The short verdict
- Builders fill every empty slot with something plausible. Some of it ships to production.
- Invented quotes and stats are not just weak. In some places they break advertising rules.
- An honest empty space beats a convincing fake one.
01How filler ends up live
When you ask for a landing page, the builder does not leave gaps. It writes a testimonial from “Sarah K., Head of Growth”. It invents “10,000+ happy customers”. It adds a logo row of companies that do not exist, or worse, companies that do. You meant to replace them later. Then the site went live on a Tuesday night and later never came.
It happens more often than you would think, and it is easy to miss when you have looked at the same page a hundred times.
02Where it hides
Testimonials
The classic. A name, a job title, a stock face and a quote that sounds like marketing copy because it is. Real customer quotes are usually shorter, plainer and more specific.
Stats and counters
“98% satisfaction”, “3x faster”, “500+ teams”. Counters that animate up to a number nobody measured.
Logo rows
Generic shapes with made-up names, or well-known brands the builder picked because they often appear in logo rows. Showing a real company’s logo without a relationship is a much bigger problem than a generic placeholder.
Team and about pages
Stock headshots with invented names, or a founder story the tool wrote from your prompt.
The small print
Lorem ipsum in a footer column, “123 Main Street” as your address, a phone number of 555s, social icons linking to twitter.com instead of your profile, a privacy policy that names a different company. These are the ones people miss, because nobody reads the footer during review.
03Why it matters more than it looks
- Visitors spot it. One obviously fake quote makes every other claim on the page suspect.
- Rules apply. In the US the FTC has rules against fake reviews and testimonials, and UK consumer law covers fake reviews too. “The AI wrote it” is not a defence.
- Real brands notice. Using another company’s logo implies a relationship. Expect a polite email at best.
- Search engines notice. Thin, repeated, invented content does nothing for you in search.
“Every fake detail is a small bet that nobody will check. Eventually somebody checks.”
04What to put there instead
If you have customers
Ask three of them for one sentence each, about a specific result. Use their real name and company with permission. A screenshot of a genuine email or review often works better than a polished quote.
If you are new
Replace social proof with other proof. Show the product working. Explain who you are and why you built it, with a real photo. Give a clear guarantee or trial. Specific facts about how the product works build trust without pretending to a history you do not have yet.
For numbers
Only show numbers you can trace to a source. If you cannot, cut the section. A page with fewer claims that are all true reads stronger.
05A quick sweep
Search your site’s text for “Lorem”, “John”, “Jane”, “Sarah”, “Acme”, “example.com”, “555” and “123”. Click every footer link and social icon. Read every quote and ask who said it. It takes twenty minutes.
06Questions people ask
Can I keep a testimonial if I paraphrase what a customer said?
Get their OK on the exact wording first. A quote with a name attached should be something they would recognise as theirs.
Is a stock photo on the about page a problem?
If it is presented as your team, yes. Use real photos, even simple ones, or leave faces out.
What if a logo row is the only social proof I have?
Only show logos of companies that are actually customers and are happy to be named. If that is none yet, leave it out.
Can you check my site for leftover filler?
Yes. Send us the link and we will list anything that looks invented or left over.
