How To Embed Google Reviews In WordPress: Tips And Setup Steps

Showing off customer reviews is a powerful way to build trust and encourage more people to choose your business. But just copying and pasting reviews onto your WordPress site can backfire. It may look unprofessional and even raise doubts about the legitimacy of the feedback.

Luckily, there’s a better way to do it. You can embed Google reviews directly on your site, so they stay fresh and credible. Plus, using plugins or simple HTML edits means the reviews update automatically, keeping your site current without any extra work.

This guide teaches you how to embed Google reviews in WordPress and why it’s so important. We also show you where to place them for the best impact. Then, we show you a few easy ways to display Google reviews on the website.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Displaying Google reviews in WordPress boosts credibility and trust.
• Use plugins or the Google Places API to embed reviews.
• Before you embed Google reviews in WordPress, get your API key and Place ID.
• Choose a simple layout for a user-friendly review section.
• Show only recent, most-related reviews to maintain quality.
• Minimize extra code to prevent slow page loads.
• Customize the design to match your site’s look.
• Regularly update reviews to keep content fresh.

What Are Google Reviews & Why Embed Them?

Google reviews are star ratings and written feedback that customers leave about a business on Google. They appear on a business’s Google listing and are visible when people search for that business or its products and services.

These reviews help potential customers see what others think about the business, making them a valuable source of social proof and credibility.

Adding these reviews to your WordPress website can do more than display great feedback. They help build trust. When visitors see real reviews from actual customers, they’re more likely to believe that your business is reliable.

Plus, Google reviews can boost your site’s visibility in search results. Google considers customer feedback when ranking businesses, so displaying those reviews can help you get noticed.

Now, you must be careful about where to show Google reviews on websites. For example, a WordPress hosting company may highlight 5-star ratings on its homepage to show people’s experience with their services.

An online store could place customer reviews next to products to encourage more sales.

By embedding Google reviews, you’re not just displaying feedback; you’re showing potential customers why they should choose you over the competition.

Embed Google Reviews in WordPress with a Plugin

In this section, we’ll go through the following 3 methods to see how to add Google reviews:

1. Use a WordPress Plugin.
2. Use HTML and JavaScript.
3. Use WordPress Block.

Let’s start with the easy method first.

If you want to display Google reviews on your WordPress site without dealing with complex code, using a plugin is the easiest way to do it. Plugins not only simplify the process but also keep the reviews updated automatically. There are various Google review WordPress plugins in the market that you can choose from. Some of the popular ones include:

• WP Social Ninja
• Widgets for Google Reviews
• WP Google Review Slider
• Reviews Feed by Smash Balloon

For this section, we’ll focus on how to embed Google reviews in WordPress using the Reviews Feed by Smash Balloon plugin. Let’s start.

Step 1: Create a Google API Key

To get started, you need to create a Google API key to connect your WordPress site with your Google account. To do that, follow these steps:

Go to the Google Cloud Console website and sign in with your Google account. If this is your first time using the console, you may need to accept the terms and conditions.

Once you log in, press Ctrl + O on your keyboard. A new window will appear. Click New project in the top-right corner.

Enter a name for the project. This name is your reference, so use anything you like. Then, click Create to generate the project.

After that, click the burger menu icon (three lines) in the upper-left corner.

Go to APIs and services → Credentials.

Again, press Ctrl + O and select the project you just created.

In the search bar, type Places API and click it.

Then, click Enable to activate the API.

After activating Places API, you’ll be asked to verify account information. Ensure these details are correct, then click Agree & continue.

Verify your identity as well, then click Start free. Don’t worry, you won’t be charged unless you activate pay-as-you-go, full account, or select to prepay.

Now, you need to create the API key. To do this, return to APIs and services → Credentials. Click + Create credentials and choose API key.

Google will generate a new API key. Copy this key and store it somewhere safe.

Google’s API keys are unrestricted by default. To prevent unauthorized use, you need to restrict the API key by navigating to ⋮ → Edit API key next to your newly created key.

 Under Application restrictions, select Websites. Then, click Add under the Website restrictions section.

Enter your WordPress site’s URL (e.g., https://yourwebsite.com) and click Done. If you leave it blank, your API key will accept requests from any website.

To ensure Smash Balloon can access the Places API, click Add again, fill in https://www.googleapis.com, and click Done.

Now, under API restrictions, choose Restrict key.

Then, from the dropdown menu, search for Places API. Once it shows up, select it, then click OK. Now, click Save. It may take a few minutes for the settings to take effect.

Step 2: Install & Activate Reviews Feed Plugin

Navigate to WordPress Dashboard → Plugins → Add New. Search for Reviews Feed by Smash Balloon. Click Install Now and then Activate.

Step 3: Add Google API Key to Smash Balloon

In the WordPress admin dashboard, go to Reviews Feed → Settings. Scroll down to Manage API Keys and click Edit (pencil icon) next to Google.

Paste the API key you created earlier and click + Update.

Step 4: Create a Google Reviews Feed

Go to Reviews Feed → All Feeds and click + Add New.

In the new screen, click + Add Source.

Here, you need to verify your email. For this, click Verify Email.

Confirm your email address and click Send Confirmation Link.

Now, open your email and click Verify Email.

After that, a new pop-up will appear. Click Yes, it is my domain to confirm that you own this domain name.

After email and domain verification, you’ll be navigated to the Add Source pop-up. Select Google and click Next.

Then, you need to enter the Place ID for the business location where you want to display reviews. To do this:

Go to thePlace ID Finder. Navigate to Find the ID of a particular place. Enter the business name or address in the search bar. Then, copy the Place ID that appears in the pop-up.

Paste the Place ID into the field and click Finish.

After successfully adding the source (ensure it’s checked), click Next.

