Janet Ingber
Online reviews and ratings have become an essential part of modern decision-making. Two of the most popular platforms are Yelp, which primarily focuses on businesses, and TripAdvisor, which specializes in travel. Both platforms generate their ratings by consolidating feedback from users.
Whenever you make a purchase online or in person, you are often prompted to rate the product or service. This is how these websites collect their data. However, keep in mind that reviews are not verified against personal biases. Anyone can create an account, and in some cases, reviewers may even be connected to the business.
For example, my experience at a motel contradicted its glowing reviews. The room was dirty, smelled unpleasant, had a malfunctioning air conditioner, and a broken door lock, and I even found a spider and web in the shower. This highlights an important truth: while anyone can post a review, credibility grows when a business has a large number of reviews from different people.
For this article, I used an iPhone running iOS 18.6 and an M1 Mac with macOS Sequoia 15.6.
Yelp
iOS App
Download Yelp on the App Store
The Yelp app is free to download for iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch. If the above link doesn’t work, simply search for “Yelp” in the App Store.
When you first open the app, you’ll be prompted to sign in. You can create an account with your email address or sign in with Apple or Google. Yelp will also request permission to use your location.
Exploring the App
The Yelp app features five main tabs along the bottom: Search, Projects, Me, Collections, and More. A vertical scroll bar appears on the right side of the screen.
Each tab contains a wealth of information, so I’ll provide just a few examples:
- Search: Brings up a search field with clearly displayed results and filters for narrowing them down.
- Projects: Focuses on home repair and renovation services, such as electricians, contractors, and remodelers.
- Me: Displays your reservations, reviews, and businesses you’ve interacted with.
- Collections: Offers curated lists of businesses such as restaurants, bakeries, and brunch spots.
- More: Provides access to food orders, reservations, and messages, along with options for events, settings, support, and finding friends.
At the top of the screen is a quick-access list of popular searches (restaurants, plumbers, etc.). Selecting More expands the list to categories like electricians, snacks and drinks, spas, and salons. An All Categories option is also available and works well with headings navigation. Categories include Health & Medical, Arts & Entertainment, and Pets. Selecting Pets, for instance, reveals subcategories such as Grooming, Emergency Pet Hospital, and Pet Insurance, each with detailed listings that include distance, address, reviews, and star ratings.
Searching is intuitive. When I entered “bakery” into the search form, results appeared instantly. After selecting one, I found all relevant details and even visited the bakery—which turned out to be excellent.
Leaving a review is straightforward. You assign a star rating (1–5), then write and post your review.
Overall, Yelp’s iOS app is highly accessible. The screens are uncluttered and simple to navigate.
Yelp Website
The Yelp website contains extensive information, much like the app. However, navigation can be frustrating. Pages sometimes load unexpectedly without input, and navigating by headings, links, and forms isn’t always reliable. Pop-up menus may fail to open, and account creation can be cumbersome. In short, while the content is there, the experience is less user-friendly than the app.
TripAdvisor
iOS App
Download TripAdvisor on the App Store
The TripAdvisor app requires iOS 18.0 or later on iPhone and iPad.
Upon launch, the app asks to use your location. In my case, it correctly identified it. You’re also prompted to sign in, either by creating an account or continuing with Apple or Google. I chose Google, and since I have multiple accounts, I simply selected the one I wanted.
The first screen displayed weekend getaway recommendations near me, along with a $30 welcome offer and a button to explore member benefits.
At the bottom are five tabs: Home, Search, Trips, Review, and Account. Like Yelp, the app also includes a vertical scroll bar on the right, which displayed nearby restaurants as I navigated it.
The Tabs
- Home: Highlights weekend getaways, tours abroad, and U.S. destinations. Selecting an option reveals price, description, ratings, and reviews.
- Search: Features a search box, followed by options for Popular and Nearby. Results adapt based on your choice, and you can save items for later. Searching “Alaska,” for example, brought up categories such as Overview, Things to Do, and Hotels. Choosing “Things to Do” prompted me to select a city, which then generated a list of activities.
- Trips: Helps plan vacations by entering where and when you want to travel. TripAdvisor makes recommendations and provides reviews.
- Review: Allows you to write reviews of places you’ve visited. This section was somewhat confusing, as I encountered error messages despite entering everything correctly.
- Account: Provides help, booking management, and chat options.
TripAdvisor Website
At the top of the homepage is a Sign In option. Unfortunately, I repeatedly received an “incorrect password” error when attempting to sign in with my Google account, even though the credentials were correct. The login prompt also popped up again after being dismissed.
The main navigation tabs include: Search All, Hotels, Things to Do, Restaurants, Flights, and Vacation Rentals. Beside these tabs is a Search button, which opens a field to enter your destination. Results appear in a section adjacent to the navigation bar.
When I searched for “Alaska,” numerous results appeared, similar to the app.
Overall, the website is information-rich but not overwhelming. Navigation by forms, headings, and links worked well, but because of the sheer volume of information, I recommend using VoiceOver’s Find command (Control + Option + F) to quickly locate items.
Conclusion
The app versions of Yelp and TripAdvisor are generally easier to navigate than their websites. The apps avoid clutter, and their tabbed structures make browsing more efficient.
- Yelp Website: Offers plenty of information but can be frustrating to navigate.
- TripAdvisor Website: Usable overall, but less user-friendly compared to the streamlined app.
For accessibility and ease of use, the apps are the stronger choice.
