What About Making The Web Customer Confident
A report on the display of corporate websites respecting consumer rights in Quebec.
Hello,
We’re in an era where cybersecurity and data privacy are increasingly understood by the population. Although virtual commerce is regulated in Quebec for the well-being of all consumers, an issue arises regarding the spontaneity of electronic commerce and the verification of the legitimacy of websites.
Purchases on fraudulent sites, inaccurate deal confirmation emails and a growing number of spam and scams are creating more and more problems in homes.
What should a merchant publish on a website to demonstrate legality? What should consumers check before pressing the express buy button? How can we, the visitor, reader or buyer, ensure our consumer rights are respected? This report is necessary.
In this report :
Learn why the first few seconds on your website can make or break the user experience.
Discover how to build trust with clear design, reassuring messages, and smart structure.
Get practical tips to improve your homepage and keep visitors engaged from the start.
MusicScore: This paper was written while listening to the British electro group Goldfrapp. Here is their hit: Number 1. I love this video! #dogsOfInstagram!
The use of technology by all generations
Introduction from the Monthly Ticket’s editorial, Jan 2025.
The consumer movement is well established towards virtual shopping. Mostly aware, using secure platforms and enriched with comments, opinions and ideas for use. If you’re reading this monthly, you have probably been shopping online for a long time and no longer have any problem understanding a purchasing routine. We fill out the form, pay and receive.
It’s different for all generations of consumers. Let’s generalize here and talk about generations born before the 1980s; who didn’t grow up with the Internet? These latter, less experienced users don’t always verify the authenticity of the merchant, click on offers that come from spam or worse, make the wrong password during platform double authentication and block their email, account and access.
Add the anxiety coming from ignorance of the virtual world and the discomfort in explaining the sequence leading to an error message or other, which is normal.
Let’s take the time to explain
Come on techies, let’s not leave these Internet users merciless. Let’s help all generations of our population to use the Internet and technology intelligently, and virtual means of authentication. I even believe that we will free up a lot of waiting time in service calls from certain companies.
First thing to check is the data usage of the website publisher
Regardless of the place of publication, a customer, admirer or consumer expects a merchant to request agreement, or refusal, to share their data on sites visited for the first time.
In 2025, consumers must suspect the integrity of sites that don’t ask for it, usually at the site entrance in the form of a banner or pop-up. Note that Canadian merchants and traders must respect this digital commerce law and international commerce. All websites in the world must comply, period.
Now, we no longer go to a site that doesn’t ask us for our consent or our refusal to disclose our data. Sites and merchants that don’t demonstrate this notice should be classified as sites to be suspected.
In Quebec, we can refer to Bill 25 which, broadly speaking, governs electronic commerce and the use and security of web visitor data since 2021. Each merchant had to implement secure methods of use and backup data of customers, employees and anyone providing personal information to the company by September 22, 2024.
Law 25 develops guidelines on the application of the Access Act and the Privacy Act; impose administrative monetary penalties on businesses; Initiate criminal proceedings for violations of the Privacy Act.
Commission d’accès à l’information du Québec.
Yes, indeed, a fraudulent website can have a data authorization pop-up that we accept. We, as consumers, must check something else to ensure the legitimacy of a website.
How do you check the integrity of a website?
From the moment we see this stunning pair of boots in an ad on Instagram or in our email inbox, what should we check? How to be vigilant on the Internet and ensure the legality of the offer?
The Web Layout of the Information Sections
Whether we publish an article for a blog, a text to present a service on our website or a message on a Facebook page, it’s important to adjust the writing style and content to each information distribution platform. For the information pages of a website, the layout and writing of the content will be professional, neutral and classic. These aren’t the pages where it’s advisable to let go crazy in design or composition, at the risk of not being understood or taken seriously.
A website is visited by several generations of visitors. It must be in order and up to date, include contact information and legal aspects of all its versions (computer, tablet and mobile) to encourage a feeling of well-being for all age groups of the population. That said, security and legal aspects are also part of a good customer experience.
Focus on Clarity and Understanding Above All
Yes, in selling at the level of business information pages, there are many more things to look at and manage that take precedence over the beauty of the images or videos, of a superb design, but which takes too much time to download, and other technological aspects.
An important company information page should rather be referenced as much as possible, with order and content grouped by subjects, including precise texts and without spelling errors with the keywords above all. On the online side, it’s also necessary to consider, for example, the lightness of the layout, the location of information in the purchasing process, or the speed of downloading pages, to improve the customer experience.
Universal communication
The presentation elements of our brand must often reach several facets of the public and sections dedicated to the media, sponsors and suppliers will eventually need to be on websites in places where all readers are accustomed to find this information.
