Know, like, trust

Know, like, trust is a useful model of how people decide, and a checklist for what your website is missing.

Know

Can someone find you when they have the problem? This is discovery: search visibility, referrals, the platforms your audience actually uses. It is also the stage most businesses mistake for the whole problem.

Like

Once found, do they want to work with you? This is where voice, presentation and the sense that you understand their situation do their work. Pages that answer real questions build likeability faster than any amount of design polish.

Trust

Can they justify the decision to someone else, including a finance director or a partner? Evidence, credentials, clear pricing logic, named people, and a process they can picture themselves inside.

The audit question for each

• Know: can they find you for the problem, not your brand name?
• Like: does the site sound like a person who understands the problem?
• Trust: is there enough evidence to justify the decision to a sceptic?