Help people feel understood before you ask them to do anything.
Trust First measures how well your behavioral health website earns trust before it asks for action. Start with a free assessment, then work toward becoming Trust First Certified.
- No cost to start
- Nothing to install
- Human, not automated
People don’t reject help because information is missing.
They reach a website and quietly ask three things. Will these people understand me? Am I going to be judged? Is recovery possible for someone like me?
Most sites answer with programs and credentials before they answer any of that. Trust First looks at whether your site answers the human questions first, so the person in pain feels safe enough to stay.
Eight dimensions of trust
Each one looks at your site the way a person in pain experiences it, not the way an organization describes itself. The bigger the tile, the more it shapes the score.
Weighted in the order trust is built.
Earlier dimensions carry the most weight. A strong score later cannot make up for a weak start in human connection.
Human connection
Does the site feel like people, or an institution?
15% of scoreEmotional understanding
Does it name what the visitor feels before selling?
15% of scoreLiving room test
Would the words sound human said face to face?
12% of scoreStory integration
Do real recovery stories help visitors see themselves?
10% of scoreCTA readiness
A next step for people who are not ready yet?
10% of scoreClinical balance
Does empathy come before clinical detail?
10% of scoreReadability
Easy to read when tired or overwhelmed?
10% of scoreTrust signals
Are real people, credentials, and privacy visible?
8% of score
How the assessment works
A clear, human process. You share your site, a Trust First analyst reads it the way a scared visitor would, and you get a report you can act on.
1Send us your site
Give us your homepage and main pages, and tell us who you serve. That is all we need to start.
2We score all eight dimensions
An analyst reads your site the way someone in pain would, and scores what they find against the rubric.
3Get your score and next steps
You receive your Trust First score, your real strengths, and the changes that help visitors feel seen sooner.
Turn your score into a credential.
Trust First Certified is a signal to families and clients that your communication puts people first. It starts with a three day intensive and stays current with a yearly re-assessment.
- Complete the Trust First Intensive across all eight dimensions
- Pass the assessment and put the changes live
- Re-certify each year so the seal always means something
Start with your score.
See how your website feels to someone on one of the hardest days of their life. Then make it feel like help.