How to write a software review in 2024

Writing an app or software review requires at least some expertise in the industry and a little technical knowledge. It is not exactly the same as reviewing a normal product. However, there is a similarity in one thing – you shouldn’t write a single word about the product if you haven’t touched it before. Additionally, you need to know what types of reviews will work well on the internet versus in the real world.

A very good review should be read as the writer’s opinion or a direct suggestion on the positive and negative sides of the product. Also, the writer should be very transparent in terms of features, costs, and anything related to the software that is being reviewed. All you need to do is follow the simple methods below and you will be good to go.

Get familiar with the Software

Before you start writing, you need to use the software as much as possible. If you want your review to be reliable and impressive, your own experience with it will give the best insight to readers. Download the software on your smartphone or computer and use it for at least a couple of hours. Get familiar with all the buttons, functions, and detail about it.

If you’re writing a review about a photo or video editor, or even animation software, make sure you have it on your PC first. Try to make a short video, edit a few photos, even if you’re not going to use the software in your daily life. This will give you a good grasp of how it works and what your readers should know.

Don’t worry if the software is made for a specific OS. If it is available only for macOS and you use Windows, you can use an emulator to test it out. This shouldn’t be something to drive you back from getting familiar with it.

Mention Pros, Cons, Price, and Features

Create an outline of all the good and bads you noticed while using the software. Additionally, you can come up with an overview of all the things you want to communicate to the reader about it. A rough outline will give you a good view of whether you got everything covered regarding the application.

The most important things you want to mention are the pros, cons, and all the features that the software offers. You need to notice what’s different with the specific software in comparison to other relevant apps in the industry. Write it down, but make sure to keep everything as objective as possible.

You can come up with a list of things for each category and present it in that way. The last thing you want to mention is the price since this can be a huge factor for a lot of users.

Read Other Reviews

Don’t hesitate to read other software reviews on the product you’re currently using. This will just help you come up with a better review and make you more thorough. If you missed something, you might notice that detail in someone else’s review, then go back to using the software and give your opinion on it. Sometimes, you won’t have the technical knowledge of the person that wrote that review, but you can always search the internet for terms they’re using for a better understanding.

When it comes to writing, it is completely normal to see things from someone else’s point of view, and this is not considered copying. Therefore, read articles, do your research, watch videos on YouTube, and gather as much information as you can.

Make it interesting

Since people usually don’t read piles of text online, it is generally a good idea to add videos and images to your review. We tend to scan for things we’re interested in, and adding a few pictures or a video that explains a certain feature of the software can be a great way to hold the reader’s attention.

Make a video that shows some simple features and how the software is generally used. Include the video in your review and you are guaranteed to have more readers. Additionally, don’t forget to take screenshots of interesting things you come across during your review of the software. This will give insight to users on how the UI looks and also introduce them to cool features you came across.

Be Transparent

One thing you want to completely avoid during your review is giving false information to the reader. This is why you should never accept to blindly make a “good review” of a product. Be sure that people will eventually find out that the information you gave is false. When this happens, you will lose a huge chunk of your followers and readers and will become irrelevant as a writer and reviewer.

We have an opportunity to choose what sources we are going to follow. Due to this fact, you already know that people will swiftly leave your platform to get an honest review of the product. Therefore, just don’t lie to people. We hate being lied to.

Make it Understandable

A good software review should be a place where readers can come to clear their doubts and form an opinion about the product. It is important to highlight the important information so the readers can know where to look. Also, you shouldn’t be too technical since many users won’t understand all the technicalities.

Making sections and tables can also be very useful. Structuring your review like this allows the reader to get the relevant information easier, without going through a lot of text constantly. Usually, it is a good idea to at least put pros and cons in two different tables, making it much more understandable and transparent.

Most importantly, you need to know who your readers are, of course. If your demography includes a lot of experts in the field you write in, you shouldn’t hesitate to write about even the tiniest detail. In fact, if you don’t do this, you will lose a portion of your followers.