How to collect and use testimonials on your website

19 May

If you've ever hesitated before scheduling a facial, signing up for a Pilates class, or choosing a new chiropractor, chances are you looked for social proof; seeking reassurance that others have had a great experience before you.

Social proof is a powerful tool for building credibility and trust. Whether it’s customer reviews, glowing testimonials, or before-and-after transformations, real feedback from happy clients can influence purchasing decisions more than any sales pitch ever could.

In this guide, we’ll cover how to secure social proof that helps elevate your brand's reputation, without getting smacked by the watchdogs. Plus we’ll show you where to use it on your website, so your business stands out online and converts more clients with ease.

Why Customer Reviews Are Important

Think about the last time you booked a treatment or class. Did you check Google reviews? Scan a clinic’s website for testimonials? You’re not alone.

The Power of Testimonials & Reviews

Research shows that:

37% of people believe video testimonials are more authentic than ads. (Source).
92% of people read online reviews before making a booking. (Source)
Websites that display a single video testimonial see 32% increase in sales (Source).

Not only do reviews add fresh, user-generated content to your site, they can also impact your online profiles, such as your Google Business page, with past clients naturally including keywords that help your business rank higher on Google.

In today's digital age, consumers heavily rely on online reviews to guide their purchasing choices. For health and wellness businesses—where trust and expertise are key, testimonials and customer feedback act as word-of-mouth marketing on autopilot. Whether you’re a skin clinic showcasing acne transformations or a physiotherapist sharing recovery success stories, real reviews help potential clients feel confident choosing you.

When to collect feedback from customers

Effectively gathering customer feedback requires a strategic approach that considers timing, method, and ease of response. Implementing the following strategies can help you collect valuable testimonials and reviews.

Timing is crucial when asking for feedback. The most effective moments include:

Immediately After a Service or Purchase: Requesting a review shortly after a client has experienced your service for the first time, ensures their impressions are fresh and detailed. This is where having an online booking system comes in handy, as it can automate the sending of an email or text post-booking. Alternatively, if you’ve got a physical space you work from, consider getting a QR code on your counter, for clients to leave a review on your preferred platform while they’re finalising payment.
Following a Positive Experience or Milestone: If a client expresses satisfaction or achieves a significant milestone (e.g., has been training with you for 3 months, or has reached their 10th booking), it's an opportune time to ask for a testimonial. They obviously love your work and the benefits they receive from working with you.
After Repeat Engagements: Long-term clients who have consistently used your services can provide comprehensive feedback based on their extended experience. These are the clients you might want to feature in a longer-form piece of social proof, such as a video testimonial, a case-study or before-and-after reveal.

How to get more testimonials & reviews

If you want rave reviews, you need to ask for them, and make it easy for customers to give them. Here’s a few ways you can prompt clients and customers to leave a review, without getting the ick.

Automated Email Follow-Ups: These emails are sent after a service is complete, thanking the client and requesting a review. Including a direct link to your review platform/s simplifies the process. Using Squarespace Scheduling (previously Acuity)? We’ll show you how to create follow-up emails in our upcoming Course Simplicity Scheduling.
SMS Requests: Text messages often have higher open rates than emails. A concise message with a direct link to leave a review can be effective. Many booking platforms integrate with SMS, or you can set yourself a weekly reminder to check in on those who visited you last week and personally reach out.
In-Person Requests with Digital Options: During checkout or after a session, verbally ask clients for feedback. Having a QR code at your reception, or as your phone’s screensaver (if you work outside or at different locations), or printed on a business card, can streamline the process.

Hot Tip: You can now create QR codes directly in Squarespace. Perfect for if you have a feedback form embedded on your site.

Social Media Engagement: Utilise your social media platforms to ask followers for feedback, conduct polls, or encourage user-generated content related to their experiences with your services.

Can you incentivise reviews?

It can be against platform policies, and can just seem a bit scammy, if you’re incentivising reviews and feedback. Google straight out forbids it, and you run the risk of getting all your reviews taken down should you get busted. Australian Consumer Law also regulates how reviews are solicited, stating:

‘Offering an incentive to customers to review your business is ok if you offer the incentive for both positive and negative reviews. You also need to clearly disclose that you gave an incentive for the review.” (Source)

Keep it simple

Whichever method you choose, in order to maximise participation, make the review process as straightforward as possible:

Provide Direct Links: Whether through email, SMS, or social media, always include direct links to your review platforms.
Optimise for Mobile Devices: Ensure that the review process is mobile-friendly, as many users will complete it on their smartphones.
Offer Multiple Platforms: Allow clients to choose their preferred platform to leave a review, such as Google, Facebook, or industry-specific sites.

By strategically timing your requests and simplifying the process, you can effectively gather valuable customer feedback.

What to ask for in a review

Not all testimonials are created equal. A great review tells a story, not just “Loved it!”. So, how do you make sure your customer feedback is working hard to convince new clients that you’re the one to work with?

Know the Type of Review You’re Looking For

The quality of the feedback you receive often depends on what you’re asking of your clients. Asking for a ‘Google review’ requires less input from your clients than completing a written or video testimonial. Guiding clients on what to include in their reviews can result in more detailed and useful testimonials.

Key Elements of a Valuable Review

Encourage clients to address the following points in their feedback:

The Initial Problem or Need: What challenge or need led them to seek your services?
The Experience with Your Service: How did your service address their needs? What was their experience like?
The Outcome or Results: What specific benefits or improvements did they experience as a result of your service?

