Credibility

Hello everyone,

I have been wondering how to establish the credibility of a website/domain? As a SysAdmin, I've seen what a good designer can do with minimal data from a client... My walk-though ODP shows, listing of higher credibility websites - ones with an equally strong offline presence, as online.

Looking for suggestions how to evaluate a presentation before accepting the information provided or purchasing a product / service....

You might find this helpful: Stanford Guidelines for Web Credibility.

It has certainly been helpful to Open Directory editors.

You establish the degree of credibility you want with a web site the same way you would with any business, entity, resource etc. Guidelines make a good starting place but are never totally definitive - they have to be tempered with common sense and experience.

As a sysadmin such evaluations should be fairly obvious in that you have to make credibility decisions every day as to appropriate software, user, network usage/behaviours etc. Apply the same techniques to other life sitautions.

Thank you for your comments.

As a sysadmin such evaluations should be fairly obvious in that you have to make credibility decisions every day as to appropriate software, user, network usage/behaviours etc. Apply the same techniques to other life sitautions.

Click to expand...

Offline situations are easier to evaluate, as they enable physical contact & review. However, online offerings being global are not easy to evaluate. Some countries provide good online resources to verify companies, telephone numbers, association memberships, quality certifications and like data. But the majority of the countries this is still absent or at nascent stages... In addition, absence of eye contact with presenter or their location makes evaluation more difficult.

A good seo specialist with a designer, can make a small operator appear big & popular (on the internet)... If the operator/company is in the same/neighbouring country to where the viewer is located, he/she can take offline verification steps. But how to evaluate the credibility of a entity in a country that doesnot have good online resources & is located far away from viewer...

Just to put this in perspective, higher income opportunity exists in locations which are underdeveloped or not easily accessible to masses. So the need to evaluate the credibility of such presentations.

Ah, if a website mentions "income opportunity in inaccessible areas", it's sort of like an e-mail message mentioning a relative of a recently deceased African dictator, or a TV infomercial describing how to buy real estate with NO MONEY DOWN.

There is no more concern for credibility. You can be 100% sure it's a fraud and you're the intended victim.