If you are a new user and you want to know how to use Trustpilot or how Trustpilot works, you are in the right blog. In this blog post, I will tell you how Trustpilot works, how to create a business Trustpilot account or a consumer account, and how to write a review.
If you’ve ever searched for a company online before buying something, you’ve likely seen Trustpilot. There are millions of businesses listed on the platform—online retailers, software providers, travel agents, and local services companies.
But if you’re new to Trustpilot, you’re probably wondering how it all works, who can leave reviews, and whether you can trust the ratings you see.
Trustpilot is not just a review website. It’s a platform for real customer experience to be shared between consumers and businesses.
Instead of relying on advertising or marketing claims, shoppers can read the feedback of people who have already used a product or service. That allows a better choice for the consumers while buying. It forces companies to improve the quality of their customer service as well.
This is the guide if you are going to write your first review or just want to know how the platform works.
What Trustpilot Is and Why It Matters for Everyday Consumers
The Basic Purpose of Trustpilot
Trustpilot was founded to bring more authenticity into online shopping. Before the launch of review platforms, customers often knew very little about a business except what the business decided to publish on its own website. This made it difficult to know if a business was trustworthy, had quality products, or had good customer support.
Trustpilot changes that by providing customers with a place to share their real experiences. Anyone who has done business with a company can give feedback and say what was good or could be improved. The reviews create a public record that other consumers can read before making their own purchasing decisions.
It means less guesswork for shoppers. You can hear from those who have actually worked with the business instead of just relying on ads or promotional advertising. Good reviews could create confidence, and bad reviews could point out problems that deserve more careful thought.
It’s also helpful for businesses. “Honest reviews help companies to understand customer expectations and where they need to improve. Many organizations listen to feedback from consumers and use it to improve their products, services, and customer support.
Because reviews are available to everyone, Trustpilot promotes greater accountability between businesses and consumers.
How Trustpilot Works and Differs from Other Review Platforms
There are plenty of review sites out there today, but Trustpilot is a little different than sites like Google Reviews or Yelp.
The main benefit of Google Reviews is that users can evaluate local businesses like restaurants, dentists, hotels, repair services, and retail stores. Yelp also is focused on local experiences, especially restaurants, entertainment venues, and neighborhood services.
Trustpilot, in contrast, is mostly geared towards business-to-consumer relationships, in particular companies that operate online. You’ll often find detailed Trustpilot reviews of the business whether you’re buying software, booking travel, ordering clothing, or subscribing to a digital service.
Another key difference is its open review system. There is no sign-up required for businesses to receive reviews. A profile can be automatically generated when customers start to review a company. That means a company cannot simply opt out of public comment by not showing up.
A lot of companies also use Trustpilot’s invitation system to invite verified customers to leave a review after purchase. And, as long as they adhere to the platform’s guidelines, customers are generally free to post reviews based on their authentic experiences.
This mix of openness and moderated structure serves to create a wide array of customer experiences.
Who Uses Trustpilot and for What Reasons
- Consumers: Regular shoppers use Trustpilot to learn about a company’s shipping speeds, return policies, and product quality before buying.
- Businesses: It is used by both small startups and multinational corporations. Good Trustpilot scores help small businesses instantly establish themselves as credible compared to bigger competitors, and huge companies use the data to monitor trends in customer satisfaction and maintain their reputations worldwide.
How to Create an Account and Get Started on Trustpilot
Setting Up Your Free Consumer Account Step by Step
Getting started on Trustpilot is completely free and takes less than two minutes:
- Visit the Sign-Up Page: Click “Log in” or “Sign up” on the top right of the Trustpilot homepage.
- Choose a Way: You can register with your Google account, Facebook account, or a normal email address.
- Provide Basic Info: Trustpilot asks for a valid email address and name to maintain accountability and verify that reviews come from real people.
- Verify Your Email: Trustpilot will send you a verification link to your inbox. Clicking this will activate your account.
- Explore the Dashboard: Once logged in, your consumer dashboard gives you instant access to your review history, drafted reviews, and settings.
