UK Shops & Shopping Guide - Shop Ratings Explained

UK Shops & Shopping Guide continue to review all of the shopping sites featured on our site. We rate each site out of five - a rating that's completely independent. This rating will only change as the respective website changes, and these ratings will not be influenced by any other means other than on a website's merit.

The notes below provide details on how we decide whether or not a site can feature in the UK Shops & Shopping Guide. They also provide details on which factors we take into consideration when assessing each of the sites we feature for the benefit of UK Shops & Shopping Guide users.

UK Shops & Shopping Guide - Inclusion Criteria

When examining a site for inclusion into the UK Shops & Shopping Guide, we look for compliance with the following points.

Featured Shops...

• Should offer a large product portfolio, suitable for "high street" consumers.
• Should based in the UK, or should regularly deliver goods to the UK.
• Should clearly display product prices and delivery.
• Should offer online ordering and facilitate secure payment transactions.
• Should display full contact details; including telephone and fax numbers, postal and e-mail addresses, and a contact for complaints or order tracking.
• Should prominently display customer service information; including delivery information, a refunds and returns policy and information on how to cancel contracts.
• Should be of good design, making the site quick to load and easy to use.
• Should operate a clear privacy policy.
• Should clearly display their Terms and Conditions.
• Should not feature any Adult Content within their pages.
• Should not link to other sites that contain explicit material.
• Should not link to other sites that contain adult orientated products/services.

UK Shops & Shopping Guide Rating Information

All shop websites are judged purely on merit. When awarding ratings to the websites listed, UK Shops & Shopping Guide take into consideration the following factors:

• the site appearance
• how easy users are able to navigate the website
• how easy users are able to read information about the company/retailer
• whether the site clearly displays policies pertaining to goods returns and refunds
• whether the site clearly displays policies pertaining to user privacy
• whether the site clearly displays policies pertaining to any site terms and conditions or user agreements
• browser compatibility - can the site be viewed in both Internet Explorer and Netscape?
• how established the site is
• how informative the site is to its target audience
• whether postage fees are clearly advised to the user
• how easy users are able to track their purchases
• how easy users are able to contact the company/retailer for any customer service related queries or questions
• can prices be converted to GBP easily [- for non-UK based sites]

UK Shops & Shopping Guide Online Shopping - Ratings Key

Website Standard	Rating Image
Outstanding
Very Good
Good
Fair
OK

Queries pertaining to UK Shops & Shopping Guide's Website Rating Notes

UK Shops & Shopping Guide continue to review our service to ensure that our site fulfils its purpose and to ensure that you keep coming back here when online shopping.

Should you have any queries regarding our Rating Notes, our service, this site, technical problems, etc., please contact us by clicking here and we will do our best to resolve or clarify any issues promptly.