What is Site Reviews plugin?
Site Reviews is a free WordPress plugin for adding star-rating review functionality to any WordPress site — collecting reviews from visitors, displaying them with aggregate ratings, and optionally pinning or hiding specific reviews. Unlike WooCommerce product reviews (limited to products) or simple testimonial plugins (typically static), Site Reviews provides a self-contained review collection and display system applicable to any content type: restaurants, hotels, software, services, or general site reviews.
Site Reviews stores reviews in WordPress’s own database using a custom post type, meaning review data is fully owned and portable — not dependent on a third-party service. Reviews can be submitted via a shortcode-embedded form with optional login requirements, verification (IP or email), and spam protection (honeypot, Akismet integration). Submitted reviews go through an admin approval queue before appearing publicly, providing moderation control.
The plugin is completely free, actively maintained, and has 60,000+ active installations. It integrates with Schema.org review markup for rich snippets in Google search results — star ratings appearing in search results for pages with Site Reviews. For businesses or sites wanting to collect and display reviews without a paid external platform or complex configuration, Site Reviews provides a clean, functional, and self-hosted solution.
Need Help With Site Reviews Setup, Troubleshooting, or Customization?
Need help with Site Reviews? Whether you are dealing with errors, broken functionality, styling problems, plugin conflicts, or advanced customization, we can help you fix the issue and get the plugin working properly on your WordPress site.
Get Site Reviews Expert HelpKey Features
- Star rating review collection form (1-5 stars)
- Custom review categories per post type
- Review approval moderation workflow
- Pinned reviews (always show at top)
- Assigned reviews (attach reviews to specific posts, pages, or CPTs)
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Completely free with no premium tier — all core features at zero cost
- Self-hosted — review data stored in your own WordPress database
- Schema.org markup enables Google review rich snippets without configuration
Cons
- No native external platform import (Google, Facebook reviews) in the free version
- Limited design customization compared to premium testimonial plugins
Free vs Premium
Completely free. No paid version.
Common Problems & Fixes
Site Reviews star ratings are not appearing in Google search results as rich snippets. How do I verify the schema markup?
Site Reviews outputs Schema.org Review and AggregateRating markup. To verify: (1) use Google’s Rich Results Test (search.google.com/test/rich-results) and enter the URL of a page with Site Reviews embedded — verify it detects the Review schema; (2) the page must have the [site_reviews_summary] shortcode or block displaying the aggregate rating, not just individual reviews; (3) Google requires a minimum number of reviews before rich snippets appear — typically 3-5 reviews; (4) Google may take weeks to index new schema markup; (5) verify the schema type in Site Reviews → Settings → Schema matches the content type of the page.
Site Reviews submission form is showing a "duplicate review" error even for unique reviews. How do I adjust duplicate detection?
Site Reviews detects duplicate reviews based on configurable criteria. In Site Reviews → Settings → Submissions, find the duplicate detection settings. By default, duplicates are detected by reviewer name + email within a time period. Options: (1) increase the time window before the same user can submit another review; (2) change the duplicate detection fields (IP only, email only, or name + email); (3) if testing your own site triggers the duplicate error, clear the Site Reviews duplicate detection data (often stored in user cookies or IP records); (4) for testing, use different email addresses to submit test reviews.
Site Reviews is allowing unauthenticated guests to submit reviews — how do I require users to be logged in before reviewing?
In Site Reviews → Settings → Submissions → Require login, enable the setting to require WordPress login before submitting a review. Logged-out visitors see a “Please log in to submit a review” message in place of the review form. Configure the login redirect URL to send users to the login page and return them to the review page after login. For sites with WooCommerce, you can additionally restrict reviews to verified purchasers by integrating with WooCommerce order data (requires custom code or Site Reviews add-ons).
Customization & Developer Notes
How do I display an aggregate rating summary with a star distribution chart using Site Reviews?
Use the [site_reviews_summary] shortcode on any page where you want to display the aggregate rating summary. This shortcode renders: the overall average rating (displayed as stars and number), the total review count, and a percentage bar chart showing the distribution (what percentage gave 5 stars, 4 stars, etc.). Pair it with [site_reviews] to display the individual reviews below the summary. Both shortcodes accept an “assigned_posts” parameter to show ratings for a specific post rather than site-wide ratings.
How do I assign Site Reviews to specific WooCommerce products or custom post types?
Place the Site Reviews shortcodes on the post/page template for your content type. For WooCommerce products: in single-product.php (or WooCommerce template override), add [site_reviews assigned_posts=”post_id”] and [site_reviews_form assigned_posts=”post_id”]. The “assigned_posts” parameter dynamically uses the current post ID when reviews are embedded in templates. This creates product-specific review collections — reviews submitted on a product page are assigned to that product, and only that product’s reviews appear on its page.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can Site Reviews import Google reviews?
No — Site Reviews collects reviews submitted directly on your WordPress site and does not import from Google, Facebook, or other external review platforms. For displaying aggregated reviews from external platforms, WP Social Ninja, Smash Balloon, or dedicated Google reviews plugins provide that functionality. Site Reviews is specifically for collecting and displaying native site reviews — reviews submitted by your visitors directly through the plugin’s form.
Does Site Reviews affect WooCommerce product reviews?
Site Reviews operates separately from WooCommerce’s native product review system. Both can coexist: WooCommerce shows its native reviews via the standard Reviews tab on product pages, while Site Reviews adds an additional review collection system. If you want to replace WooCommerce’s review system entirely with Site Reviews, configure WooCommerce to disable product reviews (WooCommerce → Settings → Products → Disable reviews) and use Site Reviews assigned to products. The two systems store reviews in different database tables.
Can Site Reviews break after updates?
Yes, that can happen, especially on older sites with many plugins. This usually happens when the plugin, theme, and add-ons are updated out of sequence. In most cases, testing on staging catches the issue before it reaches the live site. From experience, backups and changelog reviews save a lot of cleanup time.
What should I check before installing Site Reviews?
Start by checking whether another plugin already does the same job. In most cases, overlap is what creates avoidable conflicts and performance issues. A common issue is installing a plugin because it looks convenient without checking the stack first. From experience, a short compatibility review avoids most of the pain later.