Are you looking for an easy way to add reviews to your website? With WordPress, you can do that! All you need is a WordPress plugin for customer reviews.
If you've been wondering how to make a review website, you are in the right place. Adding a reviews section to your website has never been easier thanks to WordPress customer review plugins.
Although there are ways to add reviews to your site without a reviews plugin, it might be easier to test one of these first. Unless you are sure that your WordPress theme comes with customer reviews and rich snippets built-in, you'll need to get one of these.
Why build a reviews website?
It's no secret that potential customers have the habit of checking a review page before they buy:
- Fan & Fuel says 94% of people online read reviews before they buy.
- Spiegel Research Centre says 95% of shoppers read reviews before they buy.
- BrightLocal says 97% of consumers use reviews to search for local services.
- Small Business Trends says 83% of job seekers use reviews when applying for jobs.
You wouldn’t go to a restaurant with poor reviews. Neither would you book a hotel with a 2-star rating. Reviews have a huge impact, so you should encourage your customers to provide them.
Social proof rules in the Internet age. Google, Amazon, and Facebook are strongly focused on reviews. The reach of these Internet giants guarantees that reviews will remain expected by consumers.
Read more: 7 Best WordPress Testimonial Plugins
As a result of their popularity, online reviews have become a form of currency on the Internet. Review sites are popping up everywhere. Creators have found that reviews are another source of content to fuel affiliate marketing and pay per lead affiliate programs.
Still not sure that reviews are powerful content? Consider the following:
- Free promotion: A great product review is a glowing testimonial. Collecting these is great for your brand & attracts others to take note.
- Transparency: Asking people their opinion is a great way to appear transparent. If you have nothing to hide, customers will appreciate you more.
- Social Proof: As stated earlier, social proof is crucial for online businesses. People buy more when they see their peers doing the same.
- Customer Research: When you ask customers for reviews, they sometimes give you useful product insights.
- Improved SEO: Google displays rich snippets in search results. In this case, these are the 'star-ratings' you see everywhere these days. Google loves optimized content, so reviews can improve SEO if properly configured.
With all this in mind, let’s take a look at the best WordPress customer review plugins. We hope you'll be inspired to install one! Just remember that having too many plugins can lower site speed.
1. Formidable Forms
Free (paid plans from $79/year)
- Pros: Can collect any type of customer data you need, not just reviews
- Cons: Free version lacks advanced customization
- Rating: 4.7 stars (750+ reviews) | 300,000+ Active Installations
I know what you’re thinking. Why use a form plugin as a customer reviews solution? The answer is simple: a review is just data that is collected from a person. How would you collect data from a person? With a form plugin!
When it comes to versatility & control, a form plugin could be all you need to turn your site into a review collection machine.
The free version of Formidable will help you collect customer reviews, but there’s also a pro version with virtually no limits. The pro version can beautifully display reviews you collect with its built-in Views feature.
With Views, automatically display form data as soon as forms are submitted. Show subsequent customer reviews instantly without editing the Reviews page!
By using a form plugin that's also a reviews plugin, you can manage all your website's forms in one place, rather than scattering your forms across multiple plugins.
Key customer reviews plugin features:
- Collect review data with forms
- Drag and drop form builder
- 100% mobile responsive
👉 Read more: How to Edit WordPress User Profiles on the Front End
2. Google Reviews Widget
Free (paid plans from $85/year)
- Pros: Auto-displays Google and Yelp reviews
- Cons: Free plan limits how many reviews can be displayed
- Rating: 4.9 stars (700+ reviews) 90,000+ Active Installations
Google Reviews Widget is different than the others on this list. But it's still a viable option if you are collecting customer reviews from Google or Yelp. Since it's a widget, you'll be able to place reviews in your website's widget areas.
One downside to the free version: the plugin limits the number of Google and Yelp reviews it displays to just five. However, if you are a small business just getting started, this could still be a workable option.
Key Reviews Features:
- Google Rich Snippets included
- Supports several languages
- Shortcode option available
3. Site Reviews
Free
- Pros: Fully functional free version
- Cons: Lacking features compared to pro plugins
- Rating: 4.9 stars (185+ reviews) 30,000+ Active Installations
Site Reviews comes with an easy to use settings page. Users can control how to gather reviews & how to display them. You can also display reviews using shortcodes.
One great feature: shortcodes can be inserted directly on the post edit screen. That means you can manually display reviews, review forms, and review summaries wherever you want.
Another bonus: the plugin comes with configurable widgets.
Key Reviews Features:
- Configurable widgets
- Rating Snippets in Google search
- Assign reviews to Post or Page ID
4. WP Customer Reviews
Free
- Pros: Completely free customer review plugin
- Cons: Rarely gets updates (about once a year)
- Rating: 4.3 stars (490+ reviews) 40,000+ Active Installations
WP Customer Reviews is perfect if you’re running a multi-site. The plugin can be used on posts and across multiple pages. Users can respond to reviews and even edit their own.
Admins can also benefit from this plugin. They can edit reviews freely and can choose which reviews are ultimately shown in the reviews section of their website.
Lightweight and speed-optimized, WP Customer Reviews claims it won’t slow down your website. Despite their confidence, the creators of this plugin have announced they are no longer updating it. It could be working great now, but continue to use it at your own risk!
Key Reviews Features:
- Reviews can be edited
- Shortcodes insert reviews on pages
- Add your own custom fields
Wrapping up WordPress customer review plugins
There you have it - a list of WordPress plugins to add customer reviews to your website. Although the premium plugins are the most powerful, the free options still pack a punch. It’s time to start curating and displaying your reviews with pride!
Read more about reviews and testimonials in WordPress
7 Best WordPress Testimonial Plugins [2021]
How to Add Testimonials to Your WordPress Website
How to Add Reviews to Your WordPress WebsiteRelated Help Docs
Have you used any of these WordPress customer reviews plugins before? Found another plugin to add reviews to your website? Let us know in the comments section below.
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