Trust and the next generation of websites

By Catriona Campbell

My eldest son starts school next August, and as part of the process we’ve been visiting the local schools. At one school, I was astonished to find that they have an hour a day dedicated to computing. This set me thinking about how the next generation will experience the net differently from our own.

I think there are some good examples of how my generation and those older than me still have a problem with placing our trust online. If we aren’t totally familiar with a brand, we need to see the features from the subconscious “web site design repertoire” we have built up enable us to trust a site enough to place an order with it. This repertoire consists of security seals, a telephone number (regardless of whether we actually use it), fulfilment options (e.g. tracking the order), page design and usability.

Another strategy for building trust in an internet offering is to carry out cross channel marketing – always associating the URL on above the line advertising and even placing an internet kiosk in a high street outlet. Banks do this well, and by placing internet kiosks in the secure banking hall, they are able to successfully position their online channel to their customers in a situation of trust.

It is the cross channel strategy, and the understanding and testing of these design repertoires, which businesses have been getting wrong for so long. These basic issues are slowly being addressed for the next generation – but each new development brings fresh challenges. Web 2.0 functionality and features bring a whole host of other offerings that will have to be carefully studied before the next generation make them part of their design repertoire. Even though they will be more computer literate, they will still have embedded behaviours around design and expectations.