Yes, it’s tempting to get involved with the complex layout, but remember that you aren’t the primary user of your tool. You have to be careful and build your site for customers, so that your products and services are well explained, presented and above all, understood.
Sometimes it’s better to put design aside and go with a presentation and layout oriented towards a better understanding of the visitor. Imagine how many emails you can save just by positioning some information more prominently. This will reduce your costs, simplify your tasks and save time.
Info Page Editing Tips
Necessary web pages for business sites
Of course, information pages are required. Our site must have an about section, a contact page and terms of use (including our actions on confidentiality, use of the site and instructions for purchase, delivery and refunds). The personalization of this mandatory content will rather be in the layout and presentation, where we can focus on the little things, without exaggeration, which will make the difference between our service and our competitors. What makes us original and unique.
Home page
An inviting page that summarizes our business, the products and services offered and the important facts of our company. Besides satisfying search tools through SEO techniques, a functioning home page invites the visitor to the purchasing process or the desired information pages. Hence the importance of paying attention to the download time of our page, the operability of all internal and external links and recurring updates.
On the contrary, a home page that doesn’t work will have inaccurate content, a distorted sales path, and a high return rate, indicating that the visitor leaves the site. Check spelling, current vocabulary used in your field (keywords), relevant visuals. Employing expressions that people and clients use when talking about your offer in our introductory sentences, products and services pages is a great way to be understood. Then use more precise vocabulary and complicated words on different pages.
Let’s remember the home page is the reception of a company. Like in an office, we don’t immediately enter in the laboratory, there is a reception. From the home page, we make sales path using several explanatory pages and tabs, diversifying our content with music, clips, galleries of large images that aren’t on our home page, but which open on a feature page. So the weight of the home page remains low and it downloads quickly.
About
The page telling who the company is and presenting the team and the technology used, the values and principles of the company and why not the history or biography!
Since the very beginning of my career, about pages have always had a good percentage of visits in the annual statistics of a business website. This is a page where it’s better to put SEO techniques and define the parameters of the page. Moreover, you will notice that we see the relevant link in the company pages of the search tools.
The about page is also a great place to add a bit of originality and links to related pages. For example, for a children’s book site, games at the end of the page with the main characters to be found in a setting image opening on a new tab would be useful both for parents and kids and for the website’s statistics (number of cliques, visit time per page, game sharing on social media encouraging visits to the site, etc.).
Contact Details
The company’s administrative and contact information page is also important. This shouldn’t be underestimated and I invite you to disclose your postal, email and telephone details.
Many use forms to avoid entering their company contact details, such as self-employed and travelling workers who don’t have an office and fixed working hours; We don’t all want to receive our clients at home or especially see them show up in the middle of a family lunch unexpectedly.
I understand very well the reasons for not displaying the address, email or opening hours on digital tools, but I tend to advise entrepreneurs to register or at least give visitors an idea of availability if not mentioned, such as:
Working hours, according to the contract, contact for more information.
Changing working hours to be determined due to external mandates
Emails taken once a day within 48 working hours to serve you well please.
Finally, a contact page can also be completed, like the about section, with informative internal links, such as blog articles, a display of your sales and promotions or new tour dates.
Policies, purchasing instructions and delivery
Yes, in the last paragraph there was the word confidential. Which brings us to talk about the information, notions and legal policies that each merchant must display on their website, depending on the business they carry out.
In short, a consumer must have the same protection online as in store regarding their acquisitions. Purchasing or contractual instructions therefore serve to protect the customer and the merchant, who also has recourse in the event of cancellation or otherwise. I invite you to consult the website of the Consumer Protection Office (OPC) regarding the obligations of merchants, such as contact details, details and descriptions of products and services to be provided during purchase, information on costs and delivery or exchange and refund laws and conditions.
Conclusion
To be understood and used, isn’t that the goal of all functional web pages?
Take the time to demonstrate the company’s direction, future development projects and other information that we want to know from you to develop long-term business relationships through great web pages that present your business in an original and professional way.
Let’s make sure that our communications are read and understood by the entire population and don’t offend half the city ;).
Thank you, see you on the blog,
Jeff
Sources:
OPC Latest News Section. Article in French: Connaissez-vous les règles sur le contrat conclu à distance.
Commission d’accès à l’information du Québec. Article in French: Principaux changements aux lois sur la protection des renseignements personnels.
Cr Images and Production: W+M Services.
Websites - creation, management and design
I edit the content of existing sites via CMS in addition to creating sites with WordPress and Squarespace. I have been producing website content as a webmaster since 1998.
I help companies get their first website up and I improve the performance of existing sites.
Yes, I’m Mr. Analytics and my reaction time to new digital marketing is daily, which allows my clients to have optional and trend-cutting tools.
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