Softlinkster Reviews for Google

by Khurram Shehzad

Description

Softlinkster Reviews for Google helps you display Google business reviews in WordPress without being locked into a single layout. Create reusable saved views, style each one separately, and place them anywhere with a shortcode.

If you want a Google reviews plugin for WordPress that can handle homepage sections, testimonial grids, review sliders, carousel layouts, or marquee-style moving rows, this plugin is built for that workflow.

What Softlinkster Reviews for Google does:

Reusable Google review views

Create multiple saved views and give each one its own shortcode. One view can be a homepage review slider, another can be a grid for a services page, and another can be a compact testimonial section for a landing page.

Flexible layout options

Choose from stacked cards, grid, compact, carousel, and marquee layouts. Each saved view keeps its own display and style settings, so different pages can show Google reviews differently without editing code.

Live preview in wp-admin

Preview layout and styling changes inside the plugin before saving. This makes it easier to tune card spacing, typography, colors, visibility options, and motion-based layouts from one screen.

Google Places business finder

Search for your business inside wp-admin, save the correct place, and reuse that saved location across views instead of copying Place IDs manually every time.

Local review curation

Hide reviews, feature important ones, and adjust internal sort weight for cached review items. This helps you shape the order of visible reviews without changing the original Google review content.

Timed review cache with scheduled sync

The plugin fetches Google Places review content, stores it in a time-limited local cache, and refreshes it on a daily schedule or on demand. This keeps the plugin aligned with Google Places caching limits instead of promising permanent review storage.

Two source modes for different needs

Choose Places API for the fastest setup when a public 5-review sample is enough, or switch to Business Profile when you own or manage the listing and need the full review library that Google exposes through Business Profile APIs.

Theme override support

The plugin ships with one neutral default template. Developers can override that output from the active theme when they want a custom frontend design.

To keep the plugin WordPress.org-safe, it does not ship with any API key. Each site owner must provide their own Google Places API key and business location data.

Admin menu:

Google Reviews > Views
Google Reviews > Settings

Optional constant overrides:

define( 'SOFTLINKSTER_GOOGLE_REVIEWS_GOOGLE_API_KEY', 'your-api-key-here' );

define( 'SOFTLINKSTER_GOOGLE_REVIEWS_GOOGLE_PLACE_ID', 'your-place-id-here' );

The plugin uses a neutral default template. Themes can override it by adding either of these files:

wp-content/themes/your-theme/softlinkster-reviews-for-google/reviews.php
wp-content/themes/your-theme/softlinkster-reviews-for-google/reviews/default.php

Primary shortcode:

[softlinkster_google_reviews]

Saved view example:

[softlinkster_google_reviews view="homepage-slider"]

Supported shortcode attributes:

view – load a saved view by ID
limit – maximum number of reviews to show
min_rating – minimum rating to include
sort – one of newest, oldest, rating_desc, or rating_asc
location – render a saved location ID
place_id – render a specific place ID
layout – one of stacked, grid, compact, carousel, or marquee

Example:

[softlinkster_google_reviews view="homepage-slider" limit="6" min_rating="4" sort="rating_desc"]

External Services

This plugin connects to Google APIs provided by Google LLC.

It contacts the service when:

an administrator searches for a business in Google Reviews > Settings
the scheduled daily WP-Cron sync runs
an administrator runs a manual sync from the plugin settings or view editor
the shortcode renders while the plugin is in Places API mode and the local cache is empty
an administrator connects Google Business Profile with OAuth and selects a managed account or location

It sends:

the business search text entered by the administrator when the business finder is used
the configured Google Place ID in the request URL path
your Google Places API key in the X-Goog-Api-Key request header
the field mask id,displayName,googleMapsUri,reviews when fetching reviews
the field mask places.id,places.displayName,places.formattedAddress,places.googleMapsUri when searching for businesses
a Google OAuth authorization request for the business.manage scope when Business Profile mode is connected
the selected Business Profile account and location resource names when loading managed locations and reviews
the stored OAuth access token in the Authorization: Bearer header for Google Business Profile requests

It receives:

place IDs
place display data
place names
formatted business addresses
review text
reviewer attribution
rating values
review publish times
Google Maps review URLs
Business Profile account names
Business Profile location resource names
Business Profile location metadata including place IDs and Maps URIs

Google Maps Platform Terms of Service:
https://cloud.google.com/maps-platform/terms

Google Places API policies and attribution requirements:
https://developers.google.com/maps/documentation/places/web-service/policies

Google Business Profile API information:
https://developers.google.com/my-business/

Google Privacy Policy:
https://policies.google.com/privacy

Installation

Upload the softlinkster-reviews-for-google folder to /wp-content/plugins/
Activate the plugin through the ‘Plugins’ screen in WordPress
Open Google Reviews > Settings
Choose Places API or Business Profile in Google Reviews > Settings
For Places API, add your own Google Places API key, search for your business, and save at least one location, or define the API key and place ID in wp-config.php
For Business Profile, add your approved Google OAuth client credentials, connect Google Business Profile, select the account and location, and save
Open Google Reviews > Views, create a saved view if needed, and copy its shortcode
Insert [softlinkster_google_reviews] or a saved-view shortcode into any post, page, or widget area
Run a manual sync if you want to populate the local cache immediately

Screenshots

Saved Views screen for managing reusable Google review shortcodes
View Editor screen for display options and live frontend preview
Style tab for layout, typography, and color customization
Global Settings screen for Google Places connection, sync, and business lookup
Configured settings state with saved location and cached review curation controls
Frontend page example showing the neutral default review layout on a live page

Faq

Does this plugin include an API key?

