# Claim and proof field checklist

- Source: https://simeoncreatives.com/resources/claim-proof-field-checklist
- Hub: Website Design & Development

Walk each claim on a page through seven fields and one publish gate. Print it, fill it, and find the statements you cannot back up.

Start with the five most visible claims on your site: the homepage headline, the first service page, and any number or logo. One sheet per claim.
If a claim cannot pass the gate, rewrite it as what you do, or remove it. Do not fill a field with a guess to make the sheet look done.

```mermaid
flowchart LR
    C["Claim"] --> P["Proof"]
    P --> S["Source + permission"]
    S --> K["Scope"]
    K --> G{"Gate"}
    G -->|Pass| L["Publish"]
    G -->|Fail| D["Draft"]
    L --> R["Review date"]
```
*A claim and its proof are one object. The gate checks both.*

## 1. The claim

- [ ] Claim, one sentence, as it appears on the page
- [ ] Where it appears (URLs). A claim used in three places is reviewed once
- [ ] It is a statement of fact, not mood. Adjectives alone ("trusted," "best-in-class") are not claims

## 2. Proof type and body

| Proof type | Pick one | What is the proof, exactly? |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Artifact link (live URL, public document, dated report) |  |  |
| Permissioned fact (agreed in writing, with a date) |  |  |
| Quote (named person, unedited) |  |  |
| Process description (what we do, no result attached) |  |  |
| None yet (renders nothing) |  |  |

- [ ] Someone who was not in the room can open or read the proof
- [ ] The proof says what the claim says, not something nearby

## 3. Source and permission

- [ ] Source (internal): who or what this came from, and the date
- [ ] Quote, name, logo, or client work involved? If yes, permission is required
- [ ] Permission recorded: who gave it, on what date, for what use
  Verbal is not a record. Write the email or note down.
- [ ] The relationship is still active, or the permission covers use after it ended

## 4. Scope line

One sentence about what this does not prove. If you cannot write it, the claim is wider than the evidence.

- [ ] This does not prove ___
  Example: This describes one engagement, not every client. The figure is from our own site, measured over the dates shown.
- [ ] Where the scope affects a reader’s decision, it appears on the page, not only in the sheet

## 5. Publish gate

- [ ] No claim without proof (or an explicit "none yet" that renders nothing)
- [ ] No quote, name, or logo without a dated permission entry
- [ ] No block without a scope line
- [ ] Editing the claim text sends the block back to draft for review

## 6. Review

| Review by (date) | Owner (one name) | Questions answered |
| --- | --- | --- |
|  |  | Still true? Permission still good? Proof still opens? |

- [ ] A list of blocks due for review in the next 30 days goes to the owner each week
- [ ] Failed review: block returns to draft and the page renders without it

## Related guides

- [A claim-and-proof content model editors cannot drift](https://simeoncreatives.com/blog/claim-and-proof-content-model)
- [A content model editors cannot break](https://simeoncreatives.com/blog/content-model-editors-cannot-break)
- [Service page proof architecture](https://simeoncreatives.com/blog/service-page-proof-architecture)
- [Landing page brief template](https://simeoncreatives.com/resources/landing-page-brief-template)