Not very long ago, when looking for information, we turned to sources like books or maybe our parents and grandparents. These are sources that we knew were reliable from experience or simply by sensing the superior aura of a library. The way something or someone makes us feel strongly influences our perceived level of trust. Therefore we can easily judge offline sources by our relationship with them, their external features and previous experiences.
Those who can design for credibility gain a strategic advantage. — BJ Fogg
On the web, it all becomes a little more difficult. Most of the times we use diverse search engines to find information, which ultimately leads us to numerous websites that all seem to know something about the one thing we are looking for. How do we know whom to trust?