A leave-a-review page that asks the honest way

What the page is for

Customers who would gladly write a review often do not, because finding the right page takes effort. This page removes that effort: a short thank you, a link, and a few lines that say what to do.

It sits on your site and is shared by text, email or a card. Our guide to Google Business Profile explains the place where many people leave reviews.

Keep the page plain. A single heading, a short thank you and one clear button are enough, and every extra paragraph is another chance for a busy customer to drift away.

Link straight to where reviews are left

Use the direct review link that the review platform itself provides for your listing, and tell people in a sentence where the link goes. Test it from a phone, because most customers will use one.

If you accept reviews in more than one place, give each a clear label and let the customer choose. Do not push people toward a single site by hiding the others.

Add a short line for people who do not have an account with the platform. Some customers must sign in or create a login first, and knowing that in advance prevents a half-finished attempt.

Ask everyone, and do not screen

Send the same request to every customer. Do not steer happy people to a public link and unhappy ones to a private form. That kind of filtering misleads readers, and review platforms may not allow it.

If you want private feedback, offer it separately as a way to reach you, not as a gate in front of the review link.

When someone writes to you privately with a complaint, treat it as a real problem and fix it. If they then choose to post a review, that is their decision and you should not pressure them over it.

No rewards, no scripts, no ratings markup

Do not offer discounts, gifts or entries in a draw in return for a review. Do not tell people what to write. A review written in the customer's own words is the only kind worth having.

Keep star ratings off your own pages and do not mark them up as ratings data. Our page on testimonials and reviews on a website covers what is safe to show, and what rules apply is for owners to check. This is not legal advice.

Staff should know the same rules. One enthusiastic employee offering a coffee in return for a review can undo all the care you took on the page.

What to do with what comes back

Read every review. Thank people briefly, and answer a complaint calmly and factually, offering a way to talk offline. Never argue in public or reveal private details about a customer.

Fix what repeated complaints reveal. Our guide to honest claims on a website explains why you quote only what a customer actually wrote.

How and when to ask

The best moment to ask is soon after the job or the visit, while the experience is fresh. A short message with the link, or a line on a receipt or card, is enough. Do not chase people who do not answer.

Ask in your own voice. A sentence that sounds like you, thanking them for the business and saying a review helps others decide, usually beats a scripted request.

Share the link where customers already look: the thank you page after a form, the footer of the site, and your follow-up message.

Mistakes that make a review page backfire

These turn goodwill into a problem with the platform or with readers.

You can add this page yourself in plain paragraphs, or give the in-app assistant one line about its purpose and have it written from a conversation. A check that runs before anything publishes applies either way.

• Sending only satisfied customers to the public link
• Offering a discount or entry for a review
• Writing the review text for the customer to paste
• A link that goes to the wrong place or an old listing
• Showing star ratings on your own pages as data
• Replying to a complaint with an argument