Building Trust Through Your Startup’s Website: What Investors and Customers Look For
Introduction
When you are a startup, first impressions can make or break opportunities—especially when pitching to investors or attracting early customers. Your website, often the first touchpoint for both audiences, serves as a critical tool for building trust, showcasing credibility, and demonstrating your focus.
Investors are looking for signals of a well-run, focused business. Customers are looking for clarity and confidence in what you offer. A website that feels polished, professional, and easy to navigate helps you deliver on both fronts.
But what does that actually look like in practice?
In this article, we’ll explore what investors and customers want to see on your startup’s website and share actionable tips to help you create a strong, trust-building digital presence.
Why Your Website Matters for Investors and Customers
If you're thinking about your website like it's just a digital brochure, you may be missing the point. A quality website is a hardworking member of your team––making and processing sales, pitching your story and values, and delivering your brand’s first impression on a daily basis. Both investors and customers reference it to evaluate your credibility, professionalism, and attention to detail.
For investors, a well-constructed website signals focus and maturity—qualities they expect in a startup ready to scale. They want to see:
Clear messaging about your product, service, and value proposition.
Signs of traction, such as logos of valuable partnerships, customer testimonials, press mentions, or case studies.
A professional presentation that reflects a team capable of executing.
For customers, your website is a trust-building tool that helps them:
Understand what you do, how it solves their problem, and why they should choose you.
Make purchases or sign up for services.
Connect with you for more information.
A poor user experience, broken links, or vague messaging can bolster doubts and push potential investors and customers away.
A strong website shows both investors and customers that your startup is ready to succeed. We're going to dig in deeper on some key areas to focus on while designing your website.
1. Clean User Navigation: Make the Journey Clear and Actionable
Your navigation menus, footer, buttons and backlinks are all very important players in the user journey, but a smooth user journey comes from a clear idea of the experience you want your visitors to have. User navigation is about creating a seamless journey that guides visitors to the actions you want them to take. Whether it’s booking a demo, subscribing to updates, or making a purchase, the process should feel simple and intuitive.
Actionable tips for clean navigation:
Clear pathways: Design with intent. Use logical menus, organized pages, and prominent calls-to-action (CTAs) that align with your goals. Put yourself in the shoes of your visitor to make sure you're giving them pathways to get the information they need.
Avoid overwhelming choices: Too many options can create decision fatigue. Keep your CTAs focused on the primary actions you want users to take.
Consistency across pages: Maintain consistent navigation tools, buttons, and design elements. Make sure your navigation tools feel like navigation tools (ex. does the button change in some way when someone hovers over it or clicks it?)
Example: A SaaS company might prioritize a CTA like “Book a Free Demo” on their homepage, with pathways that naturally lead visitors to the demo form.
Key takeaway: A clean, intuitive user journey keeps visitors engaged, ensures they find what they need, and creates positive brand experience.
2. Quality Copywriting: Your Story, Your Reputation
Your website’s copy needs to strike a balance between storytelling and clarity. Investors and customers alike should be able to quickly understand your startup’s value and why they should trust you.
How to approach quality copywriting:
Focus on clarity: Avoid jargon and overly technical language unless they directly serve your audience.
Reflect your Key Reputation Goals (KRGs): Think about the reputation you want to build—innovative, reliable, customer-focused—and let that guide your tone and content.
Make it scannable: It's important to help visitors get to the info they want quickly without having to read walls of text. Use headlines, subheadings, and bullet points to break up large blocks and make it more approachable to different types of readers.
Proofread for errors: Spelling and grammatical mistakes erode trust and credibility quickly. Employ a spellchecker and grammar checker (or AI tools) to make sure you tackle this before it becomes an issue.
Copywriting is a skill that takes years to hone, so don't feel frustrated if it doesn't come naturally to you. Work with a mentor or coach to help guide your copy on the website if you feel some extra guidance is needed.
Here’s an example:
Vague: “We’re innovative and offer great solutions.”
