Reviews are a critical part of our website. We receive thousands of daily hits from people searching specifically for reviews. For that reason, we wanted to explain our review methodology in greater detail to explain how we provide independent, unbiased, and accurate reviews to our visitors.
Independent Reviews Driven by Data and Fact-Based Opinions
Our goal with any review is to combine objective data with subjective opinions to give visitors a clear idea of the product being reviewed.
Objective data includes all of the facts. It includes pricing, available features, uptime, downtime, customization options, and much more. Objective data is simply data and we display it without manipulation.
There are some parts of any product that cannot be described by facts and data. That’s why all reviews are at least somewhat subjective. When it comes to subjectivity, our goal is to write fact-based opinions. Our fact-based opinions are driven by real data and informed opinions. If we like the ‘feel’ of a user interface, then we’ll tell you why we like that feel and which specific features make that particular UI feel so special.
Ultimately, our goal is to efficiently explain the pros and cons of a particular product: nothing more and nothing less.
Star Ratings
When browsing through our reviews, you’ll find star ratings are placed at the top of each review. Star ratings aren’t designed to tell you everything you need to know about a product. Instead, they’re meant to give you a general idea about the quality level of that product. Star ratings are based on a five star scale.
A five star product is the highest-level award we give out. Companies, services, and products that receive 5 stars are considered to be industry-leading providers which offer unique features that differentiate themselves from the competition. We don’t give out five star reviews casually, and a considerable amount of time goes into deciding whether a product deserves 4 stars or 5 stars.
When multiple products receive the same star rating, that doesn’t necessarily mean they’re equal competitors. Every product has its unique advantages over the competition, and we encourage you to read through the rest of the review to understand which of those unique services appeal to you.
Breaking down the sections
All reviews are separated into multiple sections. These sections are designed to increase readability and make your job – as the reader –as easy as possible.
Let’s face it: nobody has time to read 2,000 words about every single product they’re trying to compare. So instead of forcing you to do that, we’ve funneled our reviews down into a few key points. You can use these key points to make an informed decision on your purchase.
Review sections include:
Features
Our features subheadings are standardized across particular categories. All online faxing service reviews, for example, have the same subheadings in order to make product comparison as easy as possible. With online faxing, subheadings include Fax Design, Fax Management, Sending and Receiving Faxes, File Attachment Support, Contact Management, and Other Features.
Pricing
We list all pricing information in this section. Pricing information is updated on a regular basis to ensure accuracy. We don’t modify prices to favor one service or another: the price you see listed is what you’re going to pay for that service. Simple, right? Many of the products and services we review offer different levels of pricing with scaled levels of service. Whether you’re a large or small business, you’ll want to visit this section to learn how to get the best value for your money.
The Good
We list everything we liked about the product or service, including all its advantages and beneficial features. This section is separated into subheadings based on each unique advantage. Below each subheading, we discuss each advantage in further detail.
The Bad
We list everything we didn’t like about the product or service, including all its disadvantages and negative features. Just like ‘The Good’ section, ‘The Bad’ section is separated into subheadings based on each unique disadvantage. Below each subheading, we discuss each advantage in further detail.
Other
Under the ‘Other’ section, we’ll post links to other product or service reviews in a particular niche. We’ll also post URLs to other reviews of that product found across the internet. If you want to make a smart purchase on anything, then we encourage you to take a few different sources into account.
Our Verdict
In this section, we provide a short and sweet summary of a product or service’s features. “Our Verdict” includes the consensus opinions of our team of experts. We meticulously research each and every product so you don’t have to, and the end results of this research can be found in the 2 to 3 paragraphs known as “Our Verdict.” If you simply want to know what we thought about a product or service without reading everything else in the review, then this section will tell you our general thoughts about this product.
Competitor Analysis and Comparisons
We know you have options. In fact, we know exactly which options you have in each particular niche. That’s why we have published a number of comparison articles that pitch two popular products head-to-head against one another.
These featured articles are styled like reviews but explain the specific differences between one product and another. We’ve found these articles to be quite popular. Most people can narrow down their options to 2 products or services, but picking the final service that deserves your business can be difficult.
All comparison articles are written independently and objectively. We don’t care which service you pick. We’re simply trying to weigh the pros and cons, advantages and disadvantages of each particular service.
Together, our team has decades of business management experience. We’ve used this experience to craft high-quality reviews and informative comparison articles.
Ultimately, our goal is to help you, the consumer, make an intelligent decision. Instead of pushing you towards one product or another, we lay out the facts, offer our informed opinions, and leave the decision process up to you.