The Digital Trust Mark: Prove Your Business is Trustworthy Online

Digital Trust Mark 2026 - independent assessment by .IE covering domain, website and email security

What if customers could see at a glance that your website, domain and email have been independently verified as trustworthy – by the same body that runs Ireland’s official domain registry?

That is exactly what the Digital Trust Mark does. Created by .IE, Ireland’s National Domain Registry, it is an independent, verifiable signal that your online presence meets recognised standards for security and trust.

Think of it as an NCT for your online identity. Just as a valid NCT certificate tells you a car has been checked against a recognised standard, the Digital Trust Mark tells customers that your digital front door – domain, website and email – has been independently assessed.

What is the Digital Trust Mark?

The Digital Trust Mark is a visible badge that Irish businesses can display once they pass an independent assessment run by .IE. It signals to customers, suppliers and partners that your online presence has been checked against recognised trust standards and modern internet best practice.

Businesses that achieve a score of 70% or higher receive an A grade and can display the distinctive wolfhound mark on their website, in email signatures, in proposals, and in other marketing materials for 12 months.

Importantly, it is open to any Irish organisation – not just those with a .ie domain. If you use .com, .eu, .net or any other extension, you can still apply and be assessed.

What Gets Assessed – The Three Areas

The assessment covers 28 indicators across three core areas of your online presence:

  • Domain – Who you are online. This covers how well your domain is protected, including DNSSEC configuration, registry-level security and DNS hygiene. If your domain is not properly secured, everything else built on it is at risk.
  • Website – What people see and interact with. This covers your SSL/TLS certificate, security headers, software currency and overall vulnerability posture. This is where customer trust is tested every day.
  • Email – Who is allowed to speak as you. This covers email authentication standards including SPF, DKIM and DMARC. Without these, your domain can be used to impersonate your business in phishing attacks targeting your customers.

At a glance

28 indicators assessed
70% minimum for A grade
24h typical turnaround
12 months validity

What You Get in Your Report

Within 24 hours of your assessment being submitted, you receive:

  • Your Digital Trust score out of 100
  • Your grade – A, B, C or D
  • A detailed breakdown of all 28 indicators, showing which passed and which need attention
  • Specific gaps identified in your domain, website and email configuration
  • Recommended fixes so you know exactly what to do next

Even if you do not reach the 70% threshold on your first attempt, the report is genuinely useful. It tells you precisely what to fix and in what priority order. You can then re-test after making improvements.

Why This Matters for Irish Businesses

Phishing, impersonation and online fraud are not abstract threats. They affect Irish businesses directly – often through poorly authenticated email that lets attackers send messages that appear to come from your domain, or through websites with outdated software that become entry points for attackers.

A visible, independently awarded trust mark does two things at once: it gives customers a reason to feel confident, and it forces you to actually verify that your security basics are in order. Many businesses are surprised by what the report turns up – not because they have been negligent, but because these things are easy to overlook.

For businesses in professional services, e-commerce, healthcare, financial services or any sector where client trust is critical, the mark is a straightforward way to differentiate from competitors who have not been assessed.

Get Your Assessment Through WebWorld

WebWorld is an official .ie Gold Partner and is now offering the Digital Trust Assessment alongside our existing hosting, domain and email services.

The assessment is priced at €149 + VAT and includes everything – the full 28-point assessment, your score, grade, detailed report and, if you qualify, the Digital Trust Mark artwork for use on your site and in email for 12 months.

Because we already manage domains, hosting and email for many Irish businesses, we can go further than just submitting the assessment. If your report identifies gaps – whether that is a missing DMARC record, a misconfigured security header, an SSL issue or a DNSSEC problem – our team can help you address them as part of your existing services.

That combination – independent assessment plus hands-on remediation support – is what makes getting assessed through a hosting partner genuinely useful, rather than just getting a report and not knowing what to do with it.


Ready to prove your business is trustworthy online?

Get Your Digital Trust Assessment – €149 + VAT

Or contact us to discuss how the assessment fits with your current hosting and domain setup. We are happy to answer any questions before you order.

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