You really squander the benefit of a web site by not responding to e-mail. Answering e-mail promptly and responsively is vital to establishing trust. Run your site like it matters to you. While it's important not to overestimate their importance, graphics can also help in establishing a web site's credibility. It s like the difference between a car with a nice paint job and expensive leather seats versus one with a cheap paint job and cheap seats.
First impressions do make a difference.
Whether the client is walking through your front door or going to the home page of the web site there is an initial impression made on the potential client based solely upon what s presented to them. Credibility begins as the page starts to load in their web browser. Don t get me started on silly graphics and animations. Create a theme, keep it professional, fit the graphics to your image. Here s where a professional can really help you.