Establishing credibility is essential in any professional venture. It helps you attract new customers quicker, it allows you to build a natural rapport with your existing client base, and it enables you to gain the respect of your industry peers.

In the maverick world of the Internet, making sure that the blog that you are putting together has credibility is arguably the most crucial web-based strategy that you can utilize. After all, the look, feel, and verbiage of your blog are outright, tangible extensions of what your business is all about.

Fortunately, maintaining a blog that establishes and reinforces your credibility is not that difficult to achieve, just as long as you remain diligent about a few key steps.

The Importance of a Credible Format

One of the most important ways you can establish credibility in your blog takes place before you type your first word or you post your first image. Using a well-known web tool or a CMS with a sterling reputation will give your pursuit of building up credibility a solid starting point. For example, a CMS such as WordPress can make you look instantly legit simply because WordPress itself is such a well-respected name in the business. What’s more, a versatile CMS such as WordPress will also come equipped with accessories designed to make even the rawest rookie look like a seasoned pro, such as a wealth of online tutorials and user-friendly editing tools.

Transparency is the Key

The Internet can be a shady place at times. As such, it is critical that your online persona appears as open and honest as possible. In other words, do whatever you can to make sure there is not a single element of your site that could leave potential customers wondering whether or not you can be trusted.

There are three essential things that you should always do in order to be transparent, and therefore credible:

• Prove your legitimacy – Don’t merely take the fact that you have a website as proof that you are the real deal. Your future clients will need more evidence. Fortunately, there are many simple ways you can back up your existence, from making your company address highly visible on the site to posting images of your company in action.
• Emphasize your expertise – Make sure that you devote some space on your website that not only demonstrates what you do, but that you do it better than the competition. You can show this off in many ways, such as emphasizing the number of years you have been in business or by listing any credentials and accolades that you have been accumulated over the years. Demonstrating these items lends a great deal of credence to your credibility.
• Showcase who you are – Make sure that your own genuine personality is evident on the site. If future clients cannot trust who you are through whatever online presence you have, they will not trust your business.

Be Professional

Nothing can destroy credibility faster than coming across as unprofessional, either through looks or through actions. In the online world, having a website that looks sloppy or is riddled with grammatical errors will send some pretty negative messages to your current and future clients.

As such, it is important that you make sure that your website is free of errors and general sloppiness. Go through each page with a fine tooth comb to catch any typos or grammatical errors. Continually check hyperlinks to ensure they are working and are not broken. If you do not do these actions, your potential client base could get the impression that you do not run your business as best as you can. And if they are getting that kind of message, they may be hesitant to trust you.

If you remain focused on adhering to these steps, your online credibility will be all but assured. While putting all of these different components in place can take up a little bit of time in order to make sure everything is done right, all of that effort will be completely worth it in the long run.

If you would like to discuss a web design project with us in more detail, get in touch on 0800 690 6250 or alternatively email us at enquiries@lemongrassmedia.co.uk