Best WordPress Review Plugin

A staggering 90% of consumers read online reviews before visiting a business, and 88% trust these reviews as much as personal recommendations. Effectively leveraging customer feedback can be the difference between a thriving online presence and getting lost in the digital noise.

But managing this social proof manually can be an overwhelming, time-consuming task.

WordPress review plugins offer a solution to this challenge. These tools streamline the review management process, allowing you to easily gather and showcase customer opinions.

The right plugin can also help improve your search engine rankings and drive more traffic to your site.

In this comprehensive guide, we’ll examine the top WordPress review plugins, exploring:

Key features to look for in a review management solution
A detailed analysis of the best WordPress review plugins
Strategies for maximizing the impact of customer reviews on your site

Why Customer Reviews Matter for Your WordPress Site

Understanding the profound impact of customer reviews is crucial for any online business.

Let’s delve deeper into why they’re so vital for your WordPress site’s success:

Boost Credibility: Authentic customer feedback serves as powerful social proof, showing potential buyers that your products or services are trustworthy and high-quality.
Improve SEO: Many review plugins add schema markup to your site, helping search engines better understand your content. This can lead to rich snippets in search results, increasing click-through rates and driving more organic traffic.
Encourage Engagement: Allowing customers to leave reviews creates a two-way conversation, fostering a sense of community and increasing brand loyalty.
Inform Product Development: Customer feedback provides invaluable insights into what’s working and what needs improvement, helping you refine your offerings.
Increase Conversions: Positive reviews can be the final push a potential customer needs to make a purchase, directly impacting your bottom line.

When choosing a WordPress review plugin, look for features like:

Customization options: The plugin should allow you to tailor the look and feel of your reviews to match your site’s design. This includes customizing colors, fonts, and layout.
Multiple review formats: Look for a plugin that supports various review formats, such as star ratings, thumbs up/down, and written testimonials. This flexibility allows you to choose the format that works best for your site.
Moderation tools: It’s important to have control over which reviews are published on your site. Look for a plugin with robust moderation features, such as the ability to approve, reject, or edit reviews before they go live.
Integration with other plugins: If you’re running an e-commerce site with WooCommerce, for example, make sure the review plugin integrates seamlessly with your existing setup.
Schema markup: As mentioned earlier, schema markup can improve your site’s visibility in search results. Choose a plugin that automatically adds this markup to your reviews.

Top WordPress Review Plugins

Now that we understand the importance of customer reviews and the key features to look for in a WordPress review plugin, let’s dive into our curated selection of top performers.

Each of these plugins has been carefully evaluated based on functionality, user experience, customization options, and overall value.

1. Starfish Reviews

Starfish Reviews is a powerful WordPress review plugin that helps you generate and showcase customer reviews effectively.

It provides an easy way to collect feedback from customers and automatically send them to the appropriate review platform, such as Google, Facebook, Yelp, or TripAdvisor.

The plugin works by creating a “funnel” that asks users how they feel about a business, product, or service.

If they have a positive experience, they are directed to leave a 5-star review on the chosen platform. If they are not satisfied, they are asked to provide direct feedback to the business.

Its key features include:

Review generation and marketing capabilities: Starfish Reviews enables you to create and run targeted review generation campaigns directly from your WordPress site. This helps you encourage satisfied customers to leave positive reviews on various online platforms, boosting your online reputation.
Customizable review funnels: The plugin allows you to tailor your review funnels to minimize friction and maximize the number of high-quality reviews collected. You can adjust questions, prompts, and the overall review path to optimize the user experience and increase the likelihood of customers leaving reviews.
Multiple display options: Starfish Reviews offers several ways to showcase your collected reviews, including shortcodes and embedded HTML. This flexibility ensures that you can seamlessly integrate testimonials and reviews into your site’s design, enhancing social proof and credibility.
Integration with email marketing: The plugin integrates seamlessly with popular email marketing platforms like MailChimp and MailPoet. This feature automates the review request process, allowing businesses to send personalized requests to customers after a purchase or service interaction, thereby increasing the likelihood of receiving reviews.
Review import and display: For premium users, Starfish Reviews provides the ability to import reviews from various platforms and display them on their website using a custom collections builder. This feature showcases positive feedback and enhances the business’s credibility and online presence.
Compliance with review policies: Starfish Reviews allows you to disable “review gating,” ensuring compliance with guidelines set by platforms like Google. This feature helps maintain transparency and integrity in the review process.

