Would a random person landing on your site from a Google search trust you with their credit card number and address?

For many artists, print studios, and art galleries selling online, “I would hope so” is the best answer they can offer.

With this new feature, we’re setting out to boost the credibility of your website with a series of trust badges that reassure site visitors they’re purchasing from a secure site backed by a third party.

This isn’t something we’ve invented – trust badges are a known factor to improve eCommerce conversions.

Comodo reported in a 2014 article that four out of five online shoppers know what a trust badge means, and 79% of shoppers expect to see a trust badge displayed on a website’s homepage.

So, not showing any trust badges is likely hindering you from acquiring new sales, but it also may be contributing to your cart abandonment rate.

A study conducted by TNA, an independent research firm, found that nearly 70 percent of online shoppers have terminated an online order because they did not trust the transaction.

Of those shoppers, 53 percent of them also indicated that the presence of a seal would have likely prevented the termination.

So, these little badges (or seals) aren’t revolutionary, but they may be the difference that convinces online art buyers to make a purchase with you.

Here’s how it works:

The Trust Bar

Your new badges will sit in the trust bar at the bottom of your site.

When hovering over a badge, a box of additional information pops up to educate site visitors on your return policies, encryption features, and more.

Let’s go through the badges that we are currently offering.

The “Trusted Art Seller” Badge tells your customers you’re backed by a reputable third party organization (Art Storefronts).

Larger organizations are seen as more trust-worthy online, and by connecting yourself to one by enabling the “Trusted Art Seller” badge, you can tap into some of that extra perceived security.

The “Verified Secure Website” Badge confirms to shoppers that your eCommerce system uses SSL encryption – a standard in security technology.

Many site visitors will have seen a badge like this all over the web, and know that it means their sensitive payment info is safe with you.

The “Verified Returns & Exchange Policy” Badge can be enabled if you offer an extensive returns and exchange policy.

Beneath the standard text, you have an opportunity to share your specific site’s return policy and any other notes you would like to appear in this space.

Finally, the “Verified Archival Material” Badge is an important one in our industry. It indicates that your business has provided information about the materials used to create your products.

For the discerning art buyer looking for archival quality work, this can be a huge deal. Write in some information about your materials and processes in the provided box.

How To Implement Trust Badges

The trust bar is available now. It looks great on both light and dark themes, and adds some serious credibility to your eCommerce store – an important factor for any business, but especially for a new one that doesn’t yet have a positive reputation online.