The Anatomy of a Wirecutter Guide

If you’re a long-time Wirecutter fan, you know our guides can be notoriously lengthy. An older version of our robot vacuum guide was 17,000 words—just under the length of Macbeth. What can we say? Since our founding in 2011, we’ve strived to showcase our deep research, extensive knowledge, and rigorous testing.

These days, our guides may look a little shorter. Our hope is that by presenting our work in a more concise, easy-to-digest format, we can better serve readers. So long to endless scrolling.

Although we have changed the length of our guides, they still feature the same important core sections, discussing why you should trust us, who the guide is for, how we picked and tested, our picks, flaws but not dealbreakers, other good options, and models we tested but don’t recommend. These sections are the foundation of our work and help us lead readers to the information they need and the pick that works for them. But why do we organize our work in this particular, idiosyncratic way?

Why you should trust us

The Wirecutter journalists who make picks and write guides are dedicated experts. But it’s not enough for us to simply make that assertion and expect readers to trust us. We want to explain why you can trust us.

Senior staff writer Doug Mahoney, who wrote our guide to the best tools and toolbox, tells readers that he spent 10 years in construction as a carpenter, foreman, and building supervisor before becoming a journalist. Before senior staff writer Michael Sullivan advises you on how to shop for dinnerware, he lets you know that he spent a decade in the food and restaurant industry.

The “Why you should trust us” section is also where we share the most pertinent outside sources we used to inform our recommendations. We seek out uniquely qualified experts that can help us understand what models to test and how to test them.

Who this is for

We include the “Who this is for” section when it’s helpful to outline the sorts of problems a person might have that a product in the given category could solve. If you’re looking for a coffee maker, for instance, you may be looking for the best possible coffee experience you can find, and a drip coffee maker and a solid grinder are for you. If you just want something inexpensive that will get the job done, you may be better off with a cheap coffee maker. Our “Who this is for” section is where we can properly frame your needs and help direct you toward the right guide or part of the guide to solve your problem.

“You have to understand what is confusing about the product,” says senior editor Harry Sawyers, “and why a reader needed to go to the internet to look up information about this seemingly simple purchase in the first place.” This section makes sure that readers see themselves and their frustrations with an item reflected. It’s Wirecutter’s place, notes Harry, to say to readers that they’re not alone—to say that we’ve had that problem too, and we’re here to help.

How we picked and how we tested

In these sections, we explain the process that led us to our picks. Before we start testing, our writers work on what we call a scout report, answering all the important questions about a product category: Who is this type of product for? What are the most important things to look for? What are the most noteworthy brands that make this item? Should we consider any sustainability, accessibility, or privacy issues? Who are the most authoritative sources to talk to?

From there, our writers scour the internet, including the sites of Amazon and other major retailers, as well as the message boards of enthusiast groups, to come up with a model list of the top contenders in a category. As the writer tests the gear on their model list, they build what we call a comparison table: a color-coded, obsessively detailed spreadsheet that illustrates the strengths and weaknesses of each model.

The “How we tested” section of a guide explains how we went about measuring the performance of each evaluated product on the criteria we set forward. The testing stories are often quite colorful, including the time we spent testing duffle bags’ waterproofing and durability in the Hawaiian surf, the hours we spent brewing gallons of beer at home, or the 1,200 miles our testers hiked while testing boots. Testing can be fun, even exhilarating, but what we’re aiming to do in “How we picked” and “How we tested” is explain how we assess gear with regard to any problems or questions readers might have. For example, drinking a home-brewed beer is wonderful, but how easy is it to clean the kit afterward? Which company provides the most detailed, easy-to-follow instructions? We try to anticipate all these reader questions and test models accordingly.

The picks (our pick, runner-up, budget pick, upgrade pick, and also great)

In Wirecutter parlance, picks are what we call our top recommendations, but even within picks are variations that can be slightly confusing. Here’s a quick summary of each type of pick:

Our pick: This is it—the one thing we recommend most people should buy based on our testing, the features it has, and the value it offers for its price. This section is where we critically explain why this item is the best choice rather than just issuing a blanket statement telling you it is. We do so via comparative statements like, “Of the 23 [products] we tested, this one proved to be the best by far in X, Y, and Z categories,” so you can understand our methodology and how our pick performed against other contenders. If you don’t look at any other section in a guide, we won’t hold it against you.

Runner-up: The silver medalist. The runner-up usually stands out from the competition, but it may have a drawback or two, such as stock issues or an outdated look. Other times, a runner-up is a runner-up simply because of the testers’ preferences. It’s a perfectly solid option for people who demand quality but don’t sweat the small stuff. Often, it’s also what we recommend that people buy if the top pick is sold out.

Also great: A cousin of the runner-up, an also-great model may stand out to a specific type of shopper for one of its features, but it may not be the best choice for most people. Rather than letting this stellar alternative languish in the Competition section, we explain why it might be the right fit for your situation. For example, the Zojirushi Stainless Steel Mug has been our favorite travel mug for years, and its leakproof design makes it perfect for carrying in a tote or backpack. However, drivers might prefer the Stanley Classic Trigger-Action Travel Mug, which is wider and fits better in most car cup holders.

Budget pick: If a budget pick were a song lyric, it would be from Bruce Springsteen’s “Thunder Road”: “You ain’t a beauty, but hey, you’re alright.” And sometimes that’s enough. The budget pick serves a more economically diverse readership, as well as people for whom a product isn’t a top priority.

Upgrade pick: Sometimes, splurging is worth it, particularly if you really care about this particular item. For example, our top-pick Dutch oven is the roughly $80 Lodge 6-Quart Enameled Cast Iron Dutch Oven, but if you’re a dedicated cook and have an extra $340 to spare, our upgrade pick, the Le Creuset 5½-Quart Round Dutch Oven, is worth the price—it’s the kind of thing that performs extremely well and is passed down through generations. For plenty of people, the upgrade merits the extra dough.

Flaws but not dealbreakers

Nobody’s perfect. “Flaws but not dealbreakers” is where we anticipate problems that readers might have with our pick and give them a brief warning with helpful context. For instance, the Zojirushi Neuro Fuzzy Rice Cooker & Warmer NS-ZCC10 takes 10 to 15 minutes longer than the other rice cookers we tested, but the resulting rice will reward your patience (and curry) immensely. Ideally, this section is a short one, where we make useful comparative statements and list why, despite any errors in design or function, our pick is still the best.

Other good options

Models that don’t make the cut after testing end up in the Competition section (more on that below). But some items aren’t pick-worthy, yet they shouldn’t be dismissed either—such as the Zinus Green Tea Memory Foam mattress, which was a pick in our cheap mattresses guide until other options received better tester feedback. Behold, the “Other good” section, the landing place for former picks or other options that have special use cases. For example, in our guide to the best Wi-Fi mesh-networking systems, the Eero 6+ is another good option; it’s an upgraded version of our Eero 6 pick that comes with more router units. We also mention the Vilo 6, which rivals our budget pick when it’s on sale.

The competition

Most of our guide sections have organically sprouted from the idea that it’s easier to integrate answers to readers’ potential questions beforehand. In Wirecutter’s early days, dedicated readers would frequently respond to our guides with: “Well, what about X product? And why didn’t you test Y?” And thus, the Competition section, which explains the reasoning behind our dismissals, was born.

What to look forward to

Keeping our guides accurate and up-to-date helps ensure we’re serving our readers. That means even after a guide is published, our work isn’t done. “What to look forward to” is where we fill readers in on any gear we’re planning to test or currently testing and what product releases we’re following.

This article was edited by Amber Angelle and Jason Chen.