Help with testimonial page

**Vasili** · 06-25-2008, 08:46 PM

Re: Help with testimonial page

First of all, allowing "Clients" themselves to post testimonials directly onto a website has never been anything close to a 'Best Practice" nor prudent in general: it is an open invitation for anyone with a grudge, bent on bismirching your reputation unjustifiably, hacking, or otherwise vandalizing your site to have free access!

Look around .... 99.95% of all other business sites that do have testimonials (or Client Comments) post them administratively, being sure not only to have permission to do so from the person named (either explicitly or by Rules/Terms prefacing submission), but they have the opportunity to verify that they are in fact clients! And, you have freedom to format them as desired. *Missing from your site are the "Rules" of submission as well, which you need to display somehow.
In fact, for my sites, I have recently begun getting them on video and posting short clips rather than the traditional published formats. Seems to be more popular and effective as well.

Confusing a Poll, or Rating utility (a typical feature of a CMS website foundation utility, not BV) with an appropriate means of populating your website with valued Client Comments is a grand gaffe, in my opinion.
You would be better off simply transforming your "Poll/Guestbook" into a straight Email Form that allows Client Comments to be collected specifically (add a particular email alias!), and then simply cut-and-paste those you wish to present online. Simple as that, and totally secure.

Using Blue Voda is the simplest means to add Content and republish. Only a few clicks, there is no shorter route to exerting the effort to effectively manage your business, your online presence. If you don't want long pages, and don't want to have a number of pages of Client Comments, then you can post them in a Textbox just like presently seen. Whatever you want, but relieving yourself of the efforts to actively administrate your web is not a good practice in any event, IMO.

Guestbooks, blogs, and forums are all subject to visitor abuse, even with means to filter out automated submissions. You need to think further ahead to understand the balance you can be comfortable with....
My blog, for instance, allows visitors to vote in Polls, but not to immediately post comments: everything is first reviewed by me personally (it is my blog, after all, and is serving the purpose of an online archive of articles and resources, not to be a place for discussion or critique).

**10ply** · 06-26-2008, 03:48 AM

Re: Help with testimonial page

First of all , thanks so much for your quick responce. I understand what your saying. I was and still am totaly new to all this. Never designed a site before, didn't know how to do a tesimonial page. So I actualy used the "Guest Book" and taylored it into a testiomnial page that clients could go in and add them selves. Obviously this is not such a good idea, didn't know this before. Do i need to create a blank page that I can add to my self, like you said. To me that just seems a little more staged/ unreal, but if thats what i have to do than I will. So my question now is how do I create a legitamate "Testimonial Page". Maybe I overlooked it, but i did not see an option for that when I was creating the site.
Hope this is not too confusing, would appreciate any feedback.
Thanks, Nina Eberhardt

**Vasili** · 06-26-2008, 09:00 AM

Re: Help with testimonial page

OK....I suppose I have no choice but to let you peek at a "work in progress" where I have a Client Comments section (testimonials) which I bunch together with a Product Rating section to be my "REVIEWS" area.

Now please keep in mind I am installing this in a 'cart' and not a typical BV-created page foundation, but you will get a good idea for how using actual pictures, full names (via permission) and specifics not only add to the credibility of the comments themselves, but provide something of a glimpse to visitors of your professionalism, posture with clients, etc. Reading between the lines is all part of the brevity of being online.....

Here's the link ... remember, still working on it >> http://choicejeweler.com/reviews.php

And yes, it is quite easy to merely make as many pages as needed to "stack" client submitted comments, and to have as many underlaying pages as well, all via "cloning" your page design, or merely stripping off text and pasting in and renaming/saving/publishing ... a simple process.

**10ply** · 06-30-2008, 06:55 AM

Re: Help with testimonial page

Thanks Vasili, I'll check it out.

**Vasili** · 06-30-2008, 07:58 AM

Another Inspiration!

.... and on we go!