WOT Web of Trust blog

Hi everyone!

Surfing Girl — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 09:08:44 +0000

Hi guys! :)

My name’s Surfing Girl and I’m a new employee at WOT. Originally I’m Russian but I live in Finland. My main task is to attract as many Russian Internet users to WOT as possible. I believe that all together we can make the Internet safer.

Yours,

Surfing Girl :)

Всем привет и добро пожаловать! :)

Меня зовут Surfing Girl. Я из России, но живу в Финляндии. С недавнего времени я работаю в WOT и являюсь связующим звеном между WOT и русскими пользователями. Моя задача: познакомить как можно больше русскоязычных пользователей Интернета с WOT. Я буду сообщать о самых интересных новостях и заметках про WOT, собранных по всему миру. Я уверенна, что вместе мы сделаем Интернет безопаснее. Буду очень рада познакомиться с нынешними WOT пользователями и получить советы по расширению русского WOT сообщества.

Yours,

Surfing Girl :)

Sicher online einkaufen / Secure shopping online

Deborah S. — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 09:15:55 +0000

Sicher online einkaufen

Online shopping season is upon us again, and WOT can help you navigate those too-good-to-be-true bargain websites. You will feel safer doing business with e-commerce sites that the WOT community knows and trusts, so check out the reputation before you give your credit card number.

For our German speaking WOT users, take a look at the fantastic video, Sicher online einkaufen, and accompanying article, produced by German television show Angeklickt (Clicked). Host Jörg Schieb recommends using Web of Trust when shopping online to protect yourself and distinguish good websites from the bad.

Herr Schieb described WOT as "an international, virtual consumer network" of connected Internet users exchanging their experiences with online stores and websites. That's an accurate description, and after this weekend we are even more international because lots of new German users joined the WOT community.

Danke, Angeklict, for featuring WOT, and Willkommen to all our new German users.

How to Improve Your Website's Reputation

Deborah S. — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 10:39:27 +0000

You put a lot of effort into attracting visitors to your site. But you probably have bigger goals than attracting attention. Most website owners want their site to be:

Trusted
Engaged with
Purchased from
Discussed
Referred to

If you expect a customer to give you their credit card information, they are going to have to feel a strong level of trust in your business. Showing a high level of professionalism is vital to the credibility of your website.

A few years back Stanford University compiled a list of 10 guidelines for building the credibility of a website. These guidelines are based on three years of research and on several studies about that topic. Although the information is not new, it is still very important if you want to be successful with your online business.

Guidelines for Credibility from Stanford University
What Makes a Website Credible? (PDF)

Increase your site’s trustworthiness and credibility

Consider the look and design of your site

It may not seem fair, but people really do judge a book by its cover, and by extension, a website by its design. Studies have proven that many people look for visual cues when assessing a site’s credibility. When designing your site, pay attention to layout, typography, images, consistency issues, and style because these all affect how users perceive your website and what kind of image you project.

Make your site easy to use

Sites that are easy to navigate are perceived as being more trustworthy. Keep your navigation consistent throughout the entire website. The functionality of a site also contributes to the overall trustworthiness. For example, if the site is down, links are broken, or search features are not helpful, it can hurt how people perceive your site. Check regularly for errors such as broken links, bad grammar, or pages that don't display correctly.

Make it easy to contact you

If the only contact information you supply is an email address or a contact form, it is unlikely that a customer will give you credit card information. Consider including a ‘Contact Us’ page on your website, not only for the convenience of your visitors, but because it’s a tool to convert visitors into customers. For visitors to identify your site as a legitimate business, your Contact Us page should include:

Company name
Your name
Phone number
A physical address
A business email address

Protect your customers' privacy

Let your customers know your information privacy guidelines upfront. Display a link to your privacy policy from every page on your site. If you don’t have one, take a look at these policy generators:

Federal Trade Commission's Guide for Business
OECD Privacy Statement Generator
Direct Marketing Association Privacy Policy Generator

Display a trust seal

Display seals and badges that help instill credibility and confidence. The Community Trust Network trust seals show visitors to your site that it is trusted by the WOT community. If you are a member of the Better Business Bureau, or your local Chamber of Commerce, put that badge on your website too.

Please share other reputation building tips below.

Site owners benefit from WOT’s new Community Trust Network

Deborah S. — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 09:43:23 +0000

Today WOT is happy to introduce the Community Trust Network. The Community Trust Network (CTN) will help online businesses use their high reputations to improve credibility, build customer trust, increase conversions and boost sales.

The WOT community has rated millions of websites for trustworthiness, vendor reliability, privacy and child safety. That important work protects Internet users worldwide because WOT users recognize that sites lacking privacy protection, support and good security practices can put them at risk. Website owners can benefit from this community-based knowledge by showing customers and visitors that their site is trusted by the WOT community.

The Community Trust Network Seal

By displaying Community Trust Network seals on your site, visitors know instantly that your site is trusted. If the customer wants to verify the authenticity or leave feedback, they click on the seal to open the certificate and rating window.

When you join the Community Trust Network you get:

Trust seals & Rate us buttons to place on your website
An editable CTN certificate with your current WOT ratings and comments
An easy-to-use feedback tool
Reputation alerts to inform you of changes in your ratings

Learn more about how the Community Trust Network can help you use your great reputation to the best advantage.

