Complete feature reference
Everything the Google Reviews Widget can do, organized by the plugin workflow.
This Google reviews widget for WordPress covers the full workflow on one page: use it as the master feature map for the Free and Pro versions. It covers the importer, scraper-style public URL workflow, CSV/JSON card imports, review curation, grid design, slider controls, screenshots, exports, and shortcode publishing.
Responsive layout designer
Import and map
Save and publish
Tab 1
Option A, public profile importerPaste a Google Maps or Business Profile URL, confirm ownership/authorization, then pull public review data into WordPress.
Manual refreshAfter the URL is saved, click Pull latest reviews to import newer public reviews while preserving hidden/visible and position choices.
Remove saved URLUnlock the source URL. Keep current reviews to merge the next profile import, or uncheck the box to delete stored reviews when removing the URL.
Option B, spreadsheet/JSON importerUpload or paste CSV/JSON, preview rows, map title/name, text/description, image/photo, rating, date, and unique ID.
Pro backup exportsExport full JSON backup with reviews, source, summary, settings, and saved displays. Export reviews CSV for the card library only.
Import/Export, Google URL importer, CSV/JSON mapper, backup tools.
The first tab gives users two independent ways to bring content into WordPress. Option A imports public Google Business Profile reviews from a URL. Option B accepts spreadsheet or JSON data and maps columns into cards. Pro adds export and restore tools.
Tab 2
Select all / Unselect allFast bulk visibility control for large imports.
Show toggleHide a review without deleting it from the local database.
Position numberUsed when Review order is set to Manual position in the design tab.
Delete reviewRemove sample reviews or unwanted imported cards one by one.
Pull latest reviewsRefreshes from the saved public source URL without resetting curation choices.
Review library, selection, deletion, manual order, and rating-ready curation.
The Reviews tab is intentionally practical. A business owner can import 73 reviews and still choose only the handful they want on a landing page. The sticky save bar avoids the classic “where did the save button go?” WordPress sadness spiral.
Tab 3
Grid/Slider Design, live preview, responsive controls, slots, card styling.
The design tab is the heart of the product. It renders the same shortcode output used on the live page, then wraps it in a preview canvas with Desktop, Laptop, Tablet, Phone, and Zoom controls. Free users get the core grid builder. Pro users get named displays, the slider/carousel, pill marquee, and bubble cluster layouts, device-specific controls, shadows, advanced typography, custom navigation icons, and saved shortcodes.
Heading & content
Enable heading section, First line, Strong line, HTML tag H1-H6, introduction text, stacked images/rating/review count, card click URL, text character limit, size/weight/color for title and intro text.
Layout & position
Showcase mosaic, Editorial heading above, Column list, Review slider/carousel, Pill marquee slider, Circular bubble cluster, Desktop/Laptop/Tablet/Phone layout controls, columns, rows, card gap, max reviews, heading placement, slot map, review order, exact star rating filter.
Card appearance
Even/uneven fill, border width, border color, corner radius, inner padding, minimum height, reviewer image size, card shadow distance/blur/spread/opacity/color, font selection, typography, portraits, dates, Google logo, hover reveal, attribution.
Ratings & badges
Show or hide the star rating, the aggregate score, and the total review count summary. Toggle the Google logo, verified badge, review date, and reviewer photo, and choose how partial stars and the rating number are displayed on each card.
Newly redesigned
Layout-first, so the panel only ever shows what your chosen layout needs.
Four tabs replace one long scroll: Content for the words, Layout for a visual gallery and its settings, Style for one-click themes, and Advanced for behaviour. Pick a layout and the controls reshape to match it, while the live preview tracks every change on the right.
Standard
Style theme
Our Clients Are Giving
Glowing Reviews
Discover why our clients trust us for thoughtful service and care.
Excellent experience. We saw right away the work was thoughtful and professional.
VValérie C.★ 5.0
I cannot recommend them highly enough. From first contact it was exceptional.
RRaphael B.★ 5.0
They really know what they are doing, from first contact to after care.
CCharles S.★ 5.0
A positive experience with useful guidance and respectful follow-up.
