The Importance Of Testimonials On A WordPress Website

What are testimonials on a WordPress website and why should you consider them? They are part of your branding strategy and are an important trust factor.

The testimony of your real customers will definitely lead to new clients or readers (depending on your site purpose).

Testimonials are reviews based on an individual experience, with personal details and examples. People identify with the stories behind a real experience, and they have a strong emotional impact.

Reasons to Publish Testimonials on a WordPress Website

A testimonial is “a statement testifying to a person’s qualifications, character, etc. or to the merits of some product, service, etc.; letter or statement of recommendation”, notes the Collins Dictionary.

If you have an online business, it’s important to place testimonials in the right areas. So, why you should publish testimonials on your WordPress website? There are 4 main reasons you should know about.

1. Credibility and Trust

A company or a product that has real testimonials can drive authenticity and trustworthiness. 

2. Brand humanization

Regardless of a world where artificial intelligence and robots mean progress and utmost technology tools, a brand needs to be humanized. People should identify themselves with the stories behind testimonials.

3. Social Proof

Social proof refers to the power of people (including famous people) referring to your products in the online environment. If they are buying and expressing their gratitude regarding the items or experience, others will see and be convinced to try things for themselves.  You may also like to read 5 Exclusive Social Proof Strategies That Work Like Magnetic Marketing

4. Increase Conversions

Based on users’ recommendations, people are more likely to buy from you and also become returning customers.

How to Gather Testimonials from Your Community

If you have a website, social media accounts, and if you’re running email marketing campaigns, well, you have to gather from everywhere and show them anywhere. Of course, they will look different, based on the chosen platform. Because you have various types of readers, followers, and audiences.

Where to Place User Testimonials?

1. Social Media

An image worths a thousand words. But what if it’s an image and the right words? Drag your followers’ attention with a sleek image and a great testimonial. Publish different types of content on your social media accounts. 

2. HomePage of Your Website

When visitors enter your WordPress website, they scroll down on the homepage, then, navigate through the content. So, the homepage is the first page they’ll see, and it’s important to show off your best testimonials to drive some trust. Moreover, besides placing real experiences at home, you should also add more testimonial sections on more pages.

3. Dedicated Landing Page

Another great way to showcase testimonials on a WordPress site is to create a dedicated landing page. Here, you can create a unique design and special boxes for showing all the testimonials in a single place. For example, you can display an image of the testimonials’ author and the written experience. Or, you can publish real images of the person using your products and align them with the testimony.

3. Newsletter Campaigns

If you have new subscribers in your email database, you can always reach out to them with some trust facts. One of them is the testimonials proof.

4. Blog Articles

You can write up a whole case study about one of your customers, based on his story and interaction with your products/items or services. This will always be beneficial. Or, you can have a testimonial area placed within your article (specifically in the bottom area).

5. Banners on your website

Another way to publish your clients’ stories is to create banner ads. Decide where they are most visible, and perform A/B testing

6. Video presentations

Videos are the quickest way to engage your audience. If you’re launching a new item (physical or a new software functionality), you can also place testimonies at the end of your videos. 

7. Podcast

Do you have a podcast on streaming platforms? You can also use your voice to read customers’ experiences and guide listeners to become your new clients.

Testimonials Plugin for Your WordPress Website

If your WordPress theme does not have a sleek way to show off your testimonials, you can always count on a plugin. Our recommendation is the WP Testimonial with Widget plugin, which comes packed in the Essential WordPress Plugin Bundle, along with more premium plugins, sliders, and pre-built templates.

WP Testimonial with Widget

This WordPress Testimonial Plugin is included in the Essential Plugins bundle and until now it counts over 10,000 active installs and more than 110,000 downloads. The major features of this plugin are:

• Beautiful and diverse slider designs to best showcase your testimonials
• Multiple grid designs to keep all the testimonials outlined in appealing boxes
• It is compatible with the most popular WordPress themes
• Performs as a testimonial form and has widgets support

By choosing the WP Testimonial with Widget plugin, you can rest assured that it works perfectly with page builders such as Siteorigin, Beaver Builder, WPBakery, Elementor, or Gutenberg. You can learn more about the Essential Plugins Bundle on the pricing page.

Conclusion

Testimonials are the voice of your brand. They are a great opportunity to show brand loyalty and engage with customers. Whatever WordPress Theme you choose to build your website with, which testimonials plugin, you can always design special sections for showcasing real and relevant experiences with your business.

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