Top Methods for Adding Testimonials on Your Squarespace Website
What is a Testimonial?
Testimonial serves as a positive affirmation or vote of confidence in a product, service, or company.
These commendations mainly stem from individuals who have experienced a company's offerings, often being its current or past customers. Nevertheless, endorsements can also originate from those in distinctive positions to support the company, including coworkers, peers, or industry associates.
Testimonials Need To Go Beyond Being A Simple Confirmation That A Product / Service Works For A Subset Of Customers Great testimonials to everyone else – they engage an audience, instill trust, and tell a great story that inspires action.
Social proof plays a significant role in consumers’ decision-making, so a dedicated testimonial page full of excellent praise is a strong asset for any business.
It’s important to distinguish between testimonials and consumer reviews. And though reviews are generally frank narratives written by customers, testimonials usually stem from organized interviews, before-and-after case studies, and the like conducted by the business.
Overview:
One very important feature that boosts the credibility of any website is testimonials. They offer social proof and help instill trust in your brand.
If you are a service business or are product oriented, potential customers are likely looking for proof that your products are high quality and fit for purpose, and that your brand can be trusted.
Instead of stuffing testimonials onto a testimonials page, I like to embed them throughout the custom sites I make. Adding two or three well-placed testimonials on your HOME or SERVICES page (for instance!) will engage visitors who may never click through to a "Testimonials" page. This interaction might give them the impetus to contact you to potentially work together, or at the very minimum, interest them, prompting them to check your website.
You can include these testimonial features within certain fields on an index page, across single sections on multiple pages, or allocate an entire page purely for testimonials — it's up to you!
Built-In Squarespace Options for Testimonials
Squarespace offers user-friendly tools to integrate testimonials seamlessly into your website design. Below are the primary built-in options:
1. Blocks for Testimonials
Squarespace supports Text Blocks and Image Blocks for adding testimonials manually.
Text Blocks: Add customer quotes with accompanying text styles.
Image Blocks: Include customer photos to increase authenticity.
How to Add:
Navigate to your Squarespace editor.
Select a section, click the “+” icon, and choose Text or Image Block.
Add customer details and customize fonts or colors for better design.
2. Pre-Designed Sections and Layouts
Squarespace templates include pre-designed layouts to showcase testimonials effectively.
Summary Blocks: Display reviews in a list or grid format.
Carousel Layouts: Highlight testimonials in rotating sliders.
How to Implement:
Go to a page, click “Edit,” and select “+ Add Section.”
Choose a pre-designed Testimonials Section or Summary Block.
Use drag-and-drop tools to arrange elements visually.
Tip: Use consistent fonts and colors for a professional look.
Third-party integrations for Better Testimonial Management
Third-party tools allow advanced features like importing reviews from other platforms or automating testimonial displays.
1. Embedding Review Platforms
Popular platforms like Google Reviews, Yelp, and Facebook Reviews can be embedded on your Squarespace site.
Steps for Google Reviews:
Install a Google Reviews widget (e.g., Elfsight).
Copy the provided HTML code.
Go to Squarespace, click “Edit,” and select “Code Block.”
Paste the HTML code and save the changes.
2. Integrating Testimonial-Specific Tools
Dedicated tools like Trustmary or the Testimonials Slider Plugin simplify the process of collecting and displaying testimonials.
Trustmark: Automates review collection and integrates video testimonials.
Testimonials Slider Plugin: Adds carousel-style testimonial sliders.
Why Use Third-Party Tools:
Automate updates from review platforms.
Add advanced animations or filters.
Simplify integration across platforms.
Best Practices for Designing Testimonial Sections
Effective design enhances the impact of testimonials. Follow these tips to ensure they stand out:
1. Formatting for Visual Appeal
Use consistent fonts, colors, and layouts.
Incorporate white space to improve readability.
Add highlighted quotes for key testimonials.
2. Choosing the Right Placement
Place testimonials above the fold on the homepage.
Include reviews on product or service pages.
Add testimonials near calls to action to encourage conversions.
3. Adding Authenticity with Photos and Videos
Use real customer photos alongside reviews.
Incorporate video testimonials for better engagement (viewers retain 95% of video content compared to 10% from text).
Presented in a List Format - Simply Employing the "Image" and "Text" Blocks.
I will start with the first one, which is the simplest and easiest to implement of the five we will cover. I actually use this method on my testimonials page right now (though it will be redesigned soon).