GGaëlle P.★ 5.0
Pro slider controls
Slider and carousel options, including arrows, dots, autoplay, placement, and custom icons.
The Pro slider is not just a switch. It includes enough controls to recreate Trustindex-style sliders while staying self-hosted in WordPress.
Quantity per device
Cards per view and Max reviews displayed for Desktop, Laptop, Tablet, and Phone. Presets include 3/2/2/1, 4/3/2/1, and feature-one-at-a-time.
Motion
Cards per click, autoplay speed, autoplay on/off, loop back to first review, pause autoplay on hover or keyboard focus.
Arrow icons
Text chevrons, text arrows, text carets, Dashicons chevrons, Dashicons arrows, Font Awesome if loaded on the site, or custom SVG/PNG from the Media Library.
Arrow placement
Middle sides, top left, top right, bottom left, bottom right. Adjust arrow size, distance from cards, background, color, and border.
Dots
Bottom center, bottom left, bottom right, top center, top left, top right. Adjust dot size, normal dot color, and active dot color.
Card shadow
Available for any layout, not only slider. Control distance, blur, spread, opacity, and color so the shadow can be subtle or dramatic.
Pro designer layouts
Two animated Pro layouts no other Google reviews plugin ships: the pill marquee and the circular bubble cluster.
Both are rendered by the plugin itself, self-hosted like everything else, with reduced-motion support built in. They turn a review section into a page centerpiece instead of another card grid.
Pill marquee slider
Reviews stream across the page as pill-shaped cards in continuously scrolling rows, and neighboring rows move in opposite directions for a living, editorial feel. The loop is seamless and pauses respect reduced-motion settings.
Marquee controls
Rows (1 to 6), Row gap (0 to 80 pixels), Pills per row (1 to 5), and Scroll speed in seconds per loop, where higher is slower. A dedicated checkbox shows the full review in a popup on pill hover or keyboard focus.
Circular bubble cluster
Reviewer portraits form a circular constellation around your heading, sized and placed by a hand-tuned layout that renders the same stable arrangement on every visit. An optional checkbox adds a gentle floating animation.
Cluster controls
Circle waves (1 to 5) sets how full and spread out the constellation looks. Heading alignment (left, center, right) and the shared six-position heading placement control where your title sits. The plugin-wide hover reveal shows the full review on hover or keyboard focus.
Shared with every layout
Both layouts use the same curated review library, card appearance settings, rating filters, and shortcode system as the grids, so switching layouts never means re-importing or re-selecting reviews.
Accessibility
Keyboard focus reveals the same detail popups as hover, animations honor the prefers-reduced-motion setting, and all reviewer images carry proper alt text.
Tab 4
Shortcodes for every WordPress page builder.
The Free version uses the default shortcode [iwebapp_reviews]. Pro lets the user create named displays, edit them later, and keep the same shortcode on the page.
[iwebapp_reviews]
[iwebapp_reviews limit="4" columns="2" min_rating="4" order="latest"]
[iwebapp_reviews id="home-grid-reviews"]
[iwebapp_reviews id="footer-slider"]
Free vs Pro
Feature comparison table.
| Feature | Free | Pro |
|---|---|---|
| Google Maps / public Business Profile URL importer | Yes | Yes |
| CSV/JSON import with preview and column mapping | Yes | Yes |
| Sample CSV and JSON files | Yes | Yes |
| Select all, Unselect all, manual review position, individual delete | Yes | Yes |
| Exact star rating filter, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 stars | Yes | Yes |
| Showcase mosaic, Editorial heading above, Column list | Yes | Yes |
| Responsive column counts | Yes | Yes |
| Saved displays with independent shortcodes | Default only | Yes |
| Review slider / carousel | No | Yes |
| Pill marquee slider, animated review stream | No | Yes |
| Circular bubble cluster, portrait constellation | No | Yes |
| Custom slider arrows, SVG/PNG upload, dot placement | No | Yes |
| Per-device typography, card gap, image sizes, max reviews | Limited | Yes |
| Card click URL | Limited | Yes |
| JSON backup/restore and reviews CSV export | No | Yes |
| Optional iWEBAPP attribution, disabled by default | Yes | Yes |
vs the competition
How iWEBAPP Google Reviews Widget compares to Trustindex, WP Social Ninja, and SaaS review tools.