Understanding Your Profile Page and Account Settings
Your profile is your personal hub on the platform. By navigating to your account settings, you can:
- Upload a profile photo and choose a public username (you can use your real name or a pseudonym if you prefer privacy).
- Adjust your notification preferences to control how often Trustpilot emails you about new company responses or community updates.
- View your review history, see which of your reviews have been marked as helpful by others, and keep track of companies you have chosen to follow.
Navigating the Trustpilot Website and Mobile App
In the middle of Trustpilot’s desktop homepage is a large search bar where you can type in anything from a specific company name to a broader category (e.g., “Insurance” or “Electronics”). Below the search bar are trending companies and recent reviews from multiple industries.
The Trustpilot mobile app looks and feels like the desktop version but has a clean interface that’s easy to use on a touchscreen. It makes it incredibly easy to quickly look up a company while you’re standing in a brick-and-mortar store.
How to Find, Read, and Evaluate Reviews on Trustpilot
Searching for a Business and Understanding Its Profile Page
When you search for a company, you will be taken to its dedicated business profile page. This page acts as a transparency report card, featuring:
- The Total Review Count: How many people have left feedback.
- The Star Rating: A quick visual metric ranging from 1 star (poor) to 5 stars (excellent).
- The TrustScore: A highly accurate score calculated from 1 to 5. The TrustScore isn’t just a simple average; it gives more weight to recent reviews to reflect the company’s current level of service, and it factors in how frequently the business receives feedback.
Reading Individual Reviews Carefully and Spotting Useful Information
A high-quality review does more than just say “Great service!” Look for reviews that offer specific details, such as the date of the transaction, the exact product ordered, and how the customer service team handled any issues.
Pro-Tip: Keep an eye out for the “Verified” label. This tag means Trustpilot has confirmed the review stemmed from an automated invitation sent to a customer who made an actual, verifiable transaction with that business.
Identifying Potentially Misleading or Unreliable Reviews
No platform is 100% safe from manipulation, but knowing what to look for keeps you safe.
- Red Flags: Look out for groups of very similar, extremely positive 5-star reviews all written within a very short period of time, or accounts that have reviewed only one business.
- Automated Defense: Trustpilot utilizes sophisticated automated software that operates 24/7 to identify and eliminate suspicious reviews, fake accounts, and patterns of paid feedback.
- Community Action: If you see a review that is clearly abusive, fraudulent, or promotional, you can click on the flag icon and report it directly to Trustpilot’s moderation team.
How to Write and Submit Your Own Review on Trustpilot
When and Why You Should Leave a Review
The best time to leave a review is shortly after your experience, when you still remember the details clearly.
If your experience was amazing or incredibly frustrating, writing an honest review serves two important purposes: it helps other shoppers make better choices, and it provides useful feedback that can help businesses improve.
Step-by-Step Process for Writing a Helpful and Fair Review
- Find the Company: Use the Trustpilot search bar to find the correct business profile.
- Click “Write a review”: Select the star rating that is honestly perfect for your overall experience.
- Write Your Title and Review: Your review should have a clear headline that describes your experience. In the main text box describe what happened. Be clear, objective, and appropriate. Don’t use emotional language. Don’t share personal information, like phone numbers or home addresses.
- Confirm and Submit: Tick the box indicating that your review is based on a true, firsthand experience, and then click submit.
Editing, Updating, or Removing a Review You Have Already Submitted
Business relationships change. You can change your review if the company delivers your item incorrectly (and you leave a 1-star review), but then they go out of their way to refund your money and make things right.
Go to your dashboard, find the review in your history, and click Edit. You can edit the text and change the star rating to match the final resolution. If you want to delete your review altogether, you can do that from this same menu.
How Businesses Interact with Reviews and What That Means for You
How Companies Can Claim and Manage Their Trustpilot Profile
You will notice that some business pages say “Claimed profile” while others say “Unclaimed profile.”
- Unclaimed: This page was automatically generated by a customer who chose to leave a review for them. This business has not yet claimed their profile on the platform.
- Claimed: The company has verified its ownership with Trustpilot. A profile claim gives a business the ability to customize the page, respond to reviews, and view backend analytics.
