How to trust a website when buying online

The design quality of a website is a strong indication that time and money has been invested. The more investment in a site, the more likely it is to be trustworthy. Therefore, design (the visual look and feel) is the first thing to assess on a website

Research at Stanford University shows that a website is quickly evaluated by its design.

Good design also extends to the quality of images used. Stock images are acceptable as page images but when used as team member photos they can indicate the site has something to hide. Check the about us images – If you suspect they are stock images use Google Images Search to see if other sites are using the images too. Save a copy of the image to your hard drive or desktop, locate the file and drag into the Google Image Search box here.

Read the page/site copy and assess for typos, mistakes and badly written grammar/punctuation. If the page reads like it has been written in a different language and then run through Google translate this is cause for alert. Copy doesn't have to be journalist perfect but it should be reasonably well written with good spelling and punctuation.

Look for any dates on content pages, such as the blog, or articles on the site. Recent content means the site is being updated on a regular basis and another indicator of site investment. If pages don’t have dates is there anything topical or seasonal that could indicate when it was written?

Look in the footer for a company name or company credits. A limited company in the UK can be verified at Companies House here.

In the footer, next to the company credits should be a year for copyright purposes, check this is up-to-date. Sometimes this can be overlooked in site updates so anything from the previous year isn’t cause for panic but if the date is several years out-of-date then this indicates a site that isn’t being managed. Therefore, orders are less likely to be processed.

Contact us, about us and any customer service pages can usually be found in the footer menu or the main menu. A refund/delivery/about us statement will say a lot about the credibility of a site. Make sure you are happy with delivery lead times and that you can easily return items or get help if there is an issue with your purchase.

It's essential that an ecommerce site have contactable customer services, if they don’t think twice before ordering.

Look at the footer, the sidebars and the page content: does the site have a high number of links going out to other sites? Or does the site have limited links out to trusted websites? A high number of links out to low quality sites signals a website that is potentially selling links and is not to be trusted. Links out to foreign language sites are cause for alert. If you hover over a link the destination will show in the bottom left corner of the browser or you can click on the link to visit.

Is the home page overloaded with flashing banner ads? A page loaded with ads can be a signal of a low quality site built purely to gain ad revenue. If a site has pop up ads opening in windows behind your browser window then ditch the site.

Click through any social media buttons and check the credibility of the social account – does it have many followers? Is the content regularly updated? Read the latest posts to gauge the tone of voice and read what others are saying about the site. Social media is one of the best barometers of what people have to say about their experiences with a brand.

The 's' on the end of 'http' at the start of a domain is an essential indicator that a site's checkout is secure for transactions. HTTPS is only necessary during the checkout process; therefore, HTTPS is only essential on the checkout pages. Look at the address bar and check the domain name has https:// at the start of the domain name when you checkout.

HTTPS is obtained by purchasing an SSL certificate; this requires a vetting process of the site and an annual subscription. The certificate consists of a digital crypto file added to the website server and this ensures a secure connection between the website and its server. If you make a payment online only ever use a site that has an SSL certificate.

Look to the left of the address bar for the padlock symbol, click on this and the Trust Certificate is shown. An EV (extended validation) certificate may turn the address bar green and will show the name and address of the site owner. A standard Non-EV certificate shows the domain name – make sure it is the same as the site you are using.

Source and Source.

Look for a trust mark badge from a company such as, TRUSTe, McAfee or Norton, these can usually be found at the bottom of a page or in the footer.

TRUSTe logo seal shows that a site is compliant with data collection. McAfee shows a site is secure. Norton Secure Seal (powered by Symantec and formerly Verisign) shows that a website is free of malware (malicious code that can infect your computer or copy your credit card details).

A website is only approved to display a certification seal once it complies with strict criteria (see the links above for specific requirements). Many sites do display these badges fraudulently, so it is essential to click on the seal and be redirected to the trust organisation website to verify an authentic seal/certificate.

Reviews and word-of-mouth are very powerful indicators of the reputation and credibility. Check if the site has product reviews or testimonials.

Also check TrustPilot and Feefo to look for brand mentions. Google search results will also show if a company has reviews – search for their brand name.

A trusted website should have mostly good reviews with a few negative comments; law of averages dictates that at least one person will be disgruntled. A large number of overtly positive reviews (and the absence of anything negative) can be suspicious.

Check any negative reviews to see if the website replied and tried to fix the problem, a few negative comments are not cause for alarm but you do want to see that the site did its best to rectify a problem.

It is worth knowing that credit card purchases between £100-£30,000 are protected under Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974. You are covered if a store goes bust, if your item is faulty, broken or doesn’t arrive. Debit cards are not covered by this protection.

Be aware that if you use a credit card through an agent such as PayPal payment, Google Wallet and Amazon Marketplace sellers you lose rights to claim.

Other items not covered by Section 75 include: anything bought through an agent: such as travel agents and group buying sites (e.g. Groupon); hire purchase agreements (e.g. Car finance), any land purchases, items bought by a secondary card holder, and items less than £100.

See the legislation for the full rights here. Also read more on your rights for Section 75 here.

Never enter your credit card details on a website unless part of the secure checkout process and never send your credit card details by email.

Buyer Protection at PayPal offers full reassurance that they will refund the amount of a purchase, including delivery, if the goods do not match seller description or you do not receive the order. All purchases through any website using PayPal as a payment method are covered.

Items not covered by PayPal Buyer Protection include: real estate, motorised vehicles, custom-made items, industrial machinery, prepaid cards, anything paid for in person, money transfers to friends and families and anything that violates their policies. Please read their full user agreement here.

All purchases made on the Amazon site, including from a third party seller, and using Amazon payments on third-party websites are covered by the Amazon A-to-z guarantee. Market Place seller items are covered up to £2,500.

Your claim must be for either an item that wasn't delivered within 3 days after the estimated delivery date or 30 days after the order date; the item was damaged, defective or materially different than represented on the website or the seller agreed to refund but hasn't done so or refunded the wrong amount. See A-to-z claim conditions here for full details.

For Amazon payment purchases the buyer is limited to fifty claims in a lifetime and are covered for up to £2,000 per purchase (some exemptions). Items not covered include: payments for services and subscriptions; digital merchandise and cash/gift cards. Read the full details here. See a full list of prohibited items here.

Google offer purchase protection on purchases made from trusted stores but this only covers $1,000 in a lifetime. If you receive an item and have an issue Google will assist in a resolution between yourself and the merchant.

Google do not cover lost or stolen items and anything purchased by identity or credit card theft. See their full list of limitations and prohibited products here (e.g. Fireworks, tobacco products, live animals and cars).

Using Google is a good tactic to see if there are any negative comments from other users about a website. Type the site/brand name into the search box and see if the autosuggest offers negative words such as 'scam' to the term. If so click on the search term to read.

Also check the search listings for any mentions of the website or brand, look for anything negative.

Google search results will also show if a company has Google reviews – search for their brand name and look for the gold star rating under the website title.

Search in Google to see if contact details can be validated and if the office address is listed on Google Maps. This is not essential as not all companies register their location on Google Maps but it can be considered another strong trust indicator.

A secret weapon for assessing the validity and credibility of a site. Go to who.is and enter the URL of the site, you will be presented with the registration details of the domain owner.

Check the date of registration; older sites tend to be more trustworthy.

Also check the country of the registered owner; use your judgement as to the authenticity of a site operating as a seller in the UK being registered to a domain owner in Russia or the Philippines.