For this, we can use the "Image" block and the "Text" block, and you can place it side by side to align testimonials, image, and text properly. This makes it easy for readers to follow in a table layout.
I have also added a very subtle line under each testimonial to separate them visually. I also bolded a sentence in each testimonial to give them more emphasis and make them easier to read. This helps in keeping the visitors easily to skim-reading the content and also breaking long blocks of text.
Keep in mind that this is just one method of displaying testimonials, and I look forward to sharing more methods in this blog post. Keep watching for more suggestions and opinions!!
Organized Testimonials in a Grid.
Testimonials on your website can be an effective way to build trust and credibility with your audience. A great way to do this is to lay out these testimonials in a grid. This enables you to display your satisfied customer experiences and testimonials in an organized and visually styled.
A grid layout of testimonials creates a simple recipe to get visitors to test with. So, each testimonial box can show either an image, if have, with the comment and the customer name making the most attractive text and image combination.
This not only gives a better look to your website, but it also allows the users to better digest the feedback. The structured grid format allows your followers to easily scroll through your testimonials, giving them a greater chance of discovering comments relevant to their interests or needs.
Long story short, building a grid wall of testimonials is a strong way to add some credibility to your website that can sway potential customers by showing them the positive experiences of others. It reflects the high quality and value of your products or services, which help build trust and engagement from your website visitors..
Transparent Testimonial Layers.
This approach to displaying testimonials creates a lovely visual that helps the reader understand. The versatility is a bonus, allowing you to opt for a static background (like a banner image) or a dynamic one (like a video banner).
This method uses a transparent image, which can be created through any number of graphic design applications. After designing your testimonial image, export it to a transparent. png file. Index page main javascript → Create a new gallery section → Go to index page again → Paste the testimonial where you want it. Simply upload the banner image or video of your choice to the background and place the testimonial as you would an image block inside the section such that it overlays the background, resulting in an extremely polished design.
Testimonial Slider Showcase.
Here's an alternative approach to setting up testimonials on your Squarespace site:
Within the "Not Linked" section of your Squarespace dashboard, start by creating a new Blog. You can name it as you see fit, but "Testimonials" is a straightforward choice.
Inside your new "Testimonials" Blog, add individual posts by clicking the "+" icon in the top right corner.
In the Edit Post screen, you can enter a "post title" for your reference; this title won't be displayed as part of the actual testimonial. Many users use this field to name the client who provided the testimonial.
Write the testimonial content in the Options tab, specifically in the Excerpt section. This is where you'll add the text of the testimonial itself.
You can enhance the testimonial by including an image. Upload the client's image as the Thumbnail image. Saving and publishing the testimonial is essential to make it visible when you want to display it on your site.
This method allows you to manage and showcase your testimonials as if they were blog posts, making it easier for you to organize and present them to your audience.
Exploring Image Overlap.
If you're fortunate enough to acquire a photo of the person behind the testimonial, it can significantly boost your credibility and brand's social proof.
Once you've obtained the testimonial content and the corresponding image, setting it up is a breeze. Utilize an Overlap Image Block, upload the person's photo, and include the title and description as needed. Then, navigate to the Design/Site Styles section to fine-tune the text's formatting, size, and positioning to your liking.
I've successfully implemented this technique on my own website, especially when promoting courses. Take a look at how it's put into action on this page. You can even add engaging animations to this image block, injecting a touch of vibrancy to captivate your audience.
FAQ
1. How do I add testimonials to a Squarespace site?
If you’re going to add testimonials, you can use Text Blocks, Slideshow Blocks, Summary Blocks, Code Blocks (if you want to create sliders manually), or third-party plugins like Elfsight.
2. Does Squarespace come with a testimonial slider?
No, but you can make one using Slideshow Blocks, Summary Blocks, and custom JavaScript sliders (such as Slick Slider).
3. Is it possible to use a third-party testimonial plugin in Squarespace?
Yes, there are testimonial widgets like Elfsight, Trustpilot, and EmbedSocial that are super easy to use and can be easily integrated into your squarespace.
4. Show testimonials dynamically in Squarespace
A summary block can be used to pull in reviews from a blog or collection page, allowing testimonials to be updated automatically as new entries are made.
5. How do you style testimonials to give the best UX?
Use consistent formatting, readable fonts, star ratings, and profile images. When you add a slider or grid layout, it makes them more attractive to the eye.
