I recently spoke to a potential new client about a redesign/update of their website and the area of Testimonials & Awards came up.  Apparently this area on a website can cause awkwardness if not handled properly.

In this case, the client (which had two partners involved) had some really old awards, over 15 years. One of the partners wanted all of them listed and the other only wanted to go back a few years.

I tried not to take sides verbally but on the inside I consider this the “Al Bundy Effect” If you recall, Al Bundy from Married With Children loved to romances about his glory days on the grid iron.  His wife Peg was enamored at the time but had long gotten past his glory days and moved on with her life. (Well, besides the hairstyle and clothing…)

Ironically, I just happen to notice a local dining establishment that had it’s walls covered with awards from past years… snapped a picture for this posting! 

Not to drag out this post, but I was waiting to hear back from the client on what they wanted to do, though was curious to think what others thought, So, I asked a few colleagues.

Everyone agreed that Testimonials & Awards are valuable to share.  They prove expertise and authority in the business segment in question.  The two main things that came up were, gap in years and outdated technology or service.

So, if there was a large gap of years between awards, maybe drop the earliest gap year, say 1999, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011…  lose the 1999. [Note the 7 year gap that now exists as we are in 2014.  Odd? A little bit to me!]

If the award is for something that is long outdated and not used anymore, service or product, then it makes no sense whatsoever to include.  Being the “Best DOS 3.1 Consultant” doesn’t do much for you these days!

So there you have it, a little something to consider when working with clients about their past achievements.

Good luck!