Description

Footfall Reviews gives business owners a native WordPress widget library, secure Footfall account connection, Google Business Profile location selection, custom colours and review controls, a shortcode, and a Gutenberg block.

Browse the designs before connecting. When you choose to connect, sign-in, account creation and Google permission happen securely on Footfall Reviews. Your Footfall password and Google credentials never enter WordPress.

Features:

Full widget library including sliders, grids, lists, badges, floating and Retro designs.
Google, Footfall or separately labelled combined views.
Review rating, order, quantity, reviewer photo, size and brand-colour controls.
[footfall_reviews id="your-widget-id"] shortcode and dynamic Gutenberg block.
Cookieless aggregate impressions and clicks with real website detection.
Overlays with no shortcodes: a review popup, sticky review banner and floating review bubble, switched on from the plugin.
Links to Widget Intelligence, the Footfall review portal and QR products.

Google authorisation is needed only to find Business Profiles you manage, let you select locations and sync their reviews. Footfall does not change your Google listing, post reviews for customers or combine Google and Footfall ratings.

External Services

This plugin connects to Footfall Reviews, operated by AutoThink, only after an administrator explicitly starts account connection or places a Footfall widget.

Account pairing sends the WordPress site URL, hostname, site name, selected widget template, a one-time pairing verifier and a randomly generated scoped connection token. It is sent when the administrator clicks “Sign in or create account”. The token is stored only as a secure hash by Footfall; the original remains in the WordPress options table until disconnected.

Connected administration requests send the scoped connection token and requested widget action. Widget settings can include selected review source and locations, star filters, ordering, review limit, pinned review identifiers, headings, display toggles, dimensions, spacing, colours, typography, borders, animation and image preferences. These fields are sent only when the administrator loads, saves, publishes, duplicates, pauses or archives widgets.

Google connection happens on Footfall Reviews, not inside WordPress. Footfall receives the Google account authorisation needed to list managed Business Profile locations and sync their reviews. Google access and refresh credentials are not sent to or stored by this plugin.

On a public page containing a Footfall widget, the browser requests the published widget identifier, configuration, business name, separately labelled ratings and selected review content from Footfall Reviews. To provide installation detection and aggregate intelligence, the widget sends the widget identifier, event type (load, viewable impression, navigation, expansion or link click), website hostname and broad device class. It does not send the visitor’s name, email, IP address or a persistent visitor identifier, and it sets no analytics cookie.

Once the site is connected, every public page loads the Footfall overlays script (https://footfallreviews.com/api/public/overlays.js) with the connected business identifier. It requests which overlays (popup, sticky banner, floating bubble) are switched on, their timing settings and a sample of published reviews. When an overlay is shown, opened, clicked or closed, it sends the event type, overlay type, page hostname and path; no cookies, IP addresses or visitor identifiers are stored. Overlay choices are remembered in the visitor’s browser storage only to respect the chosen frequency. Disconnecting the plugin stops the script loading.

The plugin does not send usage reports or contact Footfall on activation, upgrade, on a schedule or in the background.

Before connecting, choosing “Use design” sends only the chosen design name to https://footfallreviews.com/api/public/demo-widget to create a demo shortcode. Demo widgets show labelled sample reviews and expire after 30 days unless claimed. No site or personal data is sent.

Footfall Reviews terms: https://footfallreviews.com/legal/terms
Footfall Reviews privacy policy: https://footfallreviews.com/legal/privacy
Google privacy policy: https://policies.google.com/privacy
Google terms: https://policies.google.com/terms

Source Code

All JavaScript and CSS in this plugin is hand-written and unminified; there is no build step. The readable files are included at admin/js/ffrat-admin.js, admin/css/ffrat-admin.css and blocks/widget/index.js. The files with a version and checksum in their name (for example ffrat-admin.1.3.0.abc123.js) are byte-for-byte copies of those files, renamed only so caches that ignore ?ver= still load the new release.

Blocks

This plugin provides 1 block.

Footfall Reviews Display a published Footfall Reviews widget.

Installation

Upload the plugin folder to /wp-content/plugins/ or install the ZIP through Plugins > Add New.
Activate Footfall Reviews.
Open Footfall Reviews in the WordPress menu and browse the widget library.
Choose a design, then select “Sign in or create account” when ready.
Complete the secure Footfall connection and, if required, connect Google and select locations.
Publish a widget and copy its shortcode into any page, or add the Footfall Reviews block.

FAQ

Why does Google need authorisation?: It lets Footfall identify the Business Profiles your Google account manages, show the correct locations and sync their reviews. Google credentials remain inside Footfall and are never stored by this WordPress plugin.
Does the plugin set visitor cookies?: No. Widget analytics use aggregate counts, website hostname and device class. A random page-view value exists only in memory for the current page and is not stored as a cookie or persistent identifier.
Can I match my brand?: Yes. Choose colours, background, text treatment, size, spacing and review display controls while retaining accessible contrast.
What happens if I disconnect?: The WordPress connection token is revoked and removed locally. Existing shortcode text remains in page content but cannot be managed until you reconnect.

Reviews

There are no reviews for this plugin.

Contributors & Developers

“Footfall Reviews – Widgets for Google Reviews & Review Collection” is open source software. The following people have contributed to this plugin.

autothinkgroup

Translate “Footfall Reviews – Widgets for Google Reviews & Review Collection” into your language.

Interested in development?

