Sunset and retired products
Testimonials for a Discontinued Product
A product is retired, and some of your warmest testimonials are about it. Leaving them up sells something nobody can buy; deleting them throws away years of goodwill toward your company. The answer is different for each quote, so answer five questions about one of them at a time.
- Keep, move, refresh or retire one quote
- Weighs what the quote actually praises
- Tells you which page it can still serve
Decision helper
What should happen to this one quote?
Have a single testimonial about the retired product in front of you. Run the helper again for the next one.
Your answers stay in this browser tab and are not sent anywhere.
The problem, solved
What a retired product leaves behind, and how to tidy it in StoryProof
- Problem 1
Visitors keep asking where to buy it
A glowing quote about the old product sends readers hunting for a buy button that no longer exists, then to your support inbox.
How StoryProof solves it
You choose which approved testimonials each widget shows, so quotes naming the retired product can come out of the widgets on sales pages.
- Problem 2
We cannot tell which quotes are about it
Years of testimonials, and nobody recorded which product each one was about.
How StoryProof solves it
Tag each quote with the product it praises, and add a retired tag when a product ends. Tags, moderation and roles are on every plan, including Free.
- Problem 3
Our best quote praises the product and us
Throwing it away loses the part about your people, which is still accurate and still persuasive.
How StoryProof solves it
Use it on company level pages or the Wall of Love, a hosted page of your approved testimonials with its own link, rather than beside a product.
- Problem 4
Customers moved to the new product
Their old quote is about the wrong thing, but they are exactly the people who can vouch for the successor.
How StoryProof solves it
Add them as contacts and send them the collection link, where they can record a video, leave an audio note or write a few lines about the move.
- Problem 5
The new quote mentions the old product
A refreshed testimonial might compare the two in a way you would not want on the successor’s page.
How StoryProof solves it
New submissions stay private until you approve them, so you can read the comparison before deciding where it goes.
One retired product, four quotes
Illustrative sample, not a StoryProof customer
A sample bakery supply shop stops selling a hand mixer and replaces it with a stand mixer. It has four testimonials about the hand mixer.
One says the hand mixer was light enough to use all day: retired, tagged retired, kept in StoryProof.
One says the shop answered a warranty question within the hour: moved to the about page.
Two authors bought the stand mixer since: asked for a fresh testimonial about the switch, old quotes kept off the product page until they reply.
In StoryProof
Clear up after a discontinued product
- 1
Tag every quote about it
Find the testimonials that mention the product and give them the product tag and a retired tag.
- 2
Run the helper on each one
Note keep, move, refresh or retire next to each quote. A handful usually lands in each group.
- 3
Change the widget selections
Remove retired quotes from every widget and add the moved ones to the widgets on company level pages.
- 4
Ask the authors who switched
Send the collection link to customers now using the replacement, and approve their new testimonials before placing them.
What happens next: Check the retired product’s old page. If it now redirects to the successor, make sure no old quote arrives there with it.
Before you start
Limits worth knowing
What this does not cover, and what to check on your side. Better to know now than after launch.
- 01
No bulk retire
StoryProof has no single action that removes every quote with one tag from all widgets. Each widget’s selection is changed on its own.
- 02
This page relies on no in app editing
Rewording a quote to name the replacement changes what the customer said. Ask them for a new testimonial instead.
- 03
Delete or keep is your call
This page does not cover deleting testimonials from StoryProof. Keeping retired quotes tagged and out of widgets leaves the history in one place.
- 04
The helper weighs words, not sales
It does not know how much the retired product meant to your revenue or brand. A flagship product may deserve a short history note instead.
FAQ
Questions people ask
Short answers to what usually comes up next.
Can I keep a testimonial about a product I no longer sell?
On a page about your company, often yes, if what it praises is still true. Beside other products, it misleads readers into looking for something they cannot buy.
Should I change the product name in the quote to the replacement?
No. That puts words in the customer’s mouth about something they may never have used. Ask them for a new testimonial about the replacement.
What about video testimonials that show the old product?
The same questions apply, and video is harder to reuse because the product is on screen. Move it only if the speaker is talking about your team, not the item in their hands.
What if we bring the product back?
That is why retiring beats discarding. Tagged quotes kept in StoryProof can be reread, checked with their authors and returned to a widget if the product comes back.
Still have a question? Ask the StoryProof team or book a demo.
Keep the goodwill, lose the confusion
Tag testimonials by product, choose what each widget shows and collect fresh proof for what you sell now.
Last updated 2026-11-12.