How Businesses Respond to Customer Reviews
Open communication is highly encouraged on Trustpilot. Businesses are able to publicly respond to any reviews that are posted on their page.
When evaluating a company, pay special attention to how they handle criticism. Responding to a 1-star review in a professional, solution-focused manner is frequently an indication of a very reliable business. On the other hand, a company’s defensive, disrespectful, or combative responses raise serious red flags.
How Businesses Can Invite Customers to Leave Reviews
A lot of companies have Trustpilot built into their checkout flows, so that review requests are automatically sent after a purchase. Trustpilot monitors these invitations closely to ensure businesses aren’t “cherry-picking” by only inviting happy customers to leave reviews. Whether it is organic or invited, a review is held to the same community standards.
How Trustpilot Keeps Reviews Honest and Handles Complaints
The Rules and Guidelines That All Reviews Must Follow
Trustpilot has strict rules to ensure it is a positive ecosystem. The following types of content are strictly restricted:
- Dirtiness, hate speech, or offensive statements.
- Personal Identification Information (PII) such as employee full names, email addresses, or phone numbers.
- Advertising items, links or promotional content
- Worker or competitor or anyone with financial interest in the company writing reviews.
How the Flagging and Moderation Process Works
Upon report of a review for a policy violation by a business or consumer, the review is placed in a moderation queue for a period of time. Trustpilot’s content integrity team will review the review against their policy.
During this period the review is not visible temporarily. It comes back online if it passes the evaluation. If it violates a rule, the reviewer is generally emailed and offered the opportunity to edit it to comply with the guidelines.
What to Do If You Have a Dispute or Problem with the Platform
If you believe your review was mistakenly removed or a business is abusing the flagging system in an effort to bury your valid negative feedback, you can submit a ticket to Trustpilot Support. They will listen to the disagreement impartially. By providing proof of purchase (such as an invoice or shipping confirmation), you can correct your review and have it reinstated.
Summary
Trustpilot is an important tool to add more transparency to the modern day consumer experience. Learn to navigate business profiles, understand the weighted TrustScore, and identify verified reviews so you can avoid being scammed online or receiving a subpar service.
At the same time, when you submit your own honest, balanced reviews, you help build a better marketplace for everyone. Whether you’re exploring it to research a big purchase or to give credit to a local business that nailed it, Trustpilot gives you the power to navigate the digital world with total confidence.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Trustpilot free to use for consumers?
Yes, every customer can create an account, search for businesses, read reviews, and post their feedback completely free of charge.
Do I need an account to view reviews on Trustpilot?
No, anyone can search a company and view all the public reviews without having to register. You only need to register if you want to write a review or follow a business.
Can any business appear on Trustpilot?
Yes. A business profile is created either when a company registers its website on the platform or automatically when a customer leaves the very first review for that business.
What does a verified review mean on Trustpilot?
“Verified” means Trustpilot has independently verified (typically through an automated transaction email invite) that the reviewer has actually bought or experienced a real service with that company.
Can a business remove a negative review about them?
No, a business cannot have a review removed just because they don’t like it or it lowers their score. They can only flag a review if it breaches specific Trustpilot guidelines, and this is checked by Trustpilot’s independent moderation team.
How does Trustpilot calculate the TrustScore?
TrustScore is calculated with all approved reviews from 1 to 5. It employs a formula that considers recent reviews more heavily than older ones and takes into account the frequency of new reviews.
What should I do if I think a review I wrote was wrongly removed?
You can visit the Trustpilot Help Center and ask their support team to reverse the decision. “Provide the merchant documentation, such as a receipt or order confirmation, to expedite the resolution of the dispute.
Can I leave a review on Trustpilot without making a purchase?
No. The conditions for Trustpilot are very clear: you must have a real, first-hand experience with the company’s products or services. It is against the terms of service to write a review without this interaction, and it will be deleted.
Can I follow a business on Trustpilot to stay updated on new reviews?
Yeah. If you are a registered user, you can click on the follow button on any business profile page to receive system notifications whenever new reviews are posted. This way you can keep a tab on a company’s developing reputation.
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