As I mentioned in an earlier section, people tend to buy from people and businesses they know, like and trust.

So how do you develop trust?

The first, and what should be the most obvious way, is by the way you conduct your business - by being honest and providing great service.

But what about establishing credibility with the person who comes to your website who knows nothing about you or your business at that point?

One way is to establish your expertise in your field of business. To show people that you know what you are talking about, and that you or your product can do what they need done.

One way to do that is by what we mentioned in a previous section - by providing them with information through newsletters, reports, etc.

You can also do that by clearly showing them that you understand their problem or situation, and how that can best be solved or dealt with. (And of course, that should include some really good reasons why you are the best provider of the solution for them!)

Another way to do that is by providing testimonials or references from people who have been happy with your product or service.

If you can get it, a testimonial or reference from an expert in your field who is well known to everyone, would certainly help your cause. After all, if you were in the renovation business and Mike Holmes gave you a recommendation, that would be a pretty big feather in your cap! Or if you were a writer and Mark Victor Hansen from the Chicken Soup series of books was to write you a testimonial, people would be far more likely to trust that you had something of worth to say.

My intent in giving you this Webplanner Dashboard information - showing you some of what I know about websites - is to develop credibility with you. Some of you may have come to this because I told you about it, so you probably already know me and the kind of work I do. But others of you don't know me from anybody, so why should you come to me to do a website? Well, hopefully by seeing the work I've done for others and reading through this information, you will get a good sense of whether or not I would be a good person to work with and one that would be a good fit for you.

Since this section was about Testimonials, you may have noticed some on some of the earlier sections. I've included them here again.

I am extremely pleased with the website that Evelyn did for me! She was able to capture what I wanted & then added a lot of value to the site with her own creative & innovative ideas & suggestions. I would not hesitate to recommend Willowrose Village & the personal abilities of Evelyn. I could not have asked for more when she designed, "from scratch", the website for www.canadaarmsoflove.com. You will find that quality & very efficient design skills will be extremely evident!! - DK Hale, Executive Director, Canada Arms of Love

When a fellow artist invited me to visit her new website I knew I had found the designer I wanted to create my site. Evelyn's use of colour,design and feel for my work were exactly what was needed to bring out the best of my bronzes. In other words "I never looked so good". I anticipate submiting new artwork to the site and am confident it will be another quality presentation. - Davied Maldaner, Bronze Artist, David Maldaner

I would like to say that Evelyn has recently made a website for me that I am quite delighted with. Not knowing much about computers she has helped me a great deal with putting it all together. She has been very understanding, and a good person to work with. I would certainly recommend her to anyone. I am sure when anyone looks at my website they will check out who made it. - Paula Hawkes, Equine & Portrait Artist, Paula Hawkes

Shortly after we began Songs of Faith Ministries, it became obvious that we needed a website to let churches and others know about our ministry, availability and products. Evelyn Marinoski worked closely with us to create a website design that has exceeded our expectations. The process was painless and, I can truthfully say, the results have been postive. - Mike and Suzann Burns, Songs of Faith Ministries, Cochrane, Alberta