Why We Selected Starfish Reviews

Starfish Reviews stands out among WordPress review plugins due to its simplicity and effectiveness.

The plugin’s user-friendly interface makes it easy for you to set up and manage review generation campaigns, even if you have limited technical expertise.

Additionally, the customizable review funnels allow you to optimize the review collection process, ensuring that you gather high-quality, authentic feedback from your customers. This, in turn, helps you build trust with potential clients and improve your search engine rankings through the power of social proof.

For businesses looking to consolidate their online presence, Starfish Reviews’ premium version allows you to import reviews from various platforms and display them on your website using a custom collections builder. This feature provides a comprehensive view of your online reputation in one place.

Starfish Reviews’ pricing is also competitive, with plans starting at just $67 per month. This makes it an affordable option for businesses of all sizes looking to leverage the power of customer reviews.

You can experience the power of Starfish Reviews for yourself with a free trial. Don’t miss this opportunity to transform your customer feedback into a powerful marketing tool.

Start your 14-day free trial of the business plan today and see the difference Starfish Reviews can make for your business.

2. Stars Testimonials

Stars Testimonials is another top-rated WordPress review plugin that excels in creating visually stunning testimonials.

It allows you to easily create an unlimited number of testimonials, complete with star ratings, company names, and customer images. The plugin supports integration with popular page builders like Elementor, making it simple to add testimonial widgets to your website.

One of the standout features of Stars Testimonials is its customizable widget layouts. You can tailor the appearance of your testimonials to perfectly align with your website’s design, ensuring a cohesive and professional look.

The plugin supports various display formats, including grids and sliders, giving you the flexibility to present your reviews in the most engaging way possible.

Stars Testimonials also offers a range of features to enhance the impact of your testimonials:

Display Options: Stars Testimonials provides multiple display formats, including grid layouts, sliders, and masonry styles. This flexibility enables users to choose how testimonials appear on their site, enhancing visual appeal and user engagement.
Customization Features: The plugin allows extensive customization options. Users can modify colors for backgrounds, text, and star ratings to align with their website’s branding.
Integration with Page Builders: Stars Testimonials is compatible with popular WordPress page builders such as Elementor, Divi, and WPBakery. This integration simplifies the process of adding testimonial widgets to pages, making it accessible for users who utilize these builders.

Why We Chose Stars Testimonials

Stars Testimonials has proven to be a reliable and versatile solution for showcasing customer reviews on client websites. Its ease of use, combined with its powerful customization options, makes it a top choice for businesses seeking to leverage the power of social proof.

The plugin’s compatibility with Elementor is particularly noteworthy, as it enables you to create visually stunning testimonial displays that seamlessly blend with your website’s design.

This integration saves time and effort, allowing you to focus on collecting high-quality reviews rather than worrying about the technical aspects of implementation.

Moreover, Stars Testimonials’ ability to incorporate star ratings and images adds an extra layer of credibility to your testimonials. These elements help to capture the attention of potential customers and reinforce the authenticity of the feedback, ultimately leading to increased trust and conversions.

3. Strong Testimonials

Strong Testimonials is a feature-rich WordPress review plugin that empowers you to collect and display customer reviews effectively. It offers advanced customization options for review submission forms, allowing you to tailor the fields and layout to your specific needs. This flexibility ensures that you can gather the most relevant information from your customers, making the review process seamless and user-friendly.

One of the standout features of Strong Testimonials is its support for multiple collection forms. This means you can create separate forms for different types of reviews, such as product reviews, service testimonials, or general feedback.

By segmenting your review collection, you can better organize and manage the feedback you receive, making it easier to showcase the most relevant reviews on your site.

Strong Testimonials also includes schema markup functionality, which helps search engines understand the content of your reviews.

