Smart Reviews Display

Description

Smart Reviews Display lets you showcase reviews from multiple sources including WordPress.org, Yelp, and Google Reviews. Choose from responsive grid (masonry), list, or carousel displays with full reviewer details and smart caching.

Key Features

• Multiple Review Sources: WordPress.org plugins/themes, Yelp business reviews, Google Places reviews, and custom reviews
• Custom Reviews System: Create up to 10 custom reviews with full control over content, ratings, and clickable links
• Review Grouping: Organize custom reviews into categories (testimonials, product-reviews, etc.)
• Responsive Layouts: Masonry grid, list, and carousel (3 reviews on desktop, 2 on tablet, 1 on mobile)
• Smart Management: Dashboard with add/edit/delete review displays, custom reviews management, internal vs display titles
• Rich Content: Avatars, star ratings, descriptions, aggregate ratings, contextual fields, and review links
• ID-Based Shortcodes: Simple [smart_reviews id="123"] format that auto-updates
• Gutenberg Blocks: Full block editor support with live preview
• Smart Caching: Configurable cache management and TTL controls
• Upgrade Integration: Clear upgrade path to Pro version for unlimited custom reviews
• Security First: WordPress coding standards compliance with proper sanitization
• Lightweight Frontend: Optimized CSS/JS with no bundled frontend libraries

Usage

Dashboard Management

1. Go to Smart Reviews Display → Dashboard
2. Click “Add New Review Display” to create a new configuration
3. Fill in the form:
   • Internal Title: For backend management (e.g., “WooCommerce Reviews”)
   • Display Title: Shown on frontend (e.g., “What our customers say”)
   • Description: Optional description text
   • Review Source: WordPress.org, Yelp, Google Reviews, or Custom
   • Slug/ID: Plugin slug, Yelp business ID, Google Place ID, or leave empty for Custom
   • Review Group: Select specific group for Custom reviews (optional)
   • Type: Plugin/Theme (WordPress.org only), Business (Yelp), Place (Google), or Custom
   • Layout: Grid (masonry), List, or Carousel
   • Display Options: Show title, show aggregate rating
4. Save and use the generated shortcode or block

Custom Reviews Management

1. Go to Smart Reviews Display → Custom Reviews
2. Click “Add Review” to create a new custom review
3. Fill in the custom review form:
   • Source: WordPress, Google, or Yelp (for styling consistency)
   • Username: Reviewer’s name
   • Profile Photo URL: Optional profile photo (default avatar used if empty)
   • Review Date: When the review was written
   • Review Text: The actual review content
   • Review Link: Optional clickable link to original review
   • Star Rating: 1-5 star rating
   • Review Group: Group name for organization (e.g., “testimonials”, “product-reviews”)
   • Business ID/Place ID: Required for Google and Yelp sources
4. Save the review and use it in your review displays
5. Note: Free version supports up to 10 custom reviews. Upgrade to Pro for unlimited reviews.

Gutenberg Block

Search for “Smart Reviews” in the block editor. You can either:
* Use ID: Select a saved review display by ID
* Configure Manually: Set all options directly in the block

Shortcode Usage

New ID-based format (recommended):
[smart_reviews id=”123″]

Custom reviews examples:
[smart_reviews source=”custom” layout=”grid” title=”Customer Testimonials”]

[smart_reviews source="custom" group="testimonials" layout="grid" title="Customer Testimonials"]

Yelp example:
[smart_reviews source=”yelp” business_id=”your-business-id” type=”business” layout=”grid”]

Google Reviews example:
[smart_reviews source=”google” place_id=”your-place-id” type=”place” layout=”carousel”]

External services

This plugin can connect to external services depending on which review source you choose. No external requests are made for Custom reviews created and stored inside your own WordPress site.

WordPress.org

If you use WordPress.org as the review source, the plugin fetches review feeds/pages and plugin rating data from WordPress.org so it can display reviews and aggregate ratings.

It sends the selected plugin or theme slug in the request URL and includes your site’s home URL in the standard WordPress user-agent header when reviews are fetched, refreshed, or re-cached.

Terms and policies: https://codex.wordpress.org/WordPress_Policies
Privacy policy: https://wordpress.org/about/privacy/

Google Maps Platform (Places API)

If you use Google Reviews as the source and enter a Google API key, the plugin sends the configured Google Place ID to the Google Places API so it can fetch reviews, rating totals, place name, and related place URLs.

Requests are made when the reviews are first fetched and again whenever the cache expires or you manually clear the plugin cache. Google also receives your site’s home URL in the standard WordPress user-agent header.

Terms of service: https://developers.google.com/maps/terms
Privacy policy: https://policies.google.com/privacy

Yelp Fusion API

If you use Yelp as the review source and enter a Yelp API key, the plugin sends the configured Yelp business ID to the Yelp Fusion API so it can fetch business reviews, rating totals, business name, and related Yelp URLs.

Requests are made when the reviews are first fetched and again whenever the cache expires or you manually clear the plugin cache. Yelp also receives your site’s home URL in the standard WordPress user-agent header.

Terms of service: https://www.yelp.com/developers/api_terms
Privacy policy: https://terms.yelp.com/privacy/en_us/20260101_en_us/