8 Terrible Mistakes to Avoid in a New Website

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Building trust on a new website remains a significant challenge for startups and emerging entrepreneurs. In today’s era of rapid technological advancement, cybercrime has unfortunately become a widespread byproduct.

8 Terrible Mistakes to Avoid in a New Website Millions of people lose money online every day to fraudulent websites and fall victim to online scammers.

While users continue to place blind trust in well-established brands, they approach new websites with heightened caution before sharing personal data, contact details, or payment information. In this article, we explore eight common mistakes that new websites can easily avoid to build and maintain customer trust.

Let’s dive in.

8 Reasons People Don’t Trust Your Website

Mistake 1: Not displaying the right trust badges and logos

Trust badges are small visual elements that instantly communicate authority and reliability. Some can be added directly from the web, others require payment, and certain certifications demand specific qualifications. These icons often prove more effective than text alone. Here’s how trust badges typically appear:

8 Terrible Mistakes to Avoid in a New Website

Always create such logos yourself or provide proper attribution when sourcing them from third parties.

Security-related trust badges require proper qualification. For example, displaying an SSL/TLS security badge is only permitted after installing the corresponding certificate. Here’s how security badges look:

Partnership marketing with brands: If your business partners with well-known companies or serves reputable clients, showcase their logos and names prominently across your site, including the footer.

8 Terrible Mistakes to Avoid in a New Website

Here’s an example of how displaying customer logos can enhance your website’s credibility.

Mistake 2: Deceptive content

Many startups, eager to drive quick traffic, fall into content and SEO pitfalls.

1) Fake Clickbait Content: Clickbait refers to sensational headlines designed to attract clicks, often failing to deliver on their promises. For instance, a title promising a “Flat 75% Discount on Entire Store” may lead to an expired or restricted coupon. Similarly, blog posts with enticing titles sometimes contain outdated, impractical, or purely promotional content.

While clickbait can generate short-term traffic spikes, it increases bounce rates and erodes long-term trust.

8 Terrible Mistakes to Avoid in a New Website 2) Keyword Stuffing: This involves unnaturally repeating target keywords in content, meta tags, descriptions, titles, and anchor text to manipulate search rankings. Google provides a clear example of keyword stuffing:

We sell custom cigar humidors. Our custom cigar humidors are handmade. If you’re thinking of buying a custom cigar humidor, please contact our custom cigar humidor specialists at [email protected].

While this tactic might seem appealing, it risks SEO penalties. Focus instead on delivering genuine value to users rather than attempting to outsmart search algorithms. Tools such as copywritely.com, georanker.com, or WordPress plugins like YoastSEO can help detect and prevent keyword stuffing.

3) Plagiarism: Plagiarism triggers SEO penalties. To avoid unintentional duplication, use platforms like Copyscape or Grammarly Plagiarism Checker before publishing any content on web pages, landing pages, and blogs.

Mistake 3: Review manipulation

Approximately 40% of Amazon shoppers make purchases based on reviews they trust. Deleting negative feedback or manipulating ratings may seem tempting, yet users eventually notice and lose confidence in your entire platform. Amazon earns trust precisely because it does not remove negative reviews and sellers cannot alter them.

8 Terrible Mistakes to Avoid in a New Website Instead of removing negative reviews, respond professionally and offer solutions such as replacements, refunds, or future discounts. Keep these interactions visible so prospective customers can see how you handle issues. When one product shows a lower rating, users are more likely to trust higher-rated products, recognizing your honesty.

Third-party review sites: Feature reviews from Trustpilot, Shopper Approved, Yelp, Google Reviews, and Facebook. Industry-specific platforms such as thedermreview.com (cosmetics) or drugs.com and webmd.com (pharmaceuticals) can also add credibility.

Partnership with brands: If you have a partnership with well-known brands, or you provide services to reputed companies, don’t forget to include their logos and names on almost every page of your website or in the footer. Below is an example of how credible your website can look with customers’ logos.

Mistake 4: No real person to highlight

Even if your website design and business concept are compelling, visitors often want to know who stands behind the company. Absence of real people—owners or team members—raises suspicion.

Create a dedicated “Team,” “Meet Our Team,” or “Management Team” page featuring photos and short bios of key members. Highlight their experience, qualifications, and credentials, and link to their LinkedIn profiles. Use authentic images of employees, team activities, and the workplace rather than stock photos. This simple step reassures visitors that real, qualified individuals run the business.

Mistake 5: Not providing quick support

Startups often operate with limited budgets and cannot staff 24/7 live chat or phone support. Yet customers expect prompt responses to questions or concerns. Chatbots offer an effective middle ground.

8 Terrible Mistakes to Avoid in a New Website Deploy chatbots on your website and social media channels. They are cost-effective and easy to implement. Research shows chatbots can deliver 266% higher conversion than average social ads. According to Twitter studies, 37% of users wanted to share opinions about products or brands, while 25% contacted chatbots for product information.

These interactions represent valuable leads. Chatbots provide professional, AI-powered responses and, when necessary, collect contact details while assuring users that a real person will follow up shortly.

Mistake 6: Not being compliant or not highlighting it properly

Failing to comply with data privacy and security regulations can severely damage credibility, especially among tech-savvy or industry-specific audiences.

Ensure compliance with regulations such as GDPR/The Data Protection Act, HIPAA, PCI-DSS, and SOX (Sarbanes-Oxley Act). Once compliant, highlight this status clearly—on product and checkout pages for PCI-DSS, or near forms for GDPR when serving European customers. Compliance badges and logos can further reinforce trust.

8 Terrible Mistakes to Avoid in a New Website

Always create compliance logos yourself, use properly licensed stock images, or credit the original source.

Additionally, display disclaimers, terms and conditions, privacy policies, and cookie policies wherever relevant.

Mistake 7: Missing a padlock sign

Many entrepreneurs mistakenly believe that using third-party payment processors such as PayPal, Google Pay, or Amazon Pay eliminates the need for TLS encryption. This is a critical oversight for two reasons.

1) Security: Any data entered on your site—names, emails, addresses, or payment details—remains your responsibility to protect. Even a basic “Contact Us” form contains sensitive information. Without TLS encryption, hackers can easily intercept this data, leading to breaches, reputational damage, and legal consequences.

8 Terrible Mistakes to Avoid in a New Website 2) Trust issues: Browsers display an alarming “Not secure” warning without an SSL/TLS certificate. This visible signal immediately undermines visitor confidence.

Install an SSL/TLS certificate promptly to replace the warning with a padlock icon, the universal symbol of security.

Mistake 8: Contact form’s limited scope

Restricting contact forms to sales inquiries only creates a negative impression. While specific lead forms (“Request Demo,” “Schedule an Appointment”) belong on dedicated landing pages, the main “Contact” page should offer an open-ended form allowing visitors to reach out about any topic—questions, feedback, or complaints. This demonstrates that your business values genuine interaction beyond transactions.

Stop Making Mistakes with your New Website

Users are increasingly cautious about trusting new online platforms as cybercrimes continue to rise. In 2026, the Consumer Sentinel Network received 4.7 million complaints about online scams. Victims lost approximately $3.3 billion due to these frauds. While your business may operate with integrity, clearly communicating trustworthiness remains essential. Avoid the mistakes outlined above to help visitors feel safe and secure on your website.

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