Customer reviews on a WordPress page do one job: turn a hesitant visitor into a customer.
The problem is that most WordPress site owners don’t know which method to use, so they end up with a half-finished plugin or copy-pasted screenshots.
This guide walks through three clear methods to add reviews to WordPress. Each one uses a different approach, so you can pick the route that fits your situation and ship it today.
What you need before you start
Before adding reviews to WordPress, get these four things ready:
1. WordPress admin access: You need an Administrator or Editor role to install plugins, add HTML blocks, or edit sidebar widgets.
2. Your review source: Decide where your reviews will come from: Google Business Profile, Facebook page, Trustpilot, or your own customer database.
3. The page or post where reviews will appear: Most sites place them on the homepage, service pages, product pages, or below blog posts.
4. A free WordPress.org account or a SaaS tool account: Method 1 uses a free plugin from WordPress.org. Method 2 uses a third-party tool like WiserReview. Method 3 needs neither.
Once you have those ready, pick a method below.
Method 1: Install a free WordPress plugin
A plugin is the most familiar route. You install it directly from the WordPress.org repository, configure it inside your dashboard, and reviews appear on any page using a shortcode or block. No third-party signup, no embed code.
Step 1. Log in to your WordPress dashboard. Go to Plugins, then Add New.
Step 2. Search for a review plugin. Popular free options include “Site Reviews”, “WP Customer Reviews”, and “Schema & Structured Data for WP”. Pick one based on whether you want collection, display, or both.
Step 3. Click Install Now, then Activate.
Step 4. Open the plugin’s settings page (usually under Settings or its own menu item in the sidebar). Configure your display rules: number of reviews, sort order, design.
Step 5. Copy the shortcode the plugin gives you (it looks like [site_reviews] or similar).
Step 6. Open the page where you want reviews. Paste the shortcode into a Shortcode block (Gutenberg), a Shortcode widget (Elementor), or directly into the page text (Classic Editor). Update the page.
The downside: every plugin adds weight to your site, some conflict with each other, and they occasionally break after WordPress or theme updates. If you want to compare which plugins handle this best, see the 2026 WordPress review plugins roundup.
This route skips plugins entirely. WiserReview builds a widget once in its dashboard, then pastes the embed code anywhere on your WordPress site.
The widget pulls reviews from Google, Facebook, or your own collection, and updates on its own as new reviews arrive.
The first part, generating the widget inside WiserReview, looks like this:
Adding review widgets to your website is fast and requires no code.
First, sign up for a WiserReview account.
Next, follow the steps below to show clean, high-converting reviews on your site.
Start by importing your existing reviews via a direct integration or CSV import.
If you do not yet have reviews, you can start collecting them with WiserReview automations.
After that, go to the Widgets section. You will see multiple review widgets built to build trust and help visitors decide.
For this example, we chose the Carousel widget. You can customize it to match your brand colors and layout. Once everything looks right, click Install.
You will then see the JavaScript, iframe, and URL options for embedding the widget on your site.
Here is how the Wall of Love looks on the MyMunche website.
This is only the display side. WiserReview also helps you manage reviews with built-in AI and collect them via email, SMS, WhatsApp, form links, QR codes, and more.
You can explore the platform further or book a demo to learn how to collect more reviews and show them where they matter most, based on our four years of experience working with over 1,100 brands.
Once the widget code is ready, here’s the WordPress side:
Step 1. Open the WordPress page or post where reviews should appear. Click Edit.
Step 2. Add a Custom HTML block. In Gutenberg, click the + button and search “Custom HTML”. In Elementor, drag the HTML widget into your layout. In Classic Editor, switch to the Text tab. For sidebars, go to Appearance, then Widgets, and add a Custom HTML widget.
Step 3. Paste the WiserReview embed code into the block. Update the page.
Step 4. Preview on desktop and mobile to confirm the widget renders correctly.
That’s the full WordPress side. The widget refreshes automatically as new reviews come in, so you never touch the page again.
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Method 3: Add reviews manually using Gutenberg blocks
No plugin, no SaaS tool, no embed code. You build reviews directly inside the WordPress editor using native blocks. It’s free, gives you full control over design, and adds zero load time to your site.
Step 1. Open the page where reviews should appear. Click the + button in Gutenberg to add a new block.
Step 2. Add a Group block. This will hold each review card. Set the background color and padding under Block Settings on the right.
Step 3. Inside the Group block, add a Heading block for the customer name. Add a Paragraph block below it for the review text. Add an Image block above the name for a customer photo if you have one.
Step 4. For star ratings, add a Paragraph block with star emojis (★★★★★) or use an SVG image. Many themes also include a star rating block via theme.json.
Step 5. Duplicate the Group block for each additional review. Adjust spacing using the Spacer block between cards.
Step 6. Add schema markup manually. Open Code Editor (top-right ⋮ menu), and paste a Review or AggregateRating JSON-LD snippet so star ratings can show in Google search results. Update the page.
The trade-off: reviews don’t auto-update, you have to add new ones manually, and schema markup requires copying JSON-LD code. Use this when you only need 2-5 static reviews on a single page that rarely changes.
Which method should you pick?
- Pick Method 1 if you want a free WordPress-native option and don’t mind plugin maintenance.
- Pick Method 2 if you want auto-syncing reviews from Google or Facebook with zero plugin overhead.
- Pick Method 3 if you want full control over design with only a few static reviews and no recurring costs.
Most growing sites end up at Method 2. It scales the easiest as you add more review sources and pages.
Before you publish
Preview on mobile: Over half of WordPress traffic is mobile, and theme rendering varies. Open the page on a real phone.
Test your schema: Run your live URL through Google’s Rich Results Test. If Product or AggregateRating markup is firing, star ratings can show in search results.
Don’t stack tools: Running a plugin AND a SaaS embed on the same page slows your site. Pick one method per page and stick with it.
Final thoughts
Reviews are one of the highest-leverage trust signals on a WordPress site. The right method depends on where your reviews live now and how much time you want to spend on setup.
A plugin works when you want everything inside WordPress. A SaaS embed wins when you’ve already got reviews on Google or Facebook and want them flowing in automatically. Manual Gutenberg blocks fit when you’re displaying a handful of static reviews and want zero recurring costs.
For most sites, Method 2 is the path of least resistance. Generate the widget once, paste the code, and the reviews keep flowing in without you touching the page again.
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Related guides:
Best Google reviews plugin for WordPress (2026)
Top WordPress testimonial plugins
How to add reviews to a website in 5 minutes
