Captain Social Review

Description

Captain Social Review is a powerful yet easy-to-use WordPress plugin that lets you display stunning social reviews and testimonials from 11 platforms on your website — with full control over layout, card style, and display options.

Whether you want to showcase Google reviews, Facebook ratings, app store feedback, or e-commerce testimonials — this plugin makes it simple. No coding required.

Designed for performance and flexibility, it works with any modern WordPress theme using shortcodes.

Perfect for businesses, agencies, and marketers who want to build trust and social proof directly on their website.

Key Features

  • ⭐ Display reviews from 11 platforms in one plugin
  • 🎨 4 beautiful card styles — Classic, Bubble, Minimal List, Popup Grid
  • 🔗 Auto-fetch live reviews via API connection
  • 🌙 Dark mode support
  • 📱 Fully responsive and mobile-friendly
  • 📐 1–4 column grid layout with responsive preview
  • 🔍 Filter reviews by minimum star rating
  • ⚡ Built-in API response caching to improve performance
  • 🧩 No coding required — shortcode-based integration

Supported Review Platforms

Auto-fetch via API:
– Google Reviews
– Facebook Reviews
– Yelp Reviews
– Tripadvisor Reviews
– Trustpilot Reviews
– Glassdoor Reviews
– G2 Reviews
– App Store (Apple)
– Google Play Store
– WooCommerce Reviews
– WordPress.org Plugin Reviews

Card Styles

  • Classic Card — Avatar, name, star rating, and review text in a clean stacked layout.
  • Bubble Card — Quote-style card with accent top border, ideal for testimonials.
  • Minimal List — Left-bordered compact row layout for dense review lists.
  • Popup Grid — Grid of review cards with a “Read more” popup for full review text.

Usage

After activation:

  1. Create a Feed — Click “Create Feed” and select your review platform (e.g. Google, Facebook, Yelp).
  2. Name Your Feed — Give it a recognizable name for your dashboard.
  3. Connect API — Enter your API credentials for live review fetching.
  4. Test Connection — Use the built-in test to verify your API credentials are working.
  5. Customize Layout — Choose card style, number of columns, dark mode, and minimum rating filter.
  6. Publish — Use the shortcode [captain-social-review id="X"] on any page or post.

Getting API Credentials

Each platform has its own method for obtaining API credentials. Below is a quick summary:

  • Google Reviews — Requires a Google Place ID and a Google API Key with Places API (New) enabled from Google Cloud Console.
  • Facebook Reviews — Requires a Facebook Page ID and a Page Access Token from Facebook Developer Graph API Explorer.
  • Yelp Reviews — Requires a Yelp Business ID (slug) and a Yelp Fusion API Key.
  • Tripadvisor Reviews — Requires a Location ID and an API Key from the Tripadvisor Content API program.
  • Trustpilot Reviews — Requires a Business Unit ID and an API Key from developers.trustpilot.com.
  • Glassdoor Reviews — Requires a Partner ID, API Key, and Employer ID from the Glassdoor Partner Program.
  • G2 Reviews — Requires an API Token from G2 Sell Integrations, and your product slug.
  • App Store — Requires only your numeric App ID and a country code. No API key needed.
  • Google Play — Requires your app’s Package Name and a Service Account JSON from Google Cloud.
  • WooCommerce — Requires a Store URL, Consumer Key, and Consumer Secret from WooCommerce REST API settings.
  • WordPress.org — Requires only your plugin slug. No API key needed.

External Services

This plugin connects to third-party review platform APIs to fetch review data for display on your website. A connection is made only when a feed is loaded on the frontend, previewed in the admin dashboard, or when cached data expires and needs refreshing.

Services used and data sent:

  • Google Places API (Google LLC) — Sends your Google Place ID and API Key to fetch business reviews.
    Terms: https://developers.google.com/maps/terms | Privacy: https://policies.google.com/privacy

  • Facebook Graph API (Meta Platforms, Inc.) — Sends your Page ID and Access Token to fetch page reviews.
    Terms: https://developers.facebook.com/terms | Privacy: https://www.facebook.com/privacy/policy

  • Yelp Fusion API (Yelp Inc.) — Sends your Business ID and API Key to fetch business reviews.
    Terms: https://www.yelp.com/developers/api_terms | Privacy: https://terms.yelp.com/privacy/en_us/20260101_en_us/

  • Tripadvisor Content API (Tripadvisor LLC) — Sends your Location ID and API Key to fetch location reviews.
    Terms: https://tripadvisor.mediaroom.com/us-terms-of-use | Privacy: https://tripadvisor.mediaroom.com/US-privacy-policy

  • Trustpilot API (Trustpilot A/S) — Sends your Business Unit ID and API Key to fetch reviews.
    Terms: https://developers.trustpilot.com | Privacy: https://legal.trustpilot.com/end-user-privacy-terms

  • Glassdoor API (Glassdoor, Inc.) — Sends your Partner ID, API Key, and Employer ID to fetch employer reviews.
    Terms: https://www.glassdoor.com/about/terms/ | Privacy: https://www.glassdoor.com/about/privacy.htm

  • G2 API (G2.com, Inc.) — Sends your API Token and product slug to fetch software reviews.
    Terms: https://www.g2.com/static/terms | Privacy: https://www.g2.com/static/privacy

  • Apple App Store RSS API (Apple Inc.) — Sends your App ID and country code to fetch app reviews. No API key required.
    Terms: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/us/terms.html | Privacy: https://www.apple.com/legal/privacy

  • Google Play Developer API (Google LLC) — Sends your package name and Service Account credentials to fetch app reviews.
    Terms: https://play.google.com/about/developer-content-policy/ | Privacy: https://policies.google.com/privacy

  • WooCommerce REST API — Sends your store URL, Consumer Key, and Consumer Secret to your own WooCommerce store’s REST endpoint to fetch product reviews. This connects to a store you own/control, not a third-party server.