Review Request Template

We’d love to hear about your experience! What should you say? Here’s some prompts to think about when writing your feedback, to give your testimonial both focus and context:
✨ What problem or concern you had before visiting us.
✨ How our service helped you.
✨ Any specific improvements or results you’ve noticed.
✨ How can our team better serve you / What would make your experience with us even better?
Thanks so much for sharing your experience! 💖

Pro Tip: Want next-level testimonials? Collect video testimonials—clients explaining their transformation is far more compelling than text alone! Plus, you can transcribe these, and you have the use of both.

By providing a clear structure, you make it easier for clients to provide meaningful and comprehensive reviews.

Alternatively, you may collect feedback from your clients via a form that allows for more long-form answers that could be shared in a case study, or allows you to shape their testimonial (legally, of course!) from pieces of what they’ve responded to.

Where to share your reviews for maximum impact

You’ve got some great feedback, now it’s time to make sure people know about it. Once you've collected customer feedback, strategically displaying it on your website and other platforms can amplify its impact.

On Your Website

Homepage Highlights: Feature standout quotes or summaries of testimonials on your homepage to immediately establish credibility with visitors.
Service-Specific Pages: Place relevant testimonials on specific service pages to provide context and reinforce the value of each offering.
Case Studies: Develop detailed case studies that narrate a client's journey, highlighting the challenges they faced, the solutions you provided, and the results achieved.
Dedicated Testimonials Page: Create a page specifically for showcasing client testimonials and success stories. This centralised location allows potential clients to see a collection of positive experiences.

Want to showcase your testimonials on your Squarespace website?

Check out these tutorials available in Style School:

3 ways to display testimonials with Squarespace
How to setup a form on SS (to collect social reviews)

Join Style School for just $9/month here

On Social Media

Regular Posts: Share testimonials as part of your content strategy, highlighting different aspects of your services and client successes.
Video Testimonials: Sharing video testimonials on social media can significantly enhance engagement and trust. Businesses that share video testimonial content often see a higher number of website clicks, improved conversion rates, increased social media engagement, and growth in sales leads.
User-Generated Content: Encourage clients to share their own content related to your services, such as photos or videos, and feature this content on your platforms. This could be unboxing your product, showing how they use your product, or snapping a picture in your salon post treatment, or even tagging your location in their workout gym shot.

Other ways to get social proof beyond reviews

While customer reviews and testimonials are essential, they are not the only forms of social proof that can build trust and credibility for your business. Incorporating additional types of social proof can provide a well-rounded picture of your brand’s reputation and effectiveness.

Case Studies and Success Stories

For service-based businesses in the wellness industry, case studies provide an in-depth look at how your offerings have made a real impact. Unlike a short testimonial, a case study walks potential clients through the entire journey, showcasing:

The client’s initial problem or pain point – e.g., a chronic back pain sufferer visiting a physiotherapist or a client struggling with acne seeking skincare treatments.
How your service or treatment plan was tailored to their needs – outlining the specific approach taken.
The final outcome and results – including quantifiable improvements, photos, or follow-up testimonials.

For instance, a Pilates studio might document a client’s progress over six months, detailing how a structured movement plan improved their posture and reduced pain. A skin clinic might showcase a transformation timeline with before-and-after images, illustrating how their treatments helped a client achieve clearer skin.

Publishing case studies on your website’s blog, testimonials page, or even in email marketing campaigns provides potential clients with real-life evidence of your expertise and creates a direct link to your products and services.

Social proof is one of the most powerful marketing tools you can use to grow your business. Whether through customer testimonials, case studies, video reviews, or expert endorsements, real-world validation helps convert potential clients into loyal customers.

If you haven’t yet added testimonials to Squarespace, embedded Google reviews on Squarespace, or leveraged testimonial advertising, now is the time to start. These simple yet impactful steps can significantly enhance your reputation and increase bookings or sales.

Do you need permission to use a testimonial?

Yes, you must always obtain the individual's consent to collect, use, and publish their testimonial.

Get it in writing
While verbal consent is sometimes legally valid, a written agreement is always the best practice. It provides clear evidence of consent and helps protect both you and the individual.
Be transparent about how the testimonial will be used.
Clearly explain how and where the testimonial may appear—whether that's on your website, social media, email marketing, print materials, or ads. Transparency builds trust and ensures the person knows exactly what they’re agreeing to.

Testimonials must be genuine and reflect real experiences, without exaggeration and cannot be edited in such a way that misrepresents the person’s view. Fake or misleading testimonials can result in fines or legal action by the ACCC in Australia.
Get explicit consent for identifying information.
If you plan to include any identifying details—such as their name, photo, video, voice, or personal story—you must obtain explicit, written permission for this. This helps you comply with Australian privacy laws and ethical marketing practices.
Use your website’s Disclaimer and Privacy Policy as backup.
Your privacy policy and disclaimer should outline how personal information is collected, stored, and used—especially through contact forms, surveys, or testimonial submissions. These legal documents offer additional protection and demonstrate that you are handling data responsibly.

Need a practical example?
If you're looking for a ready-to-use solution, Jotform offers a handy free testimonial release form template you can embed directly on your website. It's designed to help you secure clear permission from individuals to use their testimonials in marketing and promotional materials, while also protecting their privacy and keeping your business’s ass covered.
Disclaimer: As with any legal document used in your business, it's always best to consult your solicitor to ensure it aligns with your specific obligations and circumstances.
Give an opt-out option
It’s good practice (and increasingly expected) to let people withdraw their consent later and request the removal of their testimonial from your website or materials
Keep records of consent.
Make sure you have a record of all digital consents, such as a saved copy of your online testimonial release form or a digital consent checkbox that you can refer to.

Be clear and transparent at every stage. By implementing the strategies we’ve shared with you, you can build a stronger, more credible online presence, helping potential clients feel confident in choosing your services.