How We Review

Our review process

We publish two types of product content: buying guides (our “Best X 2026” roundups) and hands-on reviews (single-product deep dives). Both follow the same underlying process.

Step 1: Market research

We start by mapping the category. What are the established players? What are the newer challengers? Which products consistently show up in expert recommendations (Wirecutter, Which?, Trusted Reviews, What Hi-Fi, manufacturer-independent YouTube reviewers)?

This gives us a longlist of products worth considering.

Step 2: Shortlisting

We filter the longlist on five criteria:

Availability in the UK – must be buyable from a reputable UK retailer.
Price transparency – products with genuinely variable pricing or obscure availability don’t make the cut.
Review consensus – we look for at least 100 reviews averaging 4 stars or higher across multiple retailers, or independent expert reviews.
Use case fit – does the product genuinely suit the reader we’re writing for?
Track record – brand reliability and after-sales support.

From a typical longlist of 20+ products, we’ll shortlist 5-10.

Step 3: Positioning

For buying guides, we assign a “best for” slot – best overall, best budget, best premium, best for X specific use case – based on where each product excels. This isn’t about ranking from 1 to 10; it’s about helping readers find the right product for their situation.

Step 4: Writing

Each product entry covers:

Who it’s best for
Key specs in plain English
What the reviews say (strengths and weaknesses)
Current UK price (verified at publication)

Prices and availability are checked at publication and during periodic refreshes.

Step 5: Updating

Product roundups get periodic refreshes as the category moves. When we substantially update a piece, we note it in the body and refresh the modified date.

What we don’t do

We don’t test every product hands-on. Where we have, the article is labelled “Review” rather than “Best X”. Most of our “Best X” articles are buying guides synthesising expert and user consensus, not first-person testing.
We don’t let affiliate commissions influence rankings.
We don’t accept product placement in buying guides.

Trust check

If you spot a product recommendation that doesn’t stack up, tell us. We’d rather fix an error than keep it.