Let your customers and your work tell the story
Reviews, testimonials and real examples can help new customers understand what you do and feel more confident about choosing you.
Show evidence, not just claims
It's easy to write that your business provides great service, quality products or excellent results. It's much more useful when visitors can see evidence for themselves.
Customer feedback, photographs, completed work and real examples can help answer questions such as:
Have other people used this business?
What was their experience like?
What kind of work does this business actually do?
Can I see examples?
Has the business helped someone with needs similar to mine?
What might I expect if I become a customer?
Reviews and testimonials
A useful testimonial usually says something specific about the customer's experience.
Compare a very general comment:
“Great service. Highly recommended.”
with something that gives a potential customer more information:
“We weren't sure which option would suit us, but everything was clearly explained and the whole process was straightforward from beginning to end.”
Both may be genuine positive feedback, but the second tells a prospective customer much more about the experience.
Writing prompt: Look through genuine emails, messages and reviews from previous customers. Which comments describe something that another customer might care about? Always get appropriate permission before republishing private feedback or identifying a customer.Choose feedback that answers different questions
You don't necessarily need dozens of reviews on one page. A smaller selection of useful testimonials can communicate different strengths.
The experience
“The whole process was clear and straightforward, and we always knew what was happening next.”
Feedback like this can reassure someone who's wondering what it will be like to deal with you.
The result
“The finished result was exactly what we were hoping for and made a real difference.”
Use genuine feedback that describes what the customer received or achieved.
The detail
“Questions were answered quickly and the little details were taken care of throughout.”
Specific observations often feel more informative than broad praise.
Show your work
For many businesses, seeing examples is just as important as reading reviews.
Photographs can show finished projects, products, transformations, events, designs, locations or other examples of what you provide.
When choosing work to feature, don't automatically include everything you've ever done. Choose examples that help potential customers understand the range and quality of work that's relevant to them.
Useful examples might include:
Your most common type of work
Something you're particularly proud of
Different styles or approaches
A challenging or unusual project
Before-and-after examples
Different products in use
Work for different types of customer
Recent examples that represent what you offer today
Add context to your examples
A photograph on its own can look impressive, but a little context can make it much more useful.
Example project or piece of work
Instead of simply displaying an image, explain what the visitor is looking at.
You might include:
The brief
What did the customer want or need?
The approach
What did you provide or how did you tackle it?
The result
What was completed, delivered or achieved?
You don't need to turn every example into a lengthy case study. A few sentences can provide enough context to make the image meaningful.
Turn a strong example into a success story
Some work deserves more than a photograph and caption. A success story or case study lets you show how you helped a real customer from beginning to end.
1. The starting point
What did the customer need?
Describe the situation before you became involved. Concentrate on the problem, requirement or goal that's relevant to the story.
2. What you did
What did you provide?
Explain your approach and any important decisions without filling the story with unnecessary technical detail.
3. The outcome
What changed?
Describe the finished result and, where possible, include something concrete that demonstrates the outcome.
Add the customer's perspective
A success story becomes more convincing when the customer's own experience supports the story.
Example success story
The situation
The customer came to us looking for help with a particular requirement. They knew what they wanted to achieve but needed advice about the best way to approach it.
What we did
After discussing their requirements, we agreed an approach and worked through the project step by step, keeping them informed as the work progressed.
The result
The work was completed and the customer had the outcome they needed.
“The example customer could describe the experience and result here in their own words.”
What makes a useful success story?
You don't need dramatic statistics or a huge transformation.
A useful story simply needs enough detail to show a potential customer what working with you can look like.
What should I write about?
Choose work that represents something you currently offer and would be happy to do again.
A particularly unusual project may be interesting, but it won't necessarily help if it's completely different from the work most customers need.
How detailed should it be?
Include enough information to make the example meaningful without documenting every step.
For many businesses, a short introduction, a few paragraphs, some photographs and a genuine customer comment will be enough.
Do I need measurable results?
Not necessarily.
Where meaningful figures exist, they can be useful. But don't invent measurements just to make a story sound impressive.
A finished project, solved problem, successful event, delivered product or satisfied customer can all provide legitimate outcomes.
Can I identify the customer?
Only publish names, photographs, private feedback, project details or other identifying information when you have an appropriate basis and permission to do so.
If necessary, you can describe the type of project without identifying the customer.
Keep reviews trustworthy
Social proof works because visitors expect it to represent genuine customer experiences.
When adding reviews or testimonials:
Use real feedback from real customers
Don't write testimonials yourself and present them as customer comments
Don't materially change the meaning of someone's words
Check names and attribution carefully
Get appropriate permission before publishing private feedback
Don't use a customer's photograph without permission
Don't hide important context that would make a claim misleading
Remove or update information that is no longer representative
If feedback came from a public review platform, consider whether its terms allow you to reproduce it and whether attribution is required.
Make the page relevant to your business
You don't have to call this page Testimonials.
Choose a title that reflects what visitors will actually find here.
Reviews & Testimonials
Best when customer feedback is the main focus.
Possible titles include:
Reviews
Testimonials
What Our Customers Say
Portfolio & Examples
Best when showing the finished work is most important.
Possible titles include:
Our Work
Portfolio
Recent Projects
Results & Stories
Useful when individual examples benefit from more explanation.
Possible titles include:
Success Stories
Case Studies
Customer Stories
Before you publish
Look at the page as someone considering your business for the first time.
Ask:
Does the feedback sound specific and genuine?
Have demonstration testimonials been replaced with real ones?
Do the examples represent the work I want to attract?
Have I explained what photographs actually show?
Could one or two examples become stronger success stories?
Have I included different types of useful customer feedback?
Is everything still current?
Do I have appropriate permission for names, photographs and private feedback?
Is there an obvious next step for someone who likes what they see?
Turn confidence into a next step
Someone reaching the end of this page may already have seen your work and heard from previous customers.
Make it easy for them to continue.
Depending on your business, the next step might be to request a quote, book an appointment, browse your products, view your services or start a conversation.
