Trust is one of the most important factors in whether a customer decides to purchase from your online store. Visitors to your store need to feel safe when making purchases on your site. Successful store owners establish trust with great customer service, but sometimes that’s just not enough. A proven way to boost credibility for your business is the use of common trust indicators.

Millions of digital transactions are made every day, requiring sensitive data to passed over the internet. A trustmark from a third-party verification company proves to visitors that your website is trustworthy. Showcasing your earned trustmark logos is a great way to ensure that your store is safe to do business with. Good trustmarks are easily recognizable, and are issued from companies that the public is familiar with, such as PayPal, Norton, McAfee, or TRUSTe.

Trustmarks can also showcase how reliable a store’s customer service is. Companies like the BBB and Trustpilot issue trustmarks based on customer reviews.

Online stores secure the financial data they pass to their servers by using SSL, a security protocol that encrypts any data passed between a customer and the store. Displaying your verified SSL trustmark in addition to serving pages securely is a good way to ensure the security of customer transactions.

It is important to make available a clear and concise return policy for items purchased from your store. Address potential customer concerns up front and you’ll avoid customer service issues post-sale.

The idea that someone is available to chat with should you have any questions is comforting to most shoppers. It’s convenient to not have to pick up a phone to contact support. Installing a live chat service is simple and unobtrusive, and there are many chat platforms to choose from that will integrate easily with any online store.

Last but certainly not least, nothing establishes trust in an e-commerce website like professional design. Successful companies depend on well thought-out, amazing-looking web design. Their graphics are sharp and planned-out well in advance of any promotions, and they’re consistent across platforms (desktop, mobile, social, email, and so on).

Potential customers approach online shopping just as they would walking into a brick and mortar shop; If they have any reservations about your store, they won’t bother browsing, much less give you their credit card information. Establishing trust right away is key to getting the sale.