Lost site, found quotes
Recover Testimonials From an Old Website
The hosting lapsed, the agency closed, or the old site was switched off before anyone copied the testimonials page. The quotes are not always gone: archived snapshots, old exports and your own inbox often still hold them. What is gone is the certainty that each customer is still happy to be quoted. Recover the words, then ask every person again before anything goes back up.
- Where lost testimonials usually survive
- A fresh yes from every customer
- Back on the new site in their own words
The problem, solved
Why a lost testimonials page is hard to rebuild, and how StoryProof helps
We found the words but not the permission
An archived snapshot shows the quote, but the email where the customer agreed to it went with the old mailbox.
With StoryProof: Add each customer as a contact and email them the collection link with their old quote quoted back, asking them to confirm or update it.
Old customers do not reply first time
Years later, a request from a business they used once is easy to ignore.
With StoryProof: From Pro, follow-ups send a reminder after three days and a last email four days later, and stop as soon as the customer answers.
The old quote no longer fits
Their situation has moved on, and the three line quote from 2019 undersells what they would say now.
With StoryProof: The same link lets them record a fresh video, leave an audio note or write an update, with no app to install.
Some customers said “yes, use it as is”
They confirmed the archived wording and you would rather not ask them to retype it.
With StoryProof: Put the confirmed quotes in a spreadsheet and upload it, matching name, text, company, job title and the original date.
The videos only survive as files
The old player is dead, but someone still has the original clips on a laptop or drive.
With StoryProof: Upload those video files directly into StoryProof, then approve the ones the customer has confirmed.
Flip the switch to see how StoryProof handles each one.
Free checklist
Recover, confirm, republish
Start with the sources most likely to hold the original words, then ask every customer before reuse.
Your progress stays in this browser tab only.
Prompts
What to say when you ask again
Short lines for the reconfirmation email. Quote their words back so they remember.
Opening
- Our old website went offline, and with it the kind words you sent us in {year}.
- Here is what you wrote: “{old quote}”.
The question
- Are you still happy for us to show this on our new site?
- If anything has changed, would you like to send an updated version?
Leave out
- Assuming silence means yes
- Implying they already agreed to the new site
Making it easy
- Reply yes to keep it as it is, or use this link to update it in writing, audio or video.
In StoryProof
Rebuild the testimonials page with StoryProof
- 1
Add the customers as contacts
One contact per recovered quote.
- 2
Send the reconfirmation by email
Quote their old words and include the collection link so they can update in any format.
- 3
Let reminders chase the quiet ones
On Pro or above, follow-ups go out automatically and stop once someone answers.
- 4
Bring in the confirmed originals
Upload a spreadsheet of quotes confirmed as is, and the original video files, then approve them.
- 5
Give them a home that outlives the site
Your Wall of Love is a hosted page of approved testimonials with its own link, separate from whatever site you build next.
What happens next: Keep the archive links and the customers’ replies together. If anyone asks where a quote came from, you have the trail.
Before you start
What recovery cannot do
What this does not cover, and what to check on your side. Better to know now than after launch.
- 01
Archives are incomplete
Snapshots do not exist for every page or date, and images and video players often fail to load in them.
- 02
StoryProof does not search archives
Finding the old quotes is manual work in the archive and your files. StoryProof starts once you have them.
- 03
Some customers will not answer
People change jobs and email addresses. A quote whose author you cannot reach stays off the new site.
- 04
Recovered dates are history
An old quote confirmed today is still an old quote. If the business has changed, ask for an updated version rather than republishing the original.
FAQ
Questions people ask
Short answers to what usually comes up next.
Can I republish testimonials from my old site without asking again?
It is safer not to. The record of what each customer agreed to usually went with the old site, and a quick confirmation also tells you whether they still feel the same.
How do I find my old site in the Wayback Machine?
Enter the old domain at web.archive.org and browse the snapshots by date. Try the testimonials page address and the homepage, which often carried quotes.
What if the customer’s business has closed?
If you cannot reach them, leave the quote off. A testimonial from a business that no longer exists can raise more questions than it answers.
How do I stop this happening again?
Keep testimonials in a library outside the site itself, with a hosted page of their own, so a change of website does not take them with it.
Still have a question? Ask the StoryProof team or book a demo.
Bring your old testimonials home
Ask each customer again by email, collect what they confirm and keep it safe from the next site change.
Sources
- How to Recover Content From an Old Website That’s No Longer Online, Web Eminence. Checked 2026-11-06.
Last updated 2026-11-06.