This can lead to rich snippets in search results, showcasing your star ratings and review excerpts directly on the search engine results pages. By leveraging schema markup, you can improve your site’s visibility and click-through rates, driving more targeted traffic to your reviews.

Some of its other features include:

Advanced Display Options: The plugin provides advanced display options through “Views,” which allow users to define how testimonials are presented.
Enhanced Email Features: The plugin offers enhanced email capabilities, allowing businesses to send thank-you emails to clients once their testimonials are approved.
User Role Management: For websites with multiple contributors, the plugin includes user role management, allowing site administrators to control who can submit, edit, or approve testimonials.

Why Strong Testimonials Made Our List

Strong Testimonials provides a high level of customization, allowing you to fine-tune every aspect of your review submission forms and display settings. This ensures that your reviews seamlessly integrate with your website’s design and branding.

With the ability to create multiple review collection forms, Strong Testimonials enables you to gather specific feedback for different products, services, or aspects of your business. This segmentation helps you organize and showcase reviews more effectively.

Additionally, it automatically adds schema markup to your reviews. This helps improve your site’s visibility in search results. Rich snippets can attract more clicks and drive qualified traffic to your site, enhancing your online presence and credibility.

Strong Testimonials offers a comprehensive set of features that cater to both beginners and advanced users. Its intuitive interface and extensive documentation make it easy to set up and customize, while its powerful shortcodes and widgets provide flexibility in displaying reviews across your site.

4. WP Review Pro

WP Review Pro provides a library of pre-designed templates that you can easily customize to match your site’s branding and style.

It offers a wide range of customization options, including 16 predefined designs, unlimited color schemes, and multiple rating systems such as stars, points, percentages, and circles.

One of the standout features of WP Review Pro is its support for various rating systems. You can choose from percentage, star rating, points, and more, giving you the flexibility to select the most appropriate rating system for your content.

This allows you to present your reviews in a way that resonates with your audience and effectively communicates your opinions.

WP Review Pro seamlessly integrates with WooCommerce, enabling you to display product reviews and ratings directly on your e-commerce store pages. This integration helps potential customers make informed purchasing decisions and can lead to increased conversions and sales.

The plugin also includes robust spam protection features, ensuring that your review sections remain free from unwanted and irrelevant content. With WP Review Pro, you can maintain a high-quality user experience while minimizing the time and effort required to moderate reviews manually.

Other key features include:

Multiple Rating Systems: Users can choose from various rating formats, including stars, points, percentages, and circles, allowing for flexibility in how reviews are presented.
Rich Snippets Support: The plugin supports 19 types of rich snippets, which helps improve search engine visibility by displaying star ratings in search results, potentially increasing click-through rates.
User Engagement Features: It allows visitors to leave their reviews and comments, rate features, and mark other comments as helpful. This interactivity fosters community engagement and trust.
Comparison Tables: Users can create product comparison tables, helping visitors make informed decisions between multiple products.

Why We Chose WP Review Pro

One of the primary reasons for selecting WP Review Pro is its versatility in rating systems. It offers multiple options, including star ratings, percentage scores, and point systems, allowing you to present reviews in a way that best suits your audience.

This flexibility is crucial for engaging users and providing clear, understandable evaluations of products and services.

The plugin’s support for rich snippets is another significant advantage. By automatically integrating structured data into your reviews, you can enhance your visibility in search engine results.

This feature boosts SEO performance and improves click-through rates by displaying star ratings directly in search results, which can attract more visitors to your site.

Customization options are abundant with WP Review Pro. It provides 16 pre-designed templates that you can tailor to match your website’s aesthetics, along with unlimited color schemes.

This level of customization ensures that the reviews seamlessly integrate with your overall design, maintaining a professional appearance.

Additionally, the user engagement features, such as allowing visitors to submit their reviews and rate existing comments, foster a sense of community. This interaction builds trust and credibility, which is vital for any review-based platform.

5. WP Customer Reviews

WP Customer Reviews is a free, lightweight plugin that enables you to collect and display customer reviews on your WordPress site with ease.

