How to make your website trustworthiness?

How to make your website trustworthiness?

What is trust and trustworthiness ？

Trust is a concept everybody understands at some personal level, but most people will have trouble enunciating a specific definition of the concept. Some people will have strict measures they use to evaluate their level of trust in a person or company, while others rely on a more subjective "feel" for determining whether to trust somebody. A great example is crossing a bridge. When you drive or walk across a bridge you trust the engineers and contractors to have built that bridge to last. You expect that you will get from one side to the other without incident. Because of the different research perspectives trust, there are various definitions about trust. Trust is what allows us to have meaningful relationships with other people; without it, we cannot converse without wondering whether the person speaks。

Anumba and Ruikar(2008) agreed to summarize some main factors for trust definition: First, the environment of trust is risk and uncertainty. Second, due to the untrustworthy behaviour, the potential loss is greater than expected gains. Third, trust describes the degree of predictability. Fourth, the environment of trust is interdependence. Fifth, trust is positive and godd concept.

Just as every person has his or her own way of deciding issues of trust, every role a person plays will also have its own understanding of trust based on the specific goals and priorities of that role. Empathy is great for times that call for compassion and care, but in matters of trust it can be hard to see things from another's point of view. When you walk into a store that you have patronized for years, you have a level or trust about handing over your money in exchange for goods; the merchant may approach this transaction with an entirely different level of anxiety about your ability to pay -- maybe a new employee is ringing you up -- or your ownership of the credit card you proffer. Trust means different things to different people, to different roles, and in different scenarios.

Trustworthiness is usually regarded as a virtue, and it is the state of being trustworthy or reliable(anonym, 2009). Banks and Gallagher(2009) suggested a trustworthy person should have the following features. First, the person behaves to be relied. Second, the person is liable to responded his/her behaviour. Third, the person should perform to be reliable and responsibible. This suggestion can also use in website. Trustworthiness is a part of trust.

The levels of trust

A scholar suggested to divide trust from wholehearted to partial depending on degrees of trust.(Banks and Gallagher,2009) Wholehearted trust------- this is a strong trust. It have a lot of different forms, for example: ---‘Blind’ that people trust without any question.---‘semi-blind’ that people trust is depending on the role expectation.---‘considered’ that people trust is depending on assessment, experience, and so on.

Partial trust-----this is also medium trust. People trust like this, when they are not sure about their commitment or competence, for example: ---hopeful/optimistic that when we don’t have enough information to go on, we trust like this.---grudging/pessimistic

The levels of trustworthiness

Banks and Gallagher(2009) suggested to separate trustworthiness to full trustworthiness and basic trustworthiness.

How to make your website trustworthiness？

We analyse the trustworthiness will be based on the use of chelsea football club web-site layout(http://www.chelseafc.com/page/Welcome). We analyse the website from the following 5 ways, which they are Professional Visual Communications, simplely flow services, case studies or user comments, significant information for contact, convenient online interactive.

Professional Visual Communications

It concern about color selection, such as to avoid bleak, depressing colors, simple interface, easy to identify the major and the logo, eye-catching promotion of information and so on.Describe the accuracy and clarity information simplely flow Services Allow users to know how to do before they contact you, then how they can resolve their problem through your services. There is a link to transfer language into different contries, like the UK, the United States, China, Russia, Korea. This is a more easy way to serve consumers who have different backgrand and language.

Case studies or user comments

This is important, "we can not make users to instantly know all the information about the company, but at least let them know you have done something very well." (Gaudin,2007)For example, chelsea football club built a very good reputation in the uk, which is a good point.

Significant information for contact

Including the chelsea club introduction, true pictures, for example: football palyer photos, and hwo to Contact us. If possible, the Contacts pages should be arranged in a similar position, which is similar to the website to add to cart button, and give the users a the fastest access(anonym, 2008). For example, in the chelsea club home page, there is a botton in the end of the page which is “enter site”. For example, there is a “ticket” botton on the chelsea websit, which is a fastest access to shopping.

Convenient online interactive

Website should help users to directly submit needs and problems. If possible, to set up users’ management system is also a necessary information managing patten, and collecting more information, facilitating the provision of accurate advice. （Primo Interactive Limited, 2008）

Reference:

Anumba, C. and Ruikar, K.(2008), e-Business in Construction, Blackwell Publishing Ltd。

Anonym, 2009, allwords.com, http://www.allwords.com/word-trustworthiness.html accessed 30th March 2009

anonym, (2008), Significant Information to Advance Your Website Design, http://www.prlog.org/10159685-significant-information-to-advance-your-website-design.html accessed 30th March 2009

Banks, S. and Gallagher, A.(2009), Ethics in professional life, Palgrave Macmillan

Gaudin, S.(2007), How Good is Your Website’s Online Reputation?, http://www.informationweek.com/news/internet/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=199600394 accessed 30th March 2009

Primo Interactive Limited,(2008) Website Design & Online Marketing, http://www.primointeractive.com/ accessed 30th March 2009

Deniz FIRAT

MA Deniz FIRAT