Whenever I get approached by clients to design and deploy their e-commerce sites, I always stress the importance of convincing future customers that a client’s online venture is legit and trustworthy. Sure, presentation is equally important in getting visitors to stay and ultimately return to their websites. But building trust is essential in closing the deal and making a customer go through with their purchase.

Paras Shah voiced similar sentiments in a recent article on setting up a secure e-commerce site:

To put it simply, in the e-commerce business, securing trust in your company is essential to your success. Trust is as important to a potential customer’s purchasing decision as the products you offer. And an essential element of building that trust, with both customers and partners, is the assurance that your e-commerce operation meets the demanding security standards required of organizations handling sensitive financial information.

(…) The shopping interface you introduce to customers is arguably the most important piece of your e-commerce site’s presentation. A familiar, easy-to-navigate interface can go a long way toward establishing the trust you’re after. Seasoned online shoppers will know what to expect from an e-commerce site, and meeting those expectations is a good way to gain their confidence. Novice surfers will probably be more comfortable if your online store closely resembles the major e-commerce interfaces they might have encountered.

Paras went on in quite some detail, discussing pertinent issues of SSL certificates, hosted e-commerce solutions and merchant accounts. If you’re thinking about opening an online store, his column is a must-read.