Editorial guidelines

Our editorial mission

Our mission is to become the UK’s most trusted student life publisher by delivering clear, honest and helpful content based on a mix of local student expertise, national insights and transparent research. Every article and guide is created to help students make confident, informed decisions throughout their university experience.

Our content principles

We follow six core principles across all content.

Student led expertise: All guides are written or co written by real students with lived experience in the cities and topics they cover. This ensures our advice is authentic and grounded in real day to day student life.

Accuracy and clarity: Information must be factually correct, clearly explained and easy to understand. We avoid jargon, exaggeration and any content that may mislead readers.

Nationwide relevance: We publish across every major UK university city. All city guides and lifestyle features reflect genuine local knowledge and are updated regularly.

Independence and transparency: Our editorial decisions are not influenced by advertisers or commercial partners. Any sponsored or paid content is clearly labelled so readers understand the nature of the relationship.

Regular updates: Student life changes quickly. We review and update guides throughout the year to keep information, pricing, recommendations and insights current.

Inclusivity and representation: We aim for content that reflects the diversity of UK students, including international students, LGBTQ students, neurodiverse students, mature students and those from underrepresented backgrounds.

How we choose our writers

Our student writers are chosen for their firsthand experience of the city or topic they cover, their ability to provide practical and honest insight, their writing quality and accuracy, their communication skills and editorial responsiveness, their enthusiasm for helping other students and their commitment to fact checking and integrity.

Each writer has a dedicated author page explaining who they are, their university, their city expertise and the articles they have contributed. These pages help readers understand the background of every writer and what makes them a trusted source.

Our editorial process

We follow a clear multi stage workflow designed to ensure quality and trustworthiness across every article.

Commissioning: Topics are selected based on student search trends, reader needs, nationwide survey insights and key moments in the academic year such as freshers, exam periods and housing cycles.

Research and sourcing: Writers gather information from reliable and verifiable sources such as universities, trusted organisations, government departments, official student services, local councils and recognised charities. Lived experience is included when relevant but must be supported with accurate information.

Writing and local insight: All articles prioritise clarity, neutrality and usefulness. Writers include their real experiences to offer context and depth, but avoid personal bias, unfair claims or language that could mislead students.

Fact checking and editorial review: Editors review each article for factual accuracy, clarity, brand voice, structure, readability, source reliability, spelling, grammar and punctuation, policy or pricing updates and consistency with these guidelines. Any information that cannot be verified is removed or rewritten.

SEO and accessibility review: We ensure every guide is easy to scan, structured for mobile, aligned with student search intent, optimised without keyword stuffing, formatted with clear headings, accessible for screen readers and supported with logical internal linking.

Publication and ongoing updates: Guides are revisited throughout the year to update opening times, pricing, neighbourhood changes, course or university details, travel information, recommendations that are no longer accurate, student experience insights and survey data. Readers can also report outdated content using the feedback link on the site.

Our use of student survey data

Unifresher conducts ongoing nationwide student surveys to understand student priorities, challenges and behaviours. We use this data to support university rankings, city guides, cost of living content, mental health and wellbeing features, student lifestyle and freshers content and trend led stories and insights.

To maintain transparency, we publish our methodology on our research and data page so readers and partners can see how findings were collected and analysed.

Accuracy and verification standards

To maintain trust, we follow strict verification practices. Information must be sourced from reliable and authoritative providers. Local recommendations must be supported by genuine student experience. University details are checked against official university pages. Cost of living content is cross checked with verified sources. Any claim that cannot be verified is removed. Sensitive topics are checked by editors trained in responsible content creation.

We do not publish unsupported tips, speculation or unverified statistics.

How we handle conflicts of interest

Writers must disclose any personal or financial connection to the places, services or institutions they mention. Where a potential conflict exists, we review the content carefully and may assign an editor to provide additional oversight.

Sponsored and paid content is clearly labelled so readers understand the nature of the relationship. We do not allow advertisers to dictate editorial decisions or control recommendations in our independent guides.

How we label content

To maintain transparency for readers, sponsored content is labelled as sponsored, affiliate links are labelled where required and expert commentary is identified with clear author information. Commercial partnerships do not override editorial judgement and all content must still meet our quality and accuracy standards.

Diversity and representation in our content

We aim to reflect the full breadth of the UK student community. We seek writers from varied backgrounds and publish content that supports international students, LGBTQ students, neurodiverse students, disabled students, first generation university students, mature students and those from underrepresented groups.

We continually expand our writer network and content mix to strengthen representation and highlight a wide range of student experiences.

How often we update our content

Update schedules vary by content type. City guides are generally reviewed every six to twelve months. Nightlife, food and local recommendation content is reviewed several times per year as venues change. Rankings are updated annually. Student finance content is updated in line with national policy changes. Accommodation content is reviewed during key rental periods and when there are changes in the market. Freshers and student life content is updated yearly. Survey led insights are updated whenever new data is released. If urgent changes are needed, we update articles as soon as possible.

Corrections and feedback process

Readers can submit corrections or flag outdated information using the contact or feedback links at the bottom of the site. Our editorial team reviews submissions promptly. When a correction is required, we update the content and, where appropriate, may add a brief note explaining that a change has been made.

Our commitment to continuous improvement

We regularly review our editorial standards and processes to keep pace with changes in student life, media expectations and online publishing. We adapt our approach as needed and continue investing in expanding our writer network, improving accuracy checks, strengthening our survey methodology, enhancing content structure and accessibility and monitoring new student trends.

Our goal is to always provide content that students can trust and that genuinely supports them through university.

Homepage editorial standards version

Why students trust Unifresher: Our content is written by real students with lived experience. Every guide is reviewed by editors for accuracy and clarity. We update our content throughout the year so information stays current. We use nationwide student survey insights to inform our recommendations. We are independent and transparent about sponsored work. Everything we publish is designed to help students make confident decisions.

Inline editorial trust block for articles

About our content: Our guides are written by real students with local experience and reviewed by editors for accuracy. We update our content throughout the year to make sure everything stays relevant and reliable for students.

B2B editorial standards for partners

Unifresher operates as an independent student life publisher with a clear editorial framework. Our content is created by current students and reviewed by editors to ensure accuracy, fairness and relevance. Partnerships do not influence our editorial judgement and all sponsored content is clearly labelled so readers understand the nature of each collaboration. We provide transparent survey methodologies, city level insights and consistent nationwide coverage that reflects the real experiences of UK students. This approach allows universities, brands and organisations to work with a publisher that values both student authenticity and editorial rigour.