This plugin offers a simple, user-friendly interface that allows you to set up a review submission form and customize its fields to suit your needs.

One of the key features of WP Customer Reviews is its ability to create a dedicated page for receiving customer testimonials. This allows businesses to showcase positive reviews prominently, which can significantly improve social proof and conversion rates.

Other key features include:

Frontend submission form: WP Customer Reviews provides a customizable frontend submission form, making it easy for your customers to leave reviews directly on your site. You can choose which fields to include, such as name, email, rating, and comments, and make them optional or required.
Review moderation: The plugin includes basic moderation tools, allowing you to review and approve customer submissions before they are published on your site. This helps maintain the quality and authenticity of the reviews displayed.
Shortcode integration: WP Customer Reviews generates a shortcode that you can easily insert into any post, page, or widget area to display your customer reviews. This flexibility allows you to showcase reviews exactly where you want them on your site.
Schema markup support: The plugin automatically adds schema markup to your reviews, helping search engines understand the content and potentially display rich snippets in search results. This can improve your site’s visibility and click-through rates.

While WP Customer Reviews may not offer as many advanced features as some premium plugins, its simplicity and ease of use make it an excellent choice for those looking for a straightforward solution to manage customer reviews on their WordPress site.

Why We Chose WP Customer Reviews

One of the main reasons we include this plugin in the list is WP Customer Reviews is designed to work seamlessly with caching plugins, which is crucial for maintaining fast loading times.

This compatibility ensures that your site’s performance remains uncompromised, even with the addition of customer reviews.

While the plugin includes an external stylesheet for easy modification, it easily adapts to your existing theme. This means you can maintain a consistent visual identity across your site without the need for extensive customization.

The WP Customer Reviews is also compatible with WordPress’ built-in localization features, allowing you to translate the plugin’s interface into multiple languages.

This enables you to cater to a diverse audience and expand our reach globally.

6. Customer Reviews for WooCommerce

Customer Reviews for WooCommerce is a powerful plugin designed specifically for WooCommerce-powered online stores.

This plugin enables you to collect and display product reviews, helping potential customers make informed purchasing decisions and boosting your store’s credibility.

Some of its main features include:

Automated review requests: Customer Reviews for WooCommerce can automatically send review request emails to customers after they’ve made a purchase. This feature helps encourage customers to leave feedback, increasing the number of reviews on your site without manual intervention.
Review reminders: The plugin allows you to send reminder emails to customers who haven’t left a review, further encouraging them to share their experience. This can help you gather more reviews and improve your products’ social proof.
Customizable review forms: Customer Reviews for WooCommerce provides customizable review forms that you can tailor to your store’s needs. You can add fields for ratings, comments, and images, allowing customers to provide detailed feedback on your products.
Review moderation: The plugin includes moderation tools that enable you to review and approve customer submissions before they are published on your site. This helps maintain the quality and relevance of the reviews displayed on your product pages.
Integration with Google Shopping: Customer Reviews for WooCommerce can sync your product reviews with Google Shopping, enhancing your products’ visibility and credibility in Google search results. This integration can help drive more qualified traffic to your store and boost sales.

Why Go For Customer Reviews for WooCommerce

One, the plugin offers the option to provide discounts to customers in exchange for their reviews. This can motivate more customers to leave feedback, thereby increasing the volume of reviews and enhancing social proof.

The plugin is localized in over 30 languages, making it accessible for a global audience. This feature is essential for businesses looking to reach diverse markets.

In addition, it not only collects traditional text reviews but also allows customers to include ratings, images, and even vote on reviews. This variety enriches the feedback and provides potential buyers with more comprehensive insights.

If you’re running a WooCommerce store and looking for a comprehensive solution to manage product reviews, Customer Reviews for WooCommerce is an excellent choice.

Its automated features, customization options, and seamless integration with WooCommerce make it a top pick for e-commerce businesses.

Tips for Maximizing the Impact of Reviews on Your WordPress Site

To truly maximize the impact of reviews on your WordPress site, consider the following strategies:

Actively Seek Customer Reviews

Don’t wait for reviews to trickle in organically. Instead, take a proactive approach to encourage customers to share their experiences. Implement post-purchase follow-up emails that politely ask for feedback.

