Editorial standards
Editorial Policy
These standards define how Smart Living Advice chooses topics, evaluates products, handles affiliate relationships and updates published guidance.
Primary purpose
Smart Living Advice exists to help homeowners and renters make informed home-comfort decisions. Content should be useful even when a reader does not buy anything through the site.
Editorial independence
Affiliate commissions may support the site, but commercial relationships should not determine rankings, suppress meaningful drawbacks or turn a research-based recommendation into a claimed hands-on test.
Product selection
Products should be selected because they fit a defined use case, not simply because they are available through an affiliate program. A guide should explain meaningful differences, limitations and situations where another option is more appropriate.
Sources and verification
Specifications and compatibility claims should be checked against current primary sources where practical, including manufacturer product pages, manuals, warranty information and official documentation. Secondary sources may add context but should not replace verification of important technical facts.
Hands-on testing vs. research
We distinguish hands-on evaluation from research based on published documentation and specifications. We do not invent testing, measurements, ownership history, credentials, quotes, ratings or first-person experience.
Automation and AI assistance
If automation or AI materially assists research, drafting or production, the responsible editor should review the output, verify consequential facts and remove unsupported claims before publication. Automation is not a substitute for editorial accountability.
Updates and corrections
Commercial guides should be revisited when products are discontinued, specifications materially change or a recommendation no longer reflects the market. Meaningful corrections should improve the page rather than merely changing the displayed date.
Affiliate disclosures
Pages containing affiliate relationships should disclose that relationship clearly and close to the recommendation content. See the Affiliate Disclosure.
Questions or corrections
If you believe a guide contains an error or an important missing limitation, contact us.