The website credibility score: rate your site out of 10

Key takeaways

The GBL Credibility Score rates a website out of 10 on five signals: real, competent, proven, current and open. Each signal is scored 0, 1 or 2. It takes about 20 minutes with a phone and a notepad, and the lowest-scoring signal is almost always the cheapest place to start.

• Score five signals from 0 to 2 each, for a total out of 10.
• Score on a phone first, because most visitors arrive on one.
• A score of 7 or below usually means visible doubt for new buyers.
• Fix the lowest signal first, then re-score after the changes.

What is the GBL Credibility Score?

The GBL Credibility Score is a 10-point method Global Bridge Labs (GBL) uses to rate how believable a business website looks to a first-time visitor. It is a working method built from our delivery experience and the Stanford guidelines for web credibility, not an industry standard. Its value is turning a vague feeling into specific fixes.

• How website design influences brand credibility
• The Stanford web credibility guidelines, applied today

How do you score each of the five signals?

Score each signal 0 if it is missing, 1 if it is partly there and 2 if a stranger would find it within a minute. Be strict: if you have to explain where something is, it scores 1 at most.

• Real: named people with photos, a company number, an address or service area.
• Competent: a cared-for look, no errors, forms and links that work on a phone.
• Proven: named, dated reviews, case studies with numbers, accreditations you hold.
• Current: recent dates on news or blog, current team, prices and copyright year.
• Open: prices or ranges, how you work, policies and reply times stated clearly.

• The four types of website credibility, explained
• A 'How we work' page: show the process buyers buy

What do the scores mean?

A score of 9 or 10 means credibility is unlikely to be what holds enquiries back. A score of 7 or 8 means one or two signals are weak and some buyers will hesitate. A score of 6 or below means most new visitors have a visible reason to doubt you, and fixing it should come before spending on more traffic.

• Does website credibility affect conversion rate?

Which signal should you fix first?

Fix the lowest-scoring signal first, unless a security warning or broken form is involved, which always comes first. Real and proven are usually the cheapest to raise: photos, names, a company number and three good reviews can move a score by three or four points in a week.

• Website credibility quick wins you can make this week
• 'Not secure' warning on your website: what it means

What are the limits of a self-score?

You know your business too well to see it as a stranger does. Use the score as a starting point, then test it with three to five people who do not know you, using a five-minute first-impression test. Their reasons will be more useful than your score.

• How to test your website's credibility with real people
• User testing for small business websites

What does this look like in practice?

A pattern we see: an owner scores their site 8, a stranger scores it 5. The owner knew the team page existed and the reviews were real; the stranger could not find the team page and the reviews had no names. Moving both onto the homepage closed most of the gap.

• See client work
• Website Design & Development for UK businesses

Credibility score checklist

• Open the site on a phone, not your desktop.
• Score each signal 0, 1 or 2 against the definitions.
• Write one fix for every signal below 2.
• Ask three strangers to repeat the score.
• Fix the lowest signal and re-score in 30 days.

• A 90-day plan to make your website more credible
• Website design review: score your own site in 30 minutes

Next step

Score your site today and write the total down. That is your credibility baseline.