# When Should Ecommerce Guides Cite Sources? > Give a source for external statistics, platform requirements, research findings, and claims about results. A product’s measured dimensions can come from your own verified product record; a claim that a checkout change raises conversions needs a credible study and its context. - Type: Merchant guide - Level: Intermediate - Reading time: About 4 minutes - Audience: Written for store owners, builders, and designers refining high-performance ecommerce stores. - Last updated: 2026-11-04 - Canonical page: https://academy.getzenbasket.com/merchant-questions/when-should-ecommerce-guides-cite-sources/ - Part of: [Merchant Questions](https://academy.getzenbasket.com/merchant-questions/) on ZenBasket Academy --- ## What you need to know ### Which source should you use? For an official product-listing requirement, read the channel’s current documentation. For a claim about buyer behavior, inspect the original study, sample, and date rather than copying a headline from another blog. ### What if studies disagree? Explain what each measured and when. A result from one store or market is an example, not a promise for your store. ### How do you keep facts current? Check prices, availability, policies, and external requirements whenever they change. Add a “last reviewed” date only if someone truly reviewed the page; do not update the date automatically without checking the content. ### What should you record during review? For each external claim, save the source, the date you checked it and the pages that use it. If a delivery provider changes a rule, you can find and update every affected guide. Product facts need owners too. Decide who updates price, stock, materials and policy pages, so old information does not stay live without anyone noticing. ### Which claims need extra care? Legal requirements, platform behavior, research results, and claims about performance can change or depend on location. Identify the country, service, and date when those details affect the meaning. Avoid turning one study or a vendor statement into a universal promise. When sources disagree, explain the difference or narrow the claim to what can be verified. --- ## Frequently asked questions ### Does every sentence need a citation? No. Cite claims that depend on an outside authority, statistic, policy or research finding. Your own clearly labeled product facts come from your product records. ### What if a source changes? Recheck the claim, update affected pages and record the new review date. Remove the claim if it can no longer be supported. ## Related articles - **How Do I Write Pages That Answer Shopping Questions?** - **How Do I Keep Ecommerce Content Accurate?** - [ZenBasket Build Guide](https://help.getzenbasket.com/zenbasket-builder/)