Read the press release

Cybercriminals playing nasty Halloween tricks

Deborah S. — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 16:19:15 +0000

PandaLabs is reporting an increase in poisoned search terms related to Halloween costumes, related food recipes, haunted house directions, Halloween parties and the movie Halloween. The links lead to fake anti-virus software.

Other security experts are warning users to be wary of unsolicited email messages in the days leading up to Halloween. Typical scams include online greetings cards, or links to holiday sites such as the 'dancing skeleton' attack. The messages often contain a Trojan attachment or a link to a malicious page disguised as a greetings card or video file.

Please rate Halloween-related sites so all WOT users will know whether they are trustworthy or not. And have a safe and Happy Halloween!

Enter the Community Trust contest to win 3 free months membership

Deborah S. — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 08:25:24 +0000

The Community Trust contest

You already have a great reputation with WOT users. What if there was a way to show all your visitors, not only WOT users, that your site is trusted, so they would be confident to do business with you?

Whether you want visitors to make a purchase, download something, or sign up for your newsletter, the Community Trust Network can help.

What you will win

Ten website owners will receive 3 free months membership in the new WOT Community Trust Network. For 3 months, we give you the tools to

show visitors that your site is trusted
give your customers the ability to rate and review your site
keep track of your online reputation

How to Enter

Write a paragraph answering this question: As a site owner, what is your biggest challenge to get people to register, to complete a purchase, or to participate on your site?
Post the paragraph on your blog or Facebook page with a link back to this blog posting, and/or post your paragraph in the comments section below.
Email us the paragraph by Wednesday, October 28, 2009 to make sure you are entered in the contest.

Who is eligible?

The Community Trust contest is open to website owners who want to use their excellent or good reputation ratings to:

boost sales
increase consumer confidence
convert visitors into customers
gather valuable feedback
improve customer service and satisfaction

Contest Rules:

The WOT team will select the best 10 entries on Wednesday, October 28, 2009. You must have an excellent or good WOT rating, and you must comply with all three steps above to be eligible to win. The winners will be notified via email by Monday, November 2, and be willing to be included in WOT marketing materials (website, Inside MyWOT newsletter, Twitter, etc.)

Why are we doing this?

There are many small and medium-sized websites that could use help differentiating themselves from their competitors. We have created The Community Trust Network as a way for you to emphasize your excellent reputation and build a positive relationship with customers. The 3 months CTN membership we are giving away will be in exchange for the feedback we hope to get.

WOT Source Code on the Wiki

Deborah S. — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 14:38:39 +0000

The source code for the WOT add-ons is now available for download on the WOT wiki. Get the WOT source code here.

October Inside MyWOT newsletter

Deborah S. — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 13:42:45 +0000

After a dreamy summer with long lazy days and sunny picnics, we are back at WOT HQ working full-steam ahead. It was fun to put together the October Inside MyWOT because we have much to share.

Our primary task is preparing the Community Trust Network for launch next month. But other exciting things are happening too - we are honored to be nominated for a prestigious award; we are getting some local press attention; developers are happy with our new API; and our add-on for Google Chrome made the news in several places.

Please take a few minutes to browse through the newsletter.

Read Inside MyWOT (PDF format)
http://www.mywot.com/newsletter

Free trial of Panda Security Global Protection 2010

Deborah S. — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 08:16:06 +0000

WOT users are invited to try out Global Protection 2010 free for one month!

Global Protection 2010 is Panda Security's most complete security solution. It includes improved detection and protection technologies and a new engine with 80 percent less memory consumption to ensure that users have the best protection in the most resource-friendly solution.

Too many people neglect backing up important files, but Global Protection makes it easy by providing 5GB free space online for your files. If your files are accidentally lost or damaged, you can easily restore them.

Download one month free trial of Global Protection 2010 now!

Global Protection is part of the new ultra-light 2010 consumer solutions from Panda Security which also include Panda Antivirus Pro 2010 or Panda Internet Security 2010 suite. If you decide to purchase the solution after your trial, WOT gratefully receives a part of the proceeds.

WOT prepares the Community Trust Network for November launch

Deborah S. — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 08:37:00 +0000

WOT members have rated millions of websites based on their knowledge and experiences. Site owners increasingly recognize the important contributions of our active and passionate community and the benefits they can derive from an excellent reputation.

To help site owners use their reputation to the best advantage, WOT is introducing the Community Trust Network this November.

Trust is at the heart of every transaction

For e-commerce sites, maintaining a good reputation is critical to their business success. It increases consumer confidence and helps them attract new customers. The Community Trust Network (CTN) is for websites that have earned an excellent or good rating from the WOT community. We provide site owners with tools to share WOT’s rating information with visitors and to collect feedback and ratings within a fair, unbiased, easy-to-use system that will attract new customers to their site.

What's in it for WOT?

We hope we can earn some income. WOT Services is a real company, but we have been dependent on our investors. We have employees, electric bills, server fees, and we occasionally need paper for our printer, so we hope the CTN will generate some income for us to stand on our own feet, while benefiting site owners.

Our community's support is vitally important to us. You are the most important asset we have, and our first priority is keeping the trust that we have established with you intact. We strive to be transparent in our business plans and keep you informed. Our goal of helping people stay safe on the Web remains the same.

Please stand behind us as we launch the CTN. As always, thank you for your important work.