No. The plugin never ships with an API key. Every site owner must provide their own key.

Does this plugin have a settings screen?

Yes. The plugin includes Google Reviews > Settings for API connection, locations, sync, and review curation, plus Google Reviews > Views for reusable saved displays. Constants in wp-config.php still override the dashboard values.

Is the API key exposed to the frontend?

No. The key is used only on the server for backend requests to Google Places. The dashboard does not print the saved key back into the page after it is stored.

Can I create different layouts for different pages?

Yes. Each saved view has its own shortcode and its own display/style settings. You can create one view for a homepage slider, another for a grid, and another for a marquee without editing theme files.

How are duplicate reviews avoided?

The plugin upserts rows by source plus source_review_id, so repeated syncs do not create duplicate records for the same fetched review.

Why do I still only see 5 Google reviews after sync?

Because the Google Places API currently returns a maximum of 5 reviews per place, sorted by relevance. The plugin refreshes that limited feed every day and can only accumulate additional cached reviews if Google later rotates different reviews into that returned set.

How can I sync more than 5 reviews?

Switch the plugin to Business Profile mode and connect a listing that you own or manage. Google Business Profile APIs support paginated review retrieval for managed locations, unlike the Places API public place feed.

What is required for Business Profile full-review sync?

The business owner must add the Google account used for connection as an Owner or Manager in Google Business Profile. The Google Cloud project also needs approved Business Profile API access, the required APIs enabled, an OAuth consent screen, and an OAuth Web application client. In the plugin, copy the displayed redirect URI into that OAuth client exactly, save the client ID and secret, connect Google, choose the account and location, save again, and run a sync.

Adding someone only to Google Cloud does not give that person access to the business listing. Conversely, adding someone only to Google Business Profile does not let them configure the Google Cloud project.

What should a client give a developer access to?

For the business listing, add the developer’s Google account in Google Business Profile under Business Profile settings > People and access as a Manager or Owner. For the Google Cloud project, add the developer only if they need to create or edit credentials and enable APIs. Keep the client as the project and billing owner. Google’s requirements for Business Profile API approval apply to the project, not just the API key or Place ID.

Why does the plugin use a time-limited cache instead of promising permanent storage?

Google Places review content is subject to Google Maps Platform usage restrictions. This plugin therefore treats review content as cache content, lets you configure a cache lifetime up to 29 days, and refreshes it instead of claiming permanent archival storage.

Does the plugin contact Google automatically?

Only for documented plugin features. It contacts Google when you search for a business in wp-admin, when the scheduled or manual sync runs, and when the shortcode renders while the local cache is empty.

Where can I get support?

Use https://mrkhuran.com/contact for support. Once the plugin page is live on WordPress.org, you can also use the support forum there.

Where is the human-readable source code?

The release plugin includes readable PHP, CSS, JS, and template files directly in the package. It does not rely on obfuscated code or hidden remote assets to render the review output.

Reviews

Changelog

0.2.4

Fixed custom font stacks so an entered font family is applied even when the theme-font preference was previously enabled.

0.2.3

Added font-weight controls for titles, reviewer names, review text, and metadata
Added a review text mode that trims to a chosen number of lines and links the overflow ellipsis to Google Maps

0.2.2

Improved Business Profile error messages so the admin shows a concise Google message instead of a full raw response payload
Fixed review-source switching so only the selected connection panel is visible

0.2.1

Added a plain-language four-step Business Profile connection guide directly in the settings screen
Added direct links to Google’s access, approval, and OAuth setup documentation
Added one-click copying for the exact OAuth redirect URI
Documented the separate Google Business Profile and Google Cloud access requirements in the FAQ

0.2.0

Added a review source switcher with both Places API and Business Profile modes
Added a new OAuth-based admin flow for connecting managed Google Business Profile listings
Added full-review sync support for Business Profile managed locations
Improved the global settings UI so source selection and connection steps are clearer
Hardened source switching so generated Business Profile locations do not leak into Places mode

0.1.8

Added saved-view controls for carousel drag and slide transition speed
Added safe extra wrapper CSS class support for theme-side styling overrides
Fixed frontend script loading for Read more / Show less outside carousel layouts
Clarified the Google Places 5-review response limit inside the plugin guidance and readme

0.1.1

Refined the review curation layout into a cleaner, more compact moderation interface
Fixed stale sync warnings so successful syncs no longer show old configuration errors
Improved Google Places API error messages to avoid dumping raw JSON into wp-admin

0.1.0

Initial public release
Added Google Places API client and business finder
Added custom review cache tables
Added daily cron sync and manual sync
Added reusable saved views with shortcode copying
Added live preview, neutral template overrides, and review curation
Added uninstall cleanup and external service disclosure