Reviews only help if you can trust them. This policy explains how we collect and show reviews and testimonials about Northpin Studio, and how we handle reviews on the websites we build for clients.
Where we are today: we're a new studio, so we don't show any reviews or testimonials yet. When we do, they'll follow every rule on this page.
Our rules for reviews about us
- Genuine clients only. We only publish reviews and testimonials from real clients, about work we actually did for them.
- Evidence kept. For every testimonial we show, we keep the original message, its date, the client's contact details and their written permission to publish it. We keep this for as long as the testimonial is on show.
- Never written, bought or commissioned. We never write reviews ourselves or pay anyone to write them. We never ask staff, friends, family or anyone connected to us to post one.
- No filtering or cherry-picking. We don't hide or bury negative reviews. When we show reviews, we don't pick only the best ones. We link to the full list on the platform where they were posted.
- No review gating. We ask every client for feedback in the same neutral way. We never check whether someone is happy before inviting them to leave a public review.
- No changes to meaning. We may shorten a testimonial to fit the page, but only with the client's approval and never in a way that changes what they meant. We mark any cut with “…”.
- Removal on request. A client can ask us to remove their testimonial at any time. We'll take it down within 5 working days.
- Honest ratings. If we ever show a star rating, it will come from a review platform, with the number of reviews and a link to read them all. We don't add review or rating markup about ourselves to our own pages.
- Replies, not removals. On review platforms such as Google, we'll reply to reviews, good and bad. We only ask a platform to remove a review if we believe it breaks that platform's rules.
Incentives are always disclosed
We never offer money, discounts, gifts or anything else in exchange for a review, or for a positive one.
Our first 10 clients get 25% off their build as founding clients. In return, they let us publish their project as a case study and answer a short written feedback questionnaire. The discount is never in exchange for a review. If a founding client does write a review or testimonial that we show, or we publish a case study that quotes them, we label it clearly: “Founding client (received a launch discount)”.
If any other benefit is ever connected to a review, we'll say so next to it.
Report a suspicious review
If you think a review about us, or on a website we built, is fake or misleading, email hello@northpin.studio with “Review report” in the subject line. Please include a link to the review and tell us why you're concerned.
We'll look into it and reply within 5 working days. If a review we show breaks this policy, we'll take it down. For reviews on platforms such as Google, you can also use the platform's own reporting tool.
Reviews on the websites we build
- We never write, buy, commission or post reviews for clients. We won't write testimonials for them either. Our Acceptable Use Policy and Terms of Business say so too.
- Official tools or links only. We show reviews through the review platform's own tools, such as its official widget, credited to the platform. Or we link to the business's profile, such as its Google Business Profile.
- No copied review text. We never copy and paste review text onto a client's site. The words belong to the people who wrote them, and review platforms' terms limit copying.
- No hand-picked displays. We don't set up review displays that show only five-star reviews.
- No review gating. If a client orders our review kit, every customer gets the same review link and the same neutral wording. We don't build “Happy? Review us on Google. Unhappy? Tell us privately” flows.
- Client testimonials. We add testimonials to a client's site only when the client supplies them and confirms they're genuine, with the customer's permission.
- The client stays responsible. Each client is responsible for the reviews they collect and show, and for following the rules where they trade.
Why we do this
In the UK, fake reviews and hidden incentivised reviews are banned by the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024. The Competition and Markets Authority's fake reviews guidance expects anyone who publishes reviews to take steps to stop fake ones. The Advertising Standards Authority says testimonials must be genuine and backed by evidence.
This policy is how we meet those rules. It's also simply how we'd want to be treated as customers.