Editorial Policy

This page documents how Lights & Kits works editorially. If something we publish does not meet the standards described here, please let us know via our contact page.

Independence

We do not accept payment for reviews. We do not accept free products in exchange for favorable coverage. When we receive a review unit at no cost, we say so in the post and either return the unit at the manufacturer's expense or pay fair-market value after our review concludes.

Affiliate commissions earned on links in our posts do not influence which products we recommend or how we rank them. Commission rates and program affiliations are documented in our affiliate disclosure.

Editorial decisions are made by the editorial team independent of any commercial or affiliate relationship. No advertiser or affiliate program has approval over what we publish or how we describe their products.

Testing methodology

For buying guides and head-to-head comparisons, we test products under conditions that match how readers will actually use them. For smart home lighting, that means installing in real rooms with real Wi-Fi, not a benchtop. For content creator lighting, that means testing on real webcams and DSLRs at real distances from real subjects.

Hands-on reviews are based on a minimum of two weeks of daily use unless a shorter window is clearly noted. Longer-term reliability claims (battery health, durability, software updates) come from extended use periods of three months or more.

When we cannot test a product directly, we say so explicitly. Posts based on research alone are labeled and rely on a combination of: manufacturer documentation, technical specifications, verified user reports from public forums, and trusted third-party benchmarks.

Fact-checking

Before publication, every post is checked against primary sources for: pricing accuracy, specification accuracy, claim attribution, and link integrity. Pricing in evergreen guides is reviewed at every scheduled update (see Updates below).

If a reader flags a factual error, we re-verify the claim against the original source and correct the post per the Corrections section below.

Sources

We link to primary sources whenever possible: official product pages, technical specifications, peer-reviewed research, and government or industry standards bodies. Secondary sources (other reviewers, news outlets, manufacturer press releases) are credited and linked when used.

We do not quote sources without attribution, and we do not paraphrase another publication's reporting and present it as original.

Conflicts of interest

If a writer has a personal or financial relationship with a brand we cover, that relationship is disclosed in the post (for example, a writer who previously worked for a manufacturer whose product is being reviewed). Where a conflict is material enough to affect impartiality, the post is assigned to a different writer.

Sponsored content

We do not currently publish sponsored content. If we ever do, sponsored posts will be clearly labeled at the top of the post and excluded from category index pages so they cannot be mistaken for editorial coverage.

Corrections

If we get something wrong, we fix it. Material corrections are appended to the bottom of the affected post with the date of the correction and a brief note describing what changed. We do not silently rewrite history.

Typo-level fixes (spelling, grammar, formatting) are made without an explicit correction note. Anything that changes a recommendation, a price, a specification, or a factual claim is logged.

To request a correction: email us using the address on our contact page with the subject line beginning "Correction:" and a link to the affected post. We aim to acknowledge within 48 hours and publish a verified correction within five business days.

Updates

Evergreen posts (buying guides, comparisons) are reviewed and updated every three to six months, more often when a major product launch or recall changes a recommendation. News commentary is dated and not back-edited except for corrections.

The updatedDate shown on each post reflects the last substantive revision. Substantive means: a changed pick, a changed price by more than 10%, a new section, or a corrected claim. Cosmetic rewording does not trigger an updated date.