It can be hard to know whether a website is the "real deal" and can be trusted.  Follow these tips to recognise credible websites and to keep yourself safe when using the Internet. 

Go to big names and institutions

Large institutions such as universities, newspapers and government organisations can be trusted to provide accurate information on their websites.  They are a good place to go for information and they will have reliable links to other websites you can trust. 

Watch out for biases, especially political and commercial

Commercial and political biases can be found everywhere online.  When dealing with information from businesses or politically biased organisations you should consider where their bias is coming from and how it might lead them to skew information in their favour.

For example, product reviews from sellers may not be reputable and have been written to promote a product unfairly.  News from political parties may have  a slanted viewpoint or skew information.  

Look for expertise

Websites that specialise in providing information on a specific topic or subject area are usually more reliable.  If you can't be relied on to know your expertise, what can you be relied on for?

Presentation

Websites that value the  information they are providing will put time and effort into ensuring that it is presented effectively.  This means sites which use reliable information usually look good and are easy to navigate.  For the same reasons, poor spelling and grammar are an indication that the site may not be credible.

Check and double check your sources

Online encyclopedias like Wikipedia can be an excellent source of information, but you should check their references also come from reliable sources.  Especially when investigating topics which are likely to have had only a small number of contributors.  This applies to other websites too.  If you are unsure, suspicious or have found conflicting information see if you can find multiple sources to support a claim.

What's the domain name?

The domain name can sometimes provide you with an insight into the validity of information.  For example, the domain .edu is reserved for colleges and universities, while .govt denotes a government website.  The domain name .co or .com indicates a commercial organisation.  Be careful with the domain .org.  It's usually used by non-profit organisations, but consider whether they have an agenda of education or persuasion. 

If an author and date is listed then this may indicate a credible site.  The fact the author is willing to put their name alongside the information, and maybe even include his/her contact information can add to the credibility. 

Information can remain on the Internet forever, so also consider how recent the information was posted.  The relevance of some information decreases with time.  Sites that include a date let you decide whether the information is recent enough for your purposes.

Ask around

Large forums like Reddit  where people share ideas, content and answer questions can be a good way to check if a website is reliable.  Look for discussions that have a large number of participants to get a feel for the subject and see how and why opinions differ.

Check your digital skills

Complete our FREE online 'Digital Citizen Assessment' to determine your skills and knowledge about using the Internet. It takes about 10 minutes and will provide you with a personalised action plan to help you improve your online skills. Plus, you will see how your skills compare to others in our digital benchmark.

We hope you found the tips above useful.  If you have any questions or need further advice, you can get in touch with the Digital Journey team at hello@digitaljourney.org.

How can Digital Journey help you?

Digital Journey works with individuals, businesses and organisations of all types across New Zealand. We provide FREE online digital assessments and resources, as well as training, coaching and project management services.

Our vision is to help everyone get the most out of the internet, online tools and digital technology.

Find out more at www.digitaljourney.org.