Browse the code, check out the SVN repository, or subscribe to the development log by RSS.

Changelog

1.3.5

Clearer step-by-step notice when an older manually uploaded copy is still active, so moving to WordPress.org updates keeps your connection and widgets.

1.3.4

Fixes a critical error when this version was installed while an older manually uploaded copy of Footfall Reviews was still active. The new copy now waits safely until the old one is removed.

1.3.3

Now delivered through the WordPress.org plugin directory, so future updates appear in Dashboard Updates like any other plugin.
Installing this version over an older manually uploaded copy keeps your Footfall connection, widgets and shortcodes, and offers a one-click removal of the old copy.

1.3.2

The plugin no longer sends usage reports to Footfall; it only contacts Footfall when you connect, manage widgets or show a widget.
Translations now use the plugin’s WordPress.org address.

1.3.1

The widget preview now appears right inside the Elementor editor, even when the shortcode is pasted into an HTML box.

1.3.0

Renamed to Footfall Reviews – Widgets for Google Reviews & Review Collection; existing widgets, blocks and connections keep working.
Settings sent to Footfall are now checked and cleaned field by field, and readable source files ship with the plugin.

1.2.3

Tidier account screen: basic usage sharing now happens automatically, so the extra checkbox is gone.
Widget library filter pills now scroll smoothly with no visible scrollbar.

1.2.2

Try any widget before connecting: Use design creates a demo shortcode that shows clearly labelled sample reviews.
Claim the demo after connecting Google, and the same shortcode switches to your real reviews.

1.2.1

Preview each overlay inside WordPress with your real reviews, on desktop or phone, before switching it on.
Free badges on overlays; paid overlays (if added later) can be previewed and show an upgrade link instead of switching on.

1.2.0

New Overlays tab: switch on a review popup, sticky review banner or floating review bubble with no shortcodes.
Overlays load site-wide once connected; on/off and timing settings stay in sync with the Footfall account.

1.1.19

Fixed the WordPress.org automated check failure: readme now declares tested up to WordPress 7.1.
Widget ‘See all reviews’ links now open the business page’s Google reviews tab when Google is connected.

1.1.18

Completed the final WordPress.org approval audit and tightened automated submission checks.
Added directory listing captions and prepared separate official Footfall and Finn artwork for WordPress.org.

1.1.17

Added one-click Light mode and Dark mode controls while customising widgets.
Slider II now starts automatically, uses tighter spacing and links to the business’s Footfall Reviews page.

1.1.16

Free and paid designs now come live from Footfall, so plan changes show without a plugin update.
Slider I, Slider II and at least one design in every category are now free.

1.1.15

Choosing Free or Paid now shows every matching design instead of staying on an empty category.

1.1.14

Widget library has a search box to find designs by name, plus an All / Free / Paid filter.

1.1.13

Designs that need a paid plan are clearly locked in the library, with an “Included in my plan” filter.
Locked designs can be tried in full; “Upgrade to publish” saves a draft, opens checkout and unlocks automatically once paid.
My widgets warns when a live widget’s design isn’t in the plan and visitors see the free Trust bar instead.

1.1.12

Widgets now appear inside Elementor and other page builders that add shortcodes after the page loads.
Shows “Loading Footfall reviews…” while loading, and a clear note to editors if a widget is paused or not published.
Views inside page-builder editors no longer count towards Widget Intelligence.

1.1.11

Fixed Copy shortcode copying only [footfall_reviews id= instead of the full shortcode, with a manual-copy fallback when the browser blocks the clipboard.

1.1.10

Redesigned the widget editor: compact three-column settings, colour swatches with hex values, and switch-style toggles grouped in one row.
My widgets: the Copy shortcode button now sits in line with the shortcode and confirms when copied.

1.1.9

Manage Google connection and Widget Intelligence now open the workspace of the business connected to this site, even for agencies with many clients.
The widget library shows clear steps: connect Footfall, then connect Google, before a design can be published with real reviews.

1.1.8

Fixed the widget library staying empty on sites that strip file version numbers and cache scripts for a long time: admin and block files now get a new file name every release.
The library now warns if an old copy of its files is running, instead of showing a blank area.

1.1.7

Made the banner compact and kept other plugins’ admin notices above it instead of inside it.
The widget library now opens on all designs, loads a backup catalogue if the bundled one is missing, shows a clear retry message instead of a blank page, and displays the installed version.

1.1.6

Made the WordPress widget library use the exact same catalogue, configurations, sample content and preview proportions as the business Widget Library.
Fixed the official banner wordmark so themes and plugins cannot enlarge it or force horizontal scrolling.

1.1.5

Replaced the widget-library banner star with the official Footfall Reviews wordmark.

1.1.4

Rebuilt the WordPress widget library with the complete design catalogue, full-size live previews, sample reviews and motion.
The widget editor now previews the selected design and updates as its controls change.

1.1.3

Footfall Reviews now shows its own coloured icon in the WordPress menu.

1.1.2

Made the widget editor fail-safe on first load and added reliable close, backdrop and Escape-key controls.

1.1.1

Fixed the widget editor opening over the library before a design is selected.

1.1.0

Optional usage reporting (site, plugin/WordPress/PHP versions, widgets placed), only when connected or opted in.
New businesses can set up their Footfall page straight from the connect screen.

1.0.0

Initial WordPress.org release: Google and Footfall review widgets, shortcode and block.
Secure account connection that only starts when an administrator chooses to connect.