rate and lower your Google rankings as well.
Conclusion: How To Create a Stunning Website the Easy Way
Now that you know all of the different components you need to create a stunning website, you’re probably wondering, “Well, how do I actually make my website?”
Don’t worry, there are many different web design services that you can use including WordPress, Wix, Weebly, and many others, including some that are specifially built for artists.
However, finding the right software can be difficult if you’ve never built a website before. Forutnately, I’ve created this guide of the best web design software to help you find the right tools to get the job done.
Once you’ve found the right program to make your stunning website a reality, just follow the guidelines above and watch your audience grow.
What strategies do you employ to increase trust and credibility on your own site? Let us know in the comments below!
BYLINE:
Ron Stefanski is a website entrepreneur and marketing professor who has a passion for helping people create and market their own online business. You can learn more from him by visiting OneHourProfessor.com
