How We Test

Most review sites do not test. They read the vendor page, rewrite it, add a score, and attach a link. You can usually tell: the screenshots come from marketing material, the pricing is copied without the add-on maths, and nothing scores below four out of five.

This page describes exactly what we do, so you can judge whether to trust what we publish.

Software and WordPress

1. We install it on a real site, with a real account, not a demo.
2. We run an actual workflow through it, not sample data.
3. We time the setup from start to first useful result, and publish the number.
4. We take our own screenshots. Every screenshot on this site came from a screen we were looking at.
5. We record the price we were actually charged, with the date.
6. We write down what went wrong.

Phones

• Fourteen days minimum, as the only phone, with the SIM moved across.
• Screen-on time logged at the end of every day, not estimated.
• The same five camera scenes shot on every phone we compare.
• A twenty-minute sustained load test, because peak benchmarks do not describe use.
• Preinstalled applications counted, and system advertising noted.

Laptops

• Ten days of real work before scoring.
• Battery measured on a realistic working day, not a video loop.
• A sustained load test with clock speeds recorded at minute one and minute twenty.
• The back panel opened, to record what is upgradable.
• The exact SKU stated, because model names cover several configurations.

Scoring

Reviews carry a score out of ten, built from weighted dimensions. The full rubric, including what disqualifies a product outright, is on our scoring page.

We do not grade on a curve. If a price bracket is weak, the scores in it are low, and the buying guide for that bracket says so.

What we cannot do, and will not pretend to

• We test as a small team. We cannot tell you how software behaves at five hundred seats.
• Trials are time-limited. Where we tested a free tier rather than the top plan, the review says so.
• Fourteen days says nothing about year three. Where we revisit, the update is dated.
• We cannot test every regional variant or every carrier.

How we make money

Affiliate commissions and advertising. Three things follow, and we hold ourselves to them: commission rate never affects a ranking, products with no affiliate program appear on equal terms, and we publish negative assessments of products we earn from.

Vendors do not see content before publication. We do not accept payment for reviews. If we ever publish sponsored content it will be labelled at the top of the page.

Corrections

Prices change, features ship, and we get things wrong. If something here is out of date or incorrect, tell us and we will fix it and note the correction date on the page.