How to Know If You Can Trust an eCommerce Website

Doing business online is convenient in today’s quick-paced, advancing world. However, purchasing things online can also be sketchy, if you can’t trust the website. This is why it is important to know how to trust a website. 
 

The main thing to look for is a secure trust seal. Besides having an SSL certificate, most secure websites will display a third-party security seal on their main page to show consumers that their information is kept private and secure.

So, what is a Trust Seal? A trust seal is an image or logo that online business owners can obtain for their website from trusted third-party verification companies like Trust Guard.

This trust seal is not easy for business owners to acquire. In order to have a trust seal displayed on your website, businesses must go through a series of privacy, business identity and website and server security vulnerability tests to see if they are processing credit cards safely. They must be PCI Compliant to obtain one of these trust seals.

Being PCI Compliant means that you comply with all of the security standards of the Payment Card Industry. In order for a business to be compliant they are also required to take a self-assessment questionnaire. This verifies that they are running credit card transactions securely. This SAQ goes through a detailed set of questions that must be answered correctly in order for the business owner to be approved as a PCI Compliant company.

Also, to obtain a secure trust seal, the website and server have to go through a security scan. This security scan goes through the business owner’s website and internet to check for viruses and ensure that everything is protected. This decreases the chances of allowing hackers to access and infiltrate the site.

When purchasing a product online, it is important that consumers know whether or not they are visiting a website that can be trusted. The best way for consumers to know if they can trust a website for online purchases is to see if the site has a security seal boldly displayed on it.