How to add reviews to Magento (2026 step-by-step guide)

Magento gives you deep control over your storefront, but unlike Shopify or BigCommerce, it doesn’t ship with a polished review widget out of the box.

The default review module works, but it looks dated. To get modern review displays with stars, photos, and schema markup, you need to pick one of three setup routes.

This guide walks through three clear methods to add customer reviews to any Magento store in 2026, covering Magento Open Source, Adobe Commerce, and Hyvä themes, with step-by-step instructions for each.

What you need before you start

Before adding reviews to your Magento store, get these four things ready:

1. Magento admin access: You’ll need an Administrator role to enable native features, install extensions, or edit CMS blocks.

2. Your Magento version: Confirm whether you’re on Magento Open Source 2.4+, Adobe Commerce, or a Hyvä theme. All three methods work across versions, but install paths differ slightly.

3. Your review source: Decide where reviews come from: Magento’s own collection system, an existing platform like Google or Trustpilot, or imports from a previous review tool.

4. The pages where reviews will appear: Most stores show reviews on product pages, category pages, and the homepage. 95% of shoppers read reviews before buying, so product pages are the priority.

Once those are ready, pick a method below.

Method 1: Enable Magento’s native product reviews module

Magento ships with a built-in review module. It’s enabled by default but often turned off or hidden in custom themes. This route is free, requires no extension, and uses Magento’s native review tables and storefront markup. No developer access needed.

Step 1. Log in to your Magento admin panel. Go to Stores, then Configuration.

Step 2. Expand the Catalog section in the left sidebar and click Catalog.

Step 3. Scroll to Product Reviews. Set “Allow Guests to Write Reviews” to Yes (or No for logged-in customers only).

Step 4. Save the configuration. Then go to System, then Cache Management and refresh the configuration cache.

Step 5. Open Stores, then Configuration, then Customers, then Customer Configuration, then Review Settings to confirm review submission is active.

Step 6. Visit any product page on your storefront. The review form and existing reviews should appear in the “Reviews” tab below the product description.

The trade-off: Magento’s native reviews lack modern features like photo uploads, video reviews, automated request emails, and schema markup that triggers star ratings in Google search results. Best for stores that just need basic text reviews with zero extra tools.

Method 2: Install a review extension via Composer

If you have developer access (SSH credentials, command-line comfort), a Composer-installed Magento extension is the strongest route for deep integration. The extension lives inside your Magento installation, stores reviews in Magento’s own database, and integrates with the storefront through native Magento patterns. Adobe Commerce Marketplace lists 50+ review extensions including Yotpo, Trustpilot, Bazaarvoice, and Magento-native options.

Step 1. Visit the Adobe Commerce Marketplace at commercemarketplace.adobe.com and search for “product reviews”.

Step 2. Filter by Magento version compatibility (Open Source 2.4+, Adobe Commerce), price, and rating. Read recent buyer reviews for the extension itself before installing.

Step 3. Purchase the extension (free or paid). Copy the access keys from your Marketplace account.

Step 4. SSH into your Magento server. Run composer require [vendor]/[extension-name] using the access keys to install.

Step 5. Run bin/magento setup:upgrade, then bin/magento setup:di:compile, then bin/magento cache:flush.

Step 6. In Magento admin, go to Stores, then Configuration to find the new extension’s settings. Configure review request emails, display rules, and schema markup options.

The trade-off: Composer installs require developer time, fail on Magento version mismatches, and break during major Magento upgrades. Extension licenses are also paid per-store and rarely transferable.

For a comparison of extension options, see our roundup of the best Magento review extensions. If you want Google reviews specifically, adding Google reviews to Magento 2 covers that path.

Method 3: Paste a widget embed code into a CMS block

If you only have admin panel access (no SSH, no Composer, no developer time), a CMS block embed is the right route. You generate a widget once in a third-party review tool like WiserReview, paste the embed code into a Magento CMS block, and reviews appear wherever you place the block. Everything happens inside the Magento admin UI.

Once you’ve got the widget code from your review tool, here’s the Magento side:

Step 1. In Magento admin, go to Content, then Blocks. Click “Add New Block”.

Step 2. Name the block (e.g., “Product Reviews Widget”). Set the identifier to wiserreview_widget. Pick the relevant Store View.

Step 3. Click the Show/Hide Editor toggle to switch to HTML mode. Paste your WiserReview embed code into the content area.

Step 4. Save the block. Then go to Content, then Pages or your product template layout XML to insert the block.

Step 5. Reference the block in your product page layout using <block class="MagentoCmsBlockBlock" name="reviews"><arguments><argument name="block_id" xsi:type="string">wiserreview_widget</argument></arguments></block> or use the CMS block widget in Page Builder.

Step 6. Run bin/magento cache:flush from admin (System, then Cache Management) and reindex if needed. Preview the storefront on desktop and mobile to confirm the widget renders correctly.

The widget auto-refreshes as new reviews come in. No Composer install, no Magento upgrades to worry about, no extension dependency, and you keep full design control through the SaaS dashboard.

Which method should you pick?

• Pick Method 1 if you only need basic text reviews, no developer access, and don’t mind the dated native UI.
• Pick Method 2 if you have developer time, want deep Magento-native integration, and need reviews stored inside Magento’s database.
• Pick Method 3 if you only have admin panel access, want multi-source reviews (Google + Facebook + your collection), and prefer flat SaaS pricing.

For most stores without dedicated Magento developers, Method 3 ends up the most practical. Method 2 fits enterprise stores with engineering support. Method 1 works for tiny stores that just need basic feedback.

Before you publish

Clear cache and reindex: Magento aggressively caches everything. After adding reviews via any method, run bin/magento cache:flush and bin/magento indexer:reindex test before.

Verify schema markup: Run your live product URL through Google’s Rich Results Test. If Product or AggregateRating JSON-LD is firing, star ratings show in Google search results, a free CTR boost.

Test across store views: Magento supports multi-store and multi-language setups. Confirm reviews display correctly on every store view before going live.

Final thoughts

Reviews on a Magento product page reduce the buyer’s hesitation at the moment they’re deciding whether to add to cart. The right method depends on your team’s technical skills and whether you need modern features like photo reviews and automated request emails.

Method 1 fits stores happy with basic native reviews and no extra tools. Method 2 wins for stores with developer support that want Magento-native depth. Method 3 wins for admin-only teams that want multi-source flexibility without touching the server.

For Magento context and platform trends, see our 35 Magento statistics. For a broader review setup guide, how to add reviews to a website covers the general approach.