Every plugin in this space claims to show Google reviews. The differences come down to where data is stored, what the pricing model is, and how much control you have over presentation. Here is an honest side-by-side.
| Feature | iWEBAPP Free | iWEBAPP Pro | Trustindex Premium $65/year |
WP Social Ninja ~$44/year |
SaaS (Tagembed, etc.) $9, $19/month |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Data stored in WordPress | Yes | Yes | No (external) | Yes | No (cloud) |
| Requires external account | No | No | Yes | Varies | Yes |
| Google API key required | No | No | No | Often yes | No |
| CSV/JSON testimonial import | Yes | Yes | Limited | No | No |
| Column mapping for import data | Yes | Yes | No | No | No |
| Review curation (hide/show/order) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Layouts | 3 grid layouts | 6 layouts, grids, slider, pill marquee, bubble cluster | Multiple sliders only | Multiple sliders only | Multiple sliders only |
| Review slider / carousel | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Animated pill marquee and bubble cluster layouts | No | Yes | No | No | No |
| Multiple saved displays | One | Unlimited | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Per-device responsive control | Columns & rows | + type & images | Yes | Limited | Limited |
| Card shadows | No | Yes | Yes | Limited | No |
| JSON backup/restore | No | Yes | No | No | No |
| Review data served from your own site | Yes | Yes | No | Varies | No |
| Annual cost | $0 | Pro pricing | $65/yr | ~$44/yr | $108, $228/yr |
Pricing and features based on publicly available information as of June 2026. See full comparison and Trustindex alternative guide.
What people ask before choosing a Google reviews plugin.
What are the pill marquee and bubble cluster layouts?
Two Pro designer layouts unique to this plugin. The pill marquee streams pill-shaped review cards in rows that scroll in opposite directions, with controls for rows, row gap, pills per row, scroll speed, and a full-review popup on hover or keyboard focus. The circular bubble cluster arranges reviewer portraits in a stable constellation around your heading, with a Circle waves density control, heading alignment and position options, and an optional gentle floating animation. Both honor reduced-motion preferences.
Can I import Google reviews without a Google API key?
Yes. Option A in the Import/Export tab uses an administrator-triggered public URL request. Paste a Google Maps or Business Profile URL, confirm you are authorized to manage that content, and the plugin pulls public review data without any Google Cloud setup, billing account, or API key.
Does the Pro slider work like Trustindex sliders?
The Pro slider gives the same output capabilities: arrows, dots, autoplay, loop, per-device card counts, pause on hover, and responsive breakpoints. It goes further in some areas, offering custom SVG/PNG arrow upload, five arrow placements, and six dot placements. All data stays in your WordPress database, unlike Trustindex's external CDN dependency.
Can I have different review displays on different pages?
Yes with Pro. The named saved display system lets you create as many displays as needed, each with independent design settings. A homepage mosaic grid uses [iwebapp_reviews id="home-grid"], a footer slider uses [iwebapp_reviews id="footer-slider"], a service page column list uses [iwebapp_reviews id="services-list"]. Each shortcode renders its own display with its own settings.
What happens to my reviews if I uninstall the plugin?
The plugin stores reviews in a custom database table. When the plugin is deleted through the WordPress admin, the standard WordPress delete routine runs. Pro users can export a full JSON backup before uninstalling to preserve all review content and settings for re-import later.
Can I import testimonials from a spreadsheet or CRM export?
Yes. Option B in the Import/Export tab accepts CSV and JSON files from any source. Upload or paste the data, preview the rows, then use the column mapper to assign spreadsheet columns to reviewer name, review text, photo URL, star rating, date, and unique ID. The same card system works for Google reviews, client testimonials, team profiles, course reviews, and any card-format data.
Will the review grid match my theme and page builder?
Yes. The grid inherits your theme fonts by default, and you can override typography per device or pick a Google Font. The output is a single shortcode that drops into Elementor, Gutenberg, Divi, Beaver Builder, WPBakery, and Bricks, so the same display works no matter how the page is built. Colors, spacing, radius, and shadows are all adjustable to match your brand.
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