Select a template for your reviews feed (e.g., Default, Simple Cards, Single Review) and click Next.

Next, customize the layout, number of reviews to display, and other styling options. Once done, click Save to confirm your settings.

Step 5: Embed Google Reviews in WordPress Site

After saving customizations, click Embed and then click Copy to copy the reviews feed shortcode that you can add to any page, post, or WordPress widget.

Now, go to the page or post where you want to display the reviews. Add a Shortcode block and paste the review feed shortcode. Lastly, click Publish/Save to display the feed.

TIP: You can refer to How to Use WordPress Blocks to Customize Your Site to learn how to add a WordPress block within a page or post.

Here’s how it appears on the front end:

Now, your WordPress site will automatically display Google reviews based on the settings you configured. If you need to make changes, you can always return to the plugin settings and tweak the layout or content display.

This method keeps your reviews current, and builds trust with potential customers.

Use HTML & JavaScript to Embed Google Reviews in WordPress

If you’re comfortable working with code, embedding Google reviews using HTML and JavaScript can give you more control over how reviews appear on your WordPress site. This method lets you add reviews to any part of your site and ensures they update automatically when new feedback comes in.

Here’s how you can follow along with this method:

Step 1: Prepare Your Site & Collect Necessary Information

First, we recommend creating a child theme for this method because it involves editing theme files. This way, if you make any mistakes, your main theme won’t be affected.

After that, gather 2 essential pieces of information:

1. Google Places ID: This identifies your business on Google Maps.
2. Google API Key: This allows your site to access Google’s review data.

If you’re not sure how to get these, refer to the previous section in this tutorial for detailed instructions.

Now, you need to get the Google Places script, or you can load it using a script tag. This script will pull review data and display it on your site. To create it from scratch, navigate to the Maps JavaScript API documentation. Follow the instructions to generate the script. Then, copy the script URL, as you’ll need it for the next step.

Now, it’s time to move to the second step and add the script to your site.

Step 2: Edit Your Site’s HTML (Header.php)

Go to WordPress Dashboard → Appearance → Theme File Editor. Locate header.php and open it. Next, copy and paste the following code just before the closing </head> tag:

<script src="https://ajax.googleapis.com/ajax/libs/jquery/3.7.1/jquery.min.js"></script>
<script src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/gh/peledies/google-places/google-places.js"></script>
<script src="https://maps.googleapis.com/maps/api/js?key=WRITE_API_KEY&libraries=places"></script>
<script>
    jQuery(document).ready(function() {
        $("#google-reviews").googlePlaces({
            placeId: 'WRITE_PLACE_ID',
            render: ['reviews'],
            min_rating: 5,
            max_rows: 0
         });
   });
</script>

Ensure you replace WRITE_YOUR_API_KEY with your actual Google API key that you created in Step 1: Create a Google API Key section, and WRITE_YOUR_PLACES_ID with your Google Places ID that you found using Google Place ID Finder tool in Step 4: Create a Google Reviews Feed section.

After that, click Update File to save the changes.

If you can recall the previous method where we used the Reviews Feed plugin to embed Google reviews in WordPress, you’ll notice that we only selected Places API under API restrictions. But, to use this method now, you must enable and select 2 APIs:

1. Places API.
2. Map JavaScript API.

Otherwise, you may get the ApiTargetBlockedMapError error message in Chrome developer tools’ Console tab.

Step 3: Add Google Reviews Display Code to Your Post/Page

Now that the script is ready and added to header.php, it’s time to decide where you want the reviews to appear. Go to the post or page, navigate to the desired position to embed Google reviews in WordPress posts/pages. Insert Custom HTML block.

Then, add the following line inside the Custom HTML block and save your post or page:

<div id="google-reviews"></div>

Now that everything is set up, preview the embedded reviews to check they display correctly. If the reviews don’t appear or look distorted, return to the header.php file and verify that the API key and Places ID are correct.

Troubleshooting Tips:

• API Key Not Working: Double-check you’ve enabled the Google Places API in the Google Cloud Console.
• Reviews Not Displaying: Ensure the Places ID matches your business listing.
• Responsive Issues: Add custom CSSto adjust the review container for mobile and tablet screens.
• ApiTargetBlockedMapError: Ensure you enable and choose the Map JavaScript API.

By embedding Google reviews using HTML and JavaScript, you get more control over how they display and where they appear on your WordPress site. This method also keeps the reviews updated automatically, so you don’t have to worry about manually adding new feedback. If you’re comfortable with code, this approach is a great way to showcase customer feedback in a way that aligns perfectly with your site’s design.

Use WordPress Block to Embed Google Reviews in WordPress

If you’d rather avoid coding and using a plugin, you can embed Google reviews directly into your WordPress site using the WordPress block. This method is straightforward and doesn’t require any extra tools, but it does involve copying and pasting some code. Let’s go through the steps.

Step 1: Generate Embed Code from Google My Business

Go to Google Maps and search for your business. Here, you’ll see a Share button. Click it.

As soon as you click Share, a new window will open with 2 options:

1. Share link.
2. Embed map.

Click Embed a map. Then, click COPY HTML to copy the HTML code for the map.

Step 2: Embed Copied Code into WordPress

Now that you have the embed code, it’s time to add it to your WordPress site. To do this, open the page or post where you want to embed Google reviews. Add a Custom HTML block. Then, paste the code you copied from Google Maps into the HTML block. Click Preview to check how it looks. Once satisfied, click Save.

You can also adjust the width and height directly in the embed code. For example:

<iframe src="YOUR_GOOGLE_MAPS_LINK" width="600" height="400"></iframe>

Here’s how it appears on the users’ end. It’s also useful for Contact pages, where you can show website directions with Google reviews.

FAQS

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