My review process, in full

Intake & conflict screen

Before anything is tested, the product is screened for conflicts and for whether it can be reviewed honestly at all.

Before anything is tested, the product is screened for conflicts and for whether it can be reviewed honestly at all.

• Record how the product came to my attention: reader request, advertiser approach, or my own shortlist.
• Record every existing financial relationship with the vendor, including dormant affiliate accounts.
• Check whether the product can actually be tested end to end. If the exit path cannot be tested, the review does not proceed.
• For regulated categories, confirm the product is licensed in at least one market I can name.
• Log the decision — including declines. 61 products have been declined at this stage.

Artefact produced: Intake record with the conflict declaration, dated before testing begins.

Acquisition — my money first

The default is that I buy the product at the normal price, as an ordinary customer, with no reviewer identity attached.

The default is that I buy the product at the normal price, as an ordinary customer, with no reviewer identity attached.

• Purchase at the publicly listed price through the standard consumer path.
• Never use a press account, a comped plan, or an account flagged as media, unless no other access exists.
• If a vendor provides access, that fact is printed at the top of the review, not in a footer.
• Keep the receipt. Every review states how access was obtained and that field is machine-readable in the page schema.

Artefact produced: Purchase receipt and account-creation timestamp.

Structured hands-on testing

A fixed test script per category, run over a period long enough to survive the honeymoon window and at least one billing cycle.

A fixed test script per category, run over a period long enough to survive the honeymoon window and at least one billing cycle.

• Run the category test script: onboarding, core task, edge case, billing event, support contact, exit.
• Log measurements, not impressions. Timings, fees charged, error counts, response times.
• Deliberately trigger at least one failure — a dispute, a cancellation, a support escalation.
• Hold every product through a full billing cycle, so renewal behaviour is observed rather than assumed.
• Timestamp findings publicly as testing happens, so the record predates the review.

Artefact produced: Raw measurement log — spreadsheets, CSV exports, screen recordings.

Verification against primary sources

Every factual claim is checked against the vendor's own documents rather than their marketing pages.

Every factual claim is checked against the vendor's own documents rather than their marketing pages.

• Pull the terms, fee schedule or contract PDF and cite the clause number.
• Archive every source with the date it was accessed — vendors change pages quietly.
• Reconcile measured figures against my own statements, invoices or exports.
• Where a claim cannot be tested — insurance claims payouts, for example — say so explicitly instead of implying it was.

Artefact produced: Source list with URLs and access dates, published at the foot of every review.

Weighted scoring

Scores are computed from published criteria and weights, so two reviews in the same category are comparable.

Scores are computed from published criteria and weights, so two reviews in the same category are comparable.

• Score each published criterion 0–10 against the measurement log, not against a general feeling.
• Apply the category weights, which are printed on every review.
• The final score is arithmetic. I do not adjust it to fit the conclusion.
• If the weighted score and my honest recommendation disagree, the criteria are wrong — I fix the criteria publicly, not the number.

Artefact produced: Score breakdown table, visible on every review page.

Publication & disclosure

The verdict is finalised before any commercial link is placed. Not the other way round.

The verdict is finalised before any commercial link is placed. Not the other way round.

• Finalise the verdict and score with no affiliate link in the document.
• Only then, add commercial links where a programme exists.
• Print the disclosure above the article body, not below it.
• Give the vendor no advance copy, no embargo, and no approval — including on sponsored placements.

Artefact produced: Version history showing the verdict was set before links were added.

Scheduled re-review

A review with an old date is a liability. Every review carries a next-review date and a public changelog.

A review with an old date is a liability. Every review carries a next-review date and a public changelog.

• Re-check pricing, terms and the specific failure modes named in the original review.
• Publish a dated changelog entry for every change, including ones that lower the score.
• If a verdict is downgraded, affiliate links are removed the same day.
• If a review can no longer be maintained, it is marked stale rather than quietly left up.

Artefact produced: Public changelog on each review, with dates and what changed.