Clear: “We’ve helped 50+ companies streamline operations, reducing costs by an average of 30%.”
Key takeaway: Thoughtful, polished copy positions your business as credible and capable, while helping visitors connect with your story.
3. Imagery and Video: Visual Storytelling That Builds Trust
Visual elements are key for capturing attention and building trust. High-quality images and videos help convey professionalism and evoke emotion, driving connection and credibility.
In many cases, using your smartphone to get images or videos can get the job done on a budget, but if you are bootstrapping your visual assets, be sure to take some time to research techniques to improve the outcome. Also, be sure to try different approaches to choose your best option.
When to invest capital or extra time in custom visuals:
Team photos: Authentic team photos help humanize your brand and build trust with investors and customers.
Product demos or explainer videos: For startups with complex solutions, videos are a powerful way to simplify your value proposition.
Brand-aligned visuals: If visuals are central to your brand story, consider investing in custom content that reflects your reputation goals.
When stock imagery works (and when it doesn’t):
Use stock imagery for general visuals, but avoid clichéd, overly staged, or generic photos (e.g., generic “smiling people in suits”). Select images that align with your brand identity.
Quick tip: Free tools like Unsplash or Pexels offer high-quality stock imagery, but invest in unique content as your budget grows.
Key takeaway: Every visual element on your website should support your story and reinforce trust.
4. Details Matter: Consistency and Polish Make All the Difference
While “done is better than perfect” is often true for business owners, certain details can’t be overlooked. Small errors and inconsistencies may seem minor, but they undermine trust and signal a lack of focus.
Pay special attention to avoid:
Broken links: Test your website regularly to ensure all links work.
Inconsistent fonts and design: Maintain visual consistency across pages to present a polished, professional look.
Site speed and responsiveness: Slow-loading pages frustrate users and hurt SEO rankings. Optimize for speed and mobile viewing as much as possible, or bring in help to address site speed issues.
As an agency, we always employ a checklist when getting ready to launch a new website or new pages on a site. Borrow from our process by leveraging this simplified checklist:
Do all links and buttons work? Do off-site links open in a new tab or window?
Are all fonts, colors, and layouts consistent?
Do pages load quickly and look good on desktop and phone?
Has the copy been proofread for spelling and grammar errors?
Key takeaway: Details may seem small, but they reflect the professionalism of your startup.
5. Build for Scalability: A Website That Grows With You
As your startup evolves, your website must evolve with it. A scalable, easy-to-update website shows investors that you’re prepared for growth.
Tips for building a scalable website:
Use flexible platforms like WordPress or Webflow that allow you to add new pages or content easily.
Plan for growth areas: blogs, case studies, team pages, or product features.
Prioritize simplicity: Avoid over-engineering the website early on; focus on essentials with room to expand.
Key takeaway: A future-ready website demonstrates long-term planning and scalability.
Conclusion
A trustworthy, well-designed website can sometimes seem like just another thing on the to-do list for founders. But it is more than that! Your website is a powerful tool for attracting both investors and customers, and improving your business processes to boot. By focusing on clean navigation, quality copywriting, thoughtful visuals, and consistent polish, your website can build trust, showcase credibility, and drive action.
Take the time to assess your website today: Is it guiding users effectively? Is it telling your story? Does it reflect the professionalism and focus your startup embodies?
Trust is built in the details, and a strong website can set the foundation for confident growth.
If you’re feeling lost, look toward resources in your startup community, including accelerators like SCAPE, startup weeks like West Slope Startup Week, or other startups in your area for guidance and input.
What’s one change you can make to improve trust on your website today? Let us know! And feel free to reach out if you'd like a complimentary website review.
About the Author:
Kelsey Parks is the Co-Founder and COO of Psyche Digital, a Hesperus-based digital creative agency for growth-stage startups. She brings her 15+ years experience in tech startup operations in North America and China to create change for businesses of all sizes with marketing technology solutions and operational insights. She is a casual-paced burro racer, and weekend warrior rock band lead singer.