Consider offering small incentives, such as discount codes or loyalty points, for leaving reviews – but always ensure compliance with review platform policies.

The key is to make the review process as simple and straightforward as possible for your customers. Many WordPress review plugins, like Customer Reviews for WooCommerce, can automate this process, sending out review requests at optimal times and streamlining the entire workflow.

Tip: Time your review requests strategically. For products, wait until the customer has had time to use and appreciate the item. For services, follow up shortly after completion while the experience is still fresh in their mind.

Engage with All Reviews

Responding to reviews demonstrates that you value customer feedback and are committed to continuous improvement. Address both positive and negative reviews promptly and professionally. Thank customers for their positive feedback, reinforcing the aspects they appreciated.

For negative reviews, respond empathetically, offer solutions, and if necessary, suggest further discussion offline to resolve issues. This approach not only shows your commitment to customer satisfaction but can also help mitigate the impact of less-than-perfect reviews.

Many WordPress review plugins, such as WP Review Pro and Site Reviews, offer features that allow you to manage and respond to reviews directly from your dashboard.

Tip: Create response templates for common scenarios to ensure consistency in tone and messaging, but always personalize each response to address the specific points raised by the reviewer.

Strategically Integrate Reviews Across Your Site

Make your reviews work harder by showcasing them where they’ll have the most impact. Display your best reviews on high-traffic pages such as your homepage, product pages, and pricing page.

This strategic placement of social proof can significantly influence potential customers’ decisions and build trust in your brand. Experiment with different formats for displaying reviews – use a mix of star ratings, testimonial quotes, and even video reviews if available.

Many WordPress review plugins, including Stars Testimonials and Strong Testimonials, provide shortcodes and widgets that allow you to easily display reviews in various formats across your site.

Tip: Conduct A/B tests with different review placements and formats to determine which configurations drive the most conversions on your site.

Harness Schema Markup for SEO Benefits

Properly implemented schema markup can significantly boost your search engine visibility. Ensure that your chosen review plugin automatically adds schema markup to your reviews. This structured data helps search engines understand the content of your reviews, potentially leading to rich snippets in search results.

Rich snippets, such as star ratings and review excerpts, can dramatically improve your click-through rates and drive more qualified traffic to your site. Many popular WordPress review plugins, like WP Customer Reviews and Starfish Reviews, include this functionality out of the box.

Tip: Regularly check how your reviews appear in search results and troubleshoot any issues with your schema markup implementation to maximize your SEO benefits.

Monitor, Analyze, and Act on Review Data

Reviews are a goldmine of customer insights – don’t let this valuable data go to waste. Set up a regular schedule to monitor incoming feedback and look for patterns in both positive and negative comments. Track key metrics such as your overall rating, review velocity (how quickly you’re gaining reviews), and sentiment trends over time.

Use this data to inform business decisions, drive product improvements, and enhance your overall customer experience. Many WordPress review plugins, such as Site Reviews and Starfish Reviews, offer built-in analytics and reporting features to help you track and analyze your review data effectively.

Tip: Create a monthly review analysis report and share key findings with your team. Use this data to drive continuous improvement in your products, services, and customer experience.

Final Thoughts and Personal Favorite

After an extensive exploration of the best WordPress review plugins, it’s clear that each offers a unique set of features designed to meet diverse needs and preferences.

So, when selecting the ideal plugin for your website, consider the following factors:

Review types: Determine the types of reviews you want to showcase on your site, such as product reviews, service testimonials, or general feedback. Plugins like Strong Testimonials and WP Review Pro offer flexibility in review formats, allowing you to choose the most suitable option for your content.
Design compatibility: Ensure that the review plugin you choose integrates seamlessly with your website’s design and theme. Look for plugins with customizable templates, color schemes, and layout options, like Stars Testimonials and Site Reviews, to maintain a cohesive look and feel throughout your site.
Control and management: Assess the level of control you require over the review process, including moderation, spam protection, and user permissions. Plugins such as Starfish Reviews and Customer Reviews for WooCommerce provide robust management features to help you maintain the quality and authenticity of your reviews.

