Q: What is a tieTrust certified web seal?

A: Our web seals are a clickable authentication your visitors can easily do while browsing your website. This gives them an unparalleled amount of extra trust and confidence in your website. This is because tieTrust is a neutral third party that has certified your website for strong security, or even the actual products you sell! When buyers see our verifiable certified seals on your website, they immediately feel far more confident in buying from you, thus boosting your sales for little cost, and almost zero effort on your part.

When it comes down to it, our seals can swarm in sales on your website because they also deliver an impressive competitive advantage. If you offer similar products to a competitor, your customers will always choose you - simply because with a genuine tieTrust certification with you, you are the safer choice.

Q: How long does it take to become certified?

A: On average, most website owners are up and running with their chosen seal(s) within one to two business days. Complex business websites may take a little longer.

Q: Is it hard to become certified?

A: The process is extremely simple for website owners. Simply checkout on our website (free) and fill in the required details and you'll hear from us via email within one business day. If all goes well, you'll soon be displaying a sales boosting tieTrust certified seal on your website! Applying for a seal is FREE. So go ahead!

Q: What happens if I fail to be certified?

A: If tieTrust could not certify you for a particular seal or many, and we deem the issues causing the certification failure to be correctable, We will advise you of what is wrong and what should be done to correct the issue(s).

If you are not able to correct the issue(s) that we believe disqualify you from obtaining the appropriate tieTrust seal(s), or we believe an issue exists that is too severe to be corrected by you or your company, You are free to apply again in future if the situation changes.

Q: I am a sole trader or Individual business owner with a number of websites. Can I still apply for an tieTrust seal?

A: Yes, we encourage sole traders to apply as they make up most of the websites of the Internet! Simply follow the ordering process as per usual. Our procedures change depending on business or company size, however a large percentage of tieTrust seal applications are professional sole traders who have a thorough understanding of what makes a safe, private and secure user experience and simply want that recognized to boost conversion rates.

Q: How do I pay / What payment methods do you accept?

A: We do not actually charge anything to apply for a seal. Simply complete our free checkout process by selecting one or more seals from our range and filling in the required details for the seal(s) you wish to apply for. The details required are listed on each seal's description page, e.g. the web address of the website to be certified. After we run our preliminary checks, we commence the 14 day free trial. At the end of the 14 day FREE trial, you will automatically be billed once per month and will remain certificated for your selected certified seal(s). Any webmaster can apply. We currently accept PayPal, Visa and Mastercard. Your subscription is cancelable at any time.

Q: After I am certified, how do I go about getting an tieTrust seal visible on my website?

A: We will provide you some copy-and-paste website code that is to be placed on your website, on any amount of pages you wish. Simply paste it into the pages on your website (or template) that you wish it to be visible on. We will provide you conversion boosting tips for the particular seal you are certified for along with our simple website code. Your seal will also be clickable. A simple yet professional popup window will appear if our seal is clicked and your users will instantly see your website has been verified and is a solid website to do business with.

Questions from buyers

Q: Does tieTrust really protect me?

A: tieTrust consists of experts in a number of areas, from business to e-security. We will perform due diligence on each seller applicant to verify as best we can that they are not out to commit fraud of any kind, including stealing your information or money. We cannot provide a 100% guarantee but we get pretty close to it. We perform this extra fraud check for any seal they are to be certified for.

Q: How do I know for sure if a website is certified by tieTrust?

A: You will see a seal with our logo on it, on the particular website. The seal will typically be easily spotted on the front page of a website, internal pages, or only the checkout page, or all pages. Our seals are always clickable. If it does not ,it is fake and the website is a scam. Please report the website to us immediately.

Always click on the seal and read the contents of the popup window and verify the top address bar starts. If a popup does not appear or the popup appears but the address bar does not start as above, the website is a scam. Please contact us immediately and leave the website.

Q: I found a great website - but I don't know if I should trust it.

A: There are many great websites on the Internet. Sometimes there is only one website offering what you need. While we could take the stance that you only purchase from websites certified by us, there are thousands of great websites that currently aren't that may still provide a great product or service. The question is, can you trust them? The first thing to do is create a small checklist and contact the website. Ask questions such as will they provide a money back guarantee, do they sell your information to anyone, ever, what country are they based in, how long have they been around, and if purchasing a physical item, what postal service will they use and how long will it take to arrive at your general location? For each answer that is good, add a "maybe" to your list. If there is one cross, look elsewhere. If they take more than three days to reply to your queries, look elsewhere.

Simple questions like this can help you stay safe. However, if you added a cross but still think the website could be legitimate, simply recommend them signup at http://www.tieTrust.com and let our experts diagnose how legitimate they are. If they refuse (in terms for a seller we are a bargain deal that benefits them), you can add a cross to your list. However this does not necessarily mean they are out to scam you. The best thing you can do when you simply do not feel they have satisfied your safety requirements (one or more crosses), is to click away. Businesses stay in business by providing value and by alleviating customer concerns. Online businesses not doing these things do not deserve your business.