First, let’s have a little vocabulary lesson. Google’s dictionary definition of testimonial is “a formal statement testifying to someone’s character and qualifications.” These usually come from customers, colleagues, or peers who have benefitted from or experienced success as a result of the work you did for them.

But effective testimonials go beyond a simple quote that proclaims your greatness. They need to resonate with your targeted audience, and the people who could also potentially benefit from the work you do in the future. That’s why great testimonials also tell a story — one that inspires and motivates the people reading it.

Testimonial Design Best Practices

1. Visually Engaging

The best testimonials paint a picture with words so readers can learn exactly what the value of making a purchase from you would be. Be sure to feature testimonials with descriptive language that’s enthusiastic and detailed to help convince your prospects to make a purchase.

Take your testimonial page one step further by incorporating more visual elements — images, videos, and social media feeds are relatively easy ways to make testimonial content more engaging — and to prove to readers that the testimonial is coming from a real person or brand.

2. Specific

Make sure the testimonials you feature dig deeper than “I love [brand name]!”

Choose reviews from customers who can highlight specific use cases for your product or service so readers can envision their own specific use cases your brand could help with. Ideally, your customers will agree to serve as case studies, and you’ll be able to publish comprehensive stories with specific details your sales team can share with prospects.

3. Aligned

Highlight testimonials that align with specific features of your product or service — and connect the dots for readers by linking to different product or tool pages so readers can learn more about what they’ve just read about. If there are relevant images or demo videos you can share alongside these specifically aligned testimonials, all the better.

What do these look like in action? Check out the examples below to find your own inspiration to help you start building a great testimonial page today.