While all the plugins discussed in this article have their merits, Starfish Reviews stands out as my top recommendation. Here’s why:

User-Friendly Interface: Starfish Reviews offers an intuitive dashboard that makes setting up and managing review campaigns a breeze, even for those with limited technical expertise.
Comprehensive Feature Set: From review generation and marketing capabilities to customizable review funnels, Starfish Reviews provides a all-in-one solution for the entire review lifecycle.
Flexible Display Options: The plugin offers multiple ways to showcase reviews, including shortcodes and embedded HTML, allowing you to present feedback in the most impactful manner across your site.
Seamless Integration: Its compatibility with WordPress and WooCommerce ensures that Starfish Reviews fits smoothly into most website setups, minimizing integration headaches.
Scalability: Whether you’re a small business or a large enterprise, Starfish Reviews’ features can scale to meet your needs, making it a versatile choice for businesses of all sizes.
Focus on Conversion: By streamlining the review process and offering customizable review funnels, Starfish Reviews helps maximize the number of high-quality reviews you receive, directly impacting your site’s credibility and conversion rates.

Starfish Reviews excels in striking a balance between powerful features and user-friendliness. Its focus on simplicity doesn’t come at the expense of functionality, making it an excellent choice for businesses looking to harness the full potential of customer reviews without getting bogged down in complex setups or management.

Don’t let valuable customer feedback slip through your fingers. Take the first step towards transforming your WordPress site’s review management today with Starfish Reviews.

Experience the full power of Starfish Reviews’ business plan with a risk-free 14-day trial.

Useful WordPress Plugin Resources

If you’re looking for more information on WordPress review plugins and other useful tools to enhance your website, check out these additional resources:

Explore the best WordPress review plugins: In our comprehensive guide to the 12 Best WordPress Review Plugins , you’ll discover a variety of options to suit your specific needs, whether you’re running an e-commerce store, a local business website, or a blog focused on product reviews.
Protect your site with reliable backup solutions: Regular backups are essential for safeguarding your WordPress website against data loss. Our article on the Best Free Backup Plugin for WordPress introduces you to top-rated options that ensure your site’s content and settings are securely backed up and easily recoverable.
Strengthen your site’s security with trusted plugins: Website security should be a top priority for every WordPress site owner. In our guide to 6 WordPress Security Plugins You Can Actually Trust , you’ll find a selection of reliable tools that help protect your site against malware, hacking attempts, and other potential threats.
Learn more about the Sucuri WordPress plugin: Sucuri is a well-known security solution for WordPress websites. Our Sucuri WordPress Plugin Review takes an in-depth look at the features and benefits of this popular security plugin, helping you decide if it’s the right choice for your site.

Choosing the right WordPress review plugin is crucial for showcasing customer feedback effectively on your site.

HostPapa understands the importance of this feature for building credibility and trust with your audience.

Explore HostPapa’s hosting solutions to seamlessly integrate your chosen review plugin and enhance your website’s performance. Discover more about HostPapa’s hosting services and take the first step towards a more engaging and trustworthy website today.

Frequently Asked Questions About WordPress Review Plugins

Are WordPress Review Plugins Easy to Use?

Most WordPress review plugins are designed with user-friendliness in mind. They offer intuitive interfaces and straightforward settings, making it simple to collect, manage, and display reviews on your website, even if you have limited technical expertise.

Can I Customize the Appearance of My Reviews?

Yes, the majority of WordPress review plugins provide customization options to ensure that your reviews seamlessly blend with your website’s design. You can choose from pre-designed templates, adjust colors and layouts, and even create custom CSS to fine-tune the appearance of your reviews.

How Can I Encourage Customers to Leave Reviews on My WordPress Site?

To gather more reviews, implement strategies such as sending follow-up emails after a purchase, offering incentives like discounts or coupons, simplifying the review submission process, showcasing reviews prominently on your site, and engaging with reviewers by responding to their feedback.