Should your small business show customer reviews on its website?
A review can answer a buyer’s real question, but check its source, permission and context before putting it on your own site.
An owner finds a generous customer comment on a review platform and wants it on the home page. Copying it into a polished quote seems simple. But does the comment help a new visitor decide, and can the business publish it accurately and with permission?
Show a customer review when it is genuine, relevant to a question the page answers, and approved for the way you will use it. A link to the original review may be the simpler choice. If you cannot verify the source or obtain permission for an on-site quote, leave it off. Clear service details, prices where appropriate, and a working contact path still matter more than a wall of praise.
What the evidence does and does not say
In CIRA’s 2026 survey of Canadian adult internet users, 31% was the weighted share selecting online customer reviews as one of the factors important when shopping from an online store rather than a traditional store. The question’s unweighted base was 1,723 respondents who had bought online in the previous 12 months; they could select multiple factors. CIRA commissioned the online-panel study, and results were weighted to the Canadian adult internet-user population by province, age and gender.
That is a useful reminder that some shoppers look for other customers’ experiences. It is not a measurement of the effect of putting reviews on a business’s own site, a finding about service buyers, or a prediction of sales. The question was about online-store shopping, and a review alone cannot answer whether a specific business is right for a visitor. CIRA has an interest in publishing research about internet use; the full questionnaire and method let readers inspect this particular result.
For a service business, the useful question is narrower: What would a prospective customer still need to know after reading the service page? A review describing the type of work, communication or handover may help. A vague “great service” quote adds little. A restaurant visitor may need current hours and a menu; a bookkeeping client may need to know which records to prepare and how to contact the firm. Put those facts on the page in the business’s own words before relying on social proof.
Choose the lightest useful format
There are several ways to make customer feedback available. The right one depends on what you can verify and maintain.
| Option | When it fits | What to check |
|---|---|---|
| No review on the page | You have no approved, relevant comment, or the page still lacks basic service information | Make the offer, location, process and contact step clear first |
| Link to a review platform | Visitors may want to inspect a broader mix of current feedback in its original setting | Check the link regularly and label where it goes |
| A short approved quote | A customer’s specific experience helps explain the service | Keep the wording and context faithful; record permission for the exact use |
| A third-party review widget | A changing collection is worth the extra maintenance | Test loading, accessibility, privacy and what appears if the widget fails |
A platform link gives visitors a way to see more than the business’s selected excerpts. An on-site quote gives you control over placement and readability, but also makes you responsible for its accuracy, permission and upkeep. A widget may update automatically, yet it introduces another service and can be harder to inspect on a phone or with assistive technology. Test the page without the widget: the service information and contact route should still work.
Verify the comment before publishing it
Start with the original feedback and the actual customer relationship. Confirm that the person had the experience described and that the comment refers to the service or product shown on the page. Keep the original wording, source and date in your records. Do not invent a quote from a staff summary, turn a private support message into public praise, or use AI to write a “customer” review.
Ask the customer clearly whether you may use the quote on your website. Show the proposed wording, where it will appear, and whether their name, business name or image will appear. Save their approval and give them a straightforward contact for corrections or removal. A customer posting on a platform is not, by itself, a clear request to appear in your advertising. If you want to use a platform review, also check that platform’s current terms before copying its content or display elements.
The Competition Bureau’s guidance on tests and testimonials describes a specific rule for testimonials about an advertised product’s performance, effectiveness or life: it calls for prior publication by the third party and written approval and permission, with the representation matching what that party approved. The precise legal scope depends on the claim. A practical publishing rule is to secure written approval for any customer quote you plan to display, and get advice for claims whose legal treatment is uncertain.
Names, photos and details about a customer’s project can also reveal personal information. The Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada’s consent guidance says people should understand what information will be used or disclosed and for what purpose. Its finding about a client video used for promotion illustrates why a business should seek informed consent before making identifiable client material public. Avoid including a person’s health, financial, family or other sensitive details merely to make a quote vivid.
Keep the impression honest
An authentic review can still mislead if its presentation changes what it means. Do not remove a qualification, attach it to a different service, or make an old experience appear current. If an excerpt needs shortening, show the customer the proposed edit and keep enough context for a fair reading. Do not create a numeric rating from a hand-picked set of quotes or imply that selected comments represent every customer.
The Competition Bureau’s online-review guidance warns about reviews that look impartial but have an undisclosed connection to the business, including employees or compensated reviewers. If a relationship could affect how a reader interprets feedback, disclose it plainly. Do not present a staff member, family member or paid promoter as an independent customer.
If you ask for reviews on Google, follow Google Business Profile’s current policy: it prohibits incentives in exchange for reviews and discouraging negative reviews or selectively soliciting only positive ones. Ask customers in a neutral way after a real experience, without scripting their answer. That platform rule concerns reviews posted to Google; it is separate from permission to feature a customer’s words on your own website.
Negative feedback also needs an operational path. Decide who reads it, who can respond, and how a genuine service problem is handled privately where appropriate. A public reply should be calm and avoid exposing the customer’s personal details. Removing a quote from your site does not erase a review on its original platform; treat those as separate channels.
Place and maintain reviews where they help
Put a relevant quote near the service detail it clarifies, then offer an obvious next step. A short excerpt is easier to read than a carousel of tiny cards. On a phone, check line length, contrast, readable attribution and whether the quote pushes essential information below a long scroll. Use ordinary text that works with a keyboard and screen reader. If a review includes an image, write alt text for what the image conveys rather than repeating the quote.
Set a review date for every on-site quote. Services, staff, ownership and customer permissions can change. Check that the claim still describes the current offer and that any external link still leads to the intended source. Keep a record of who approved changes, and remove or revise material promptly when the customer corrects it or the context is no longer true.
You can make a useful improvement without publishing any review: write the service page around what customers ask before contacting you. This guide to clear service pages gives a starting structure. Professional help becomes useful when feedback has to be presented across many pages or languages, a third-party widget affects the site, or the team needs a maintainable approval workflow. If your website needs that wider content and design work, discuss the site with Red Comet.
Sources
- CIRA and The Strategic Counsel, Trends in Internet Use and Attitudes: Survey of Canadian Internet Users, April 2026, methodology page 4 and online-shopping factors question 37 on page 57; CIRA release, July 28, 2026.
- Competition Bureau Canada, Use of tests or testimonials and Deceptive Marketing Practices Digest, Volume 1: Online Reviews.
- Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada, Guidelines for obtaining meaningful consent and a promotional client-video finding.
- Google Business Profile, Prohibited and restricted content.
