Sound can be used in a several ways on your website. Firstly it can be used as background music so when the page loads a theme will play automatically. This can be useful if you have a theme or jingle instantly recognisable or synonymous with your company, think Coronation Street.
Secondly and probably the most popular use of sound on a website is using sound bites. A Sound bite is normally a small piece of sound which is attached to a player or button so when the user clicks it the sound bite plays. This is used mostly on sites such as www.amazon.com and www.hmv.co.uk were the user can actually listen to clips of tracks before they buy them.
Although not as common in use sound can also be used as a navigation tool within your website. By including a tiny sound clip behind your sites navigational links or buttons it will confirm to the user that a link has been clicked reassuring them.
Have you read Alison’s post about putting your real-world address on your Contact page? I was so pleased to find out that it’s a legal requirement because I’ve been trying to get people to do just that for ages. It’s such an easy way to build up trust with the visitors to your site. And being trusted is crucial when you’re operating online, in a virtual world.
People do business with people. And that’s why its wise to let personality shine through on your site. Slick, shiny and glossy is fine. But people will trust you far more if they know there’s a face behind the machine. So ask yourself these simple questions:
- Do we know who you are? Tell us a little bit about the people behind your business. You don’t have to write too much — just make your people come alive.
- Are there any photos of you and your staff? You wouldn’t believe the difference it makes when visitors can see real human beings. And I don’t mean stock photos of models. I mean good quality photos of you and your people.
- Is the tone-of-voice of your copy conversational? People really like to feel they’re being talked to personally rather than talked at. Avoid hard-sell, in-your-face copy. Better to offer solutions rather than quick fixes in a loud voice.
- Are there contact details on every page? And I mean, every page, not just the Contact Us page. If people can’t get hold of you easily they’ll start by being irritated and end up wondering if you’ve got something to hide. (Personal pet peeve showing its colours, there!)
Remember — you need to give visitors to your site reasons to trust you before you can convert them into customers. Adding that personal touch to your website is a powerful first step.
Every company should list its company registration number, place of registration and registered office address on its website as a result of an update to the legislation of 1985. The information, which must be in legible characters, should also appear on order forms and in emails. Such information is already required on ‘business letters’ but the duty is being extended to websites, order forms and electronic documents (including email).
The new legislation came into force last January and requires:
- The name, geographic address and email address of the service provider. The name of the organisation with which the customer is contracting must be given. This might differ from the trading name. Any such difference should be explained – e.g. “XYZ.com is the trading name of XYZ Enterprises Limited.”
It is not sufficient to include a ‘contact us’ form without also providing an email address and geographic address somewhere easily accessible on the site. A PO Box is unlikely to suffice as a geographic address; but a registered office address would. If the business is a company, the registered office address must be included.
- If a company, the company’s registration number should be given and, under the Companies Act, the place of registration should be stated (e.g. “XYZ Enterprises Limited is a company registered in England and Wales with company number 1234567″)
- If the business is a member of a trade or professional association, membership details, including any registration number, should be provided.
- If the business has a VAT number, it should be stated – even if the website is not being used for e-commerce transactions.
- Prices on the website must be clear and unambiguous. Also, state whether prices are inclusive of tax and delivery costs.
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