Trust: Building the Bridge to Our Users

Trust is an exact science: building it is an art

Why trust? The first impression really matters

What is trust? A pervasive element of our lives

Trust is not an island, but is one factor among others

What is credibility? Users need to believe before they can trust

The Mathematics of Trust

In UX design, we have a formula to establishing trust:

Trustworthiness = Ability + Benevolence + Integrity

• The first is your ability, which you show through your design skills. Knowing the ins and outs of presenting a pleasing and reassuring design is essential.
• The second is benevolence. The service you are offering in your design must be benign, i.e., it must be something that will help users and have their interests at heart.
• Lastly, you must act with integrity, i.e., ethically, with fairness and honesty at the core of your service.

The Dimensions of Trust and how Users Interpret Your Design

• There are two players – the trustor (user) and trustee (your design).
• Environment – the internet, a potentially precarious place.
• Actions resulting – trust leads to actions: users part with money or enter identity info.

How to Establish Trust with Your Users

1. Create Familiarity – Take users’ existing knowledge and match that to your design’s claims
2. Make an FAQ area
3. Fight Self-Interest and Feed Options

Laja, P. (2012). “First Impressions Matter: The Importance of Great Visual Design”. Conversion XL.

Schaffer, E. (2009). “Beyond Usability: Designing Web Sites for Persuasion, Emotion, and Trust”. UX Matters.

Cugelman, B. (2015), “Does Your User Experience Build Trust?” Conversion Conference.

Furman, S. (2009). “Building Trust”. Usability.gov.

Read the Full Stanford University Study,“How Do People Evaluate a Web Site’s Credibility?”