  • WordPress.org API (WordPress.org / Automattic) — Sends your plugin slug to two public, unauthenticated WordPress.org endpoints: the Plugins API (api.wordpress.org/plugins/info/1.2/) to fetch plugin rating data, and the Support API (api.wordpress.org/support/1.0/) to fetch individual plugin review text. No API key or account is required.
    Privacy: https://wordpress.org/about/privacy/

No visitor personal data is collected or transmitted by this plugin.

Installation

  1. Upload the plugin files to the /wp-content/plugins/captain-social-review directory, or install directly through the WordPress Plugins screen.
  2. Activate the plugin from the Plugins screen.
  3. Go to Captain Social Review in the WordPress admin menu.
  4. Click Create Feed and choose your review platform.
  5. Enter your API credentials to connect your platform and start fetching live reviews.
  6. Customize the card style, columns, and display options.
  7. Copy the generated shortcode and paste it on any page, post, or widget area.

FAQ

Does this plugin require any external service?

Yes, for API-based platforms, the plugin connects to third-party review services (Google, Facebook, Yelp, etc.) using your provided API credentials to fetch review data. See the External Services section below for full details.

Which platforms are supported?

The plugin currently supports 11 platforms with official API integration: Google, Facebook, Yelp, Tripadvisor, Trustpilot, Glassdoor, G2, App Store, Google Play, WooCommerce, and WordPress.org. All reviews are fetched live from official platform APIs.

Can I display reviews from multiple platforms on one page?

Yes, create a separate feed for each platform, then place the different shortcodes anywhere on your site.

How many card styles are available?

There are 4 card styles: Classic Card, Bubble Card, Minimal List, and Popup Grid. All styles are responsive and support dark mode.

Does the plugin support dark mode?

Yes. Dark mode can be enabled per-feed from the feed editor settings.

Can I filter reviews by star rating?

Yes. You can set a minimum star rating (1–5) to show only high-quality reviews on the frontend.

Does the plugin cache API responses?

Yes. The plugin uses WordPress transients to cache review data, reducing API quota usage and improving frontend page load performance. Cache duration is configurable from the global settings.

What happens when I uninstall the plugin?

The plugin includes a clean uninstall routine. If you have the “Clear data on uninstall” option enabled in Settings, all stored feeds, reviews, and settings will be permanently removed. By default, data is preserved.

Is this plugin beginner-friendly?

Absolutely! The 3-step feed creation wizard (Choose Platform Name Feed Connect API) makes it easy for anyone to set up a review feed without any coding knowledge.

Can I preview how the feed looks before publishing?

Yes. The feed editor includes a live preview panel that shows how your review cards will look across desktop, tablet, and mobile viewports.

Reviews

There are no reviews for this plugin.

Contributors & Developers

“Captain Social Review” is open source software. The following people have contributed to this plugin.

Contributors

Changelog

1.0.0

  • Initial public release of Captain Social Review.
  • New: Aggregate and display reviews from 11 platforms — Google, Facebook, Yelp, Tripadvisor, Trustpilot, Glassdoor, G2, Apple App Store, Google Play, WooCommerce, and WordPress.org.
  • New: Live review fetching via official platform APIs using your own API credentials.
  • New: Apple App Store and WordPress.org feeds require no API key — just your App ID or plugin slug.
  • New: 3-step feed creation wizard — choose platform, name the feed, then connect API credentials.
  • New: Built-in API connection test to verify credentials before publishing.
  • New: Feed list dashboard showing all feeds with platform, status, shortcode, and actions at a glance.
  • New: Enable or disable individual feeds without deleting them.
  • New: 4 card styles — Classic Card (stacked avatar + rating), Bubble Card (quote-style with accent border), Minimal List (compact left-bordered rows), Popup Grid (grid with “Read more” modal for full review text).
  • New: 1–4 column responsive grid layout with per-breakpoint control.
  • New: Live preview panel with desktop, tablet, and mobile viewport toggle inside the feed editor.
  • New: Dark mode support — can be toggled per feed independently of site theme.
  • New: Dark/light mode state persisted via localStorage so user preference is remembered across sessions.
  • New: Minimum star rating filter (1–5 stars) to show only high-quality reviews.
  • New: Reviewer avatar, name, star rating, review date, and platform badge displayed on each card.
  • New: API response caching via WordPress transients to reduce external API calls and improve page load speed.
  • New: Configurable cache duration from the global Settings page.
  • New: Manual cache clear option available from Settings.
  • New: Shortcode-based output — place [captain-social-review id="X"] on any page, post, or widget area.
  • New: Global Settings page for cache management and plugin preferences.
  • New: Clean uninstall routine — optionally remove all feeds, reviews, and settings on plugin deletion.