How to Do Google Reviews Settings on Your WordPress Website

Embedding Google reviews on your WordPress website is one of the fastest ways to build trust and lift conversions. But fetching the reviews is only half the job. How you display them, the layout, the filters, the badges, the header, is what turns a plain review list into social proof that actually converts.

This is Part 2 about Google review settings. If you have not connected your Google reviews yet, start with how to embed Google reviews on your WordPress website. Once they are connected, this guide walks you through every Google Reviews setting in WP Social Ninja, so you can customize exactly how they look, all in a few clicks and no code.

The editor has changed since the last version, so the steps below match the current interface.

A quick look at the review editor

When you open a review template, you get a live preview on the left and a settings panel on the right. A few things to know before you start:

• The shortcode sits at the top; for example, . Copy it to drop the reviews anywhere on your site.
• Three tabs run the show: General, Connection, and Style.
• The device icons let you preview desktop, tablet, and mobile so you can check the layout on every screen.
• Everything in this guide lives under the General tab, which is organized into panels: Platforms, Template, Filters, Settings, Header, Pagination, AI Summarizer, and Schema.org Markup.

Hit Save whenever you are happy with a change.

Step 1: Select your platform

The old “Source” button is gone. Now you pick your review source in the Platforms panel at the top of the General tab.

Under Select Platforms, tick Google Business Profile. You can also combine sources, so if you collect reviews on Facebook, Yelp, Airbnb, Booking.com, or others, tick those too, and WP Social Ninja will pull them into the same widget. As soon as you select a platform, its reviews load into the live preview automatically.

For this guide, we are working with Google, but every setting below applies no matter which platforms you combine.

Step 2: Choose a layout and template

Open the Template panel to change how your Google reviews are structured on the page.

Pick a Layout Type

There are now four layout types: Grid, Slider, Masonry, and Badge. Grid keeps everything in tidy, equal rows, Slider turns reviews into a carousel, Masonry stacks cards by their natural height, and Badge is a compact rating summary.

Pick the one that fits the spot on your page.

Select a Template design

Under Select a Template, choose a ready-made design. Options include Vega, Spica, Sirius, Rigel, Procyon, Pollux, and more, each with its own styling.

Click See All to view the full set. Switching templates instantly restyles the whole widget, so try a few and watch the live preview.

Step 3: Filter which reviews show

The Filters panel is where the real control lives, and it has grown a lot. This is how you make sure only your best, most relevant reviews appear.

• Number of Reviews: Set how many reviews to pull. For Google, you can display well over 100.
• Filter by Minimum Rating: Show only reviews at or above a star threshold. Set it to 5 Stars to feature only top ratings, or No Minimum Rating to show everything.
• Order: Sort reviews by newest, oldest, highest rating, or Random to keep the widget looking fresh.
• Let Visitors Search, Sort & Filter: Turn this on to give visitors their own search box and sort controls on the front end.
• Hide Reviews Without Text: Turn this on to drop star-only reviews and show only ones with real written feedback.
• Filter by Include/Exclude: Choose All, or hand-pick specific reviews to include or exclude by reviewer name.
• Show / Hide reviews containing these words: Type keywords to surface reviews that mention them, or hide reviews that contain words you would rather not display.
• Filter by Business/Product and Filter by Category: Narrow reviews down to a specific location, product, or category when you manage more than one.

These filters are what separate a generic review dump from a curated wall of social proof. Use minimum rating plus “hide reviews without text” together for the cleanest result.

Step 4: Fine-tune the display settings

Open the Settings panel to control what appears on each review card. Every item here is a simple toggle or dropdown.

• Display Rating and Rating Style: Show the star rating and pick a style (Default, number style, or icon with number).
• Display Verified Badge: Turn on a verified checkmark next to reviewer names, and set the tooltip text (for example, “Verified Customer”). This is a strong trust signal.
• Display Date: Show or hide the review date.
• Display Reviewer Name and Reviewer Name Format: Show the name and choose the format, such as full name or first name only, for privacy.
• Display Reviewer Image and Display Platform Icon: Toggle the reviewer photo and the small Google icon on each card.
• Display Review Title and Display Review Text: Control whether the title and body text appear.
• Content Language: Show reviews in their original language or a translated version.
• Content Type and Trim Excerpt Words: Show the full review or an excerpt, and set how many words the excerpt keeps (for example, 10) so long reviews do not stretch your cards.
• Enable External Links: Let reviewer names or reviews link out to their source.
• Equal Height: Keep every card the same height for a clean grid, and fine-tune the exact pixel height with the slider.

Step 5: Set up the header

The Header panel controls the summary bar above your reviews, the part that shows your overall Google rating and a call to action.

• Display Header: Turns the whole bar on or off, and Header Template lets you pick a header style.
• Toggle On: Display Logo, Display Title, Display Rating, Display Number of Reviews, and Display Write a Review Button to build the exact header you want.
• Use Custom Elements: Add Title Text, Custom Number of Reviews Text (with a {total_reviews} placeholder), and Custom Button Text to write your own copy.
• Add “Write a Review” URL and Button Source Type: Lets you point the button to a native review form or an external link. If you pick the native form, choose it under Select Review Form.

The “Write a Review” button is an easy win. It invites happy visitors to leave feedback, which keeps your review count and freshness growing.

Step 6: Choose your pagination

Long review lists eat space. The Pagination panel keeps them tidy.

Set Pagination Type to Load More (a button that loads more reviews on click) or another option that suits your page.

With Load More, you can rename the Load More Button Text and set Reviews Per Page, for example 6, so the widget starts compact and expands only when visitors want more.

Step 7: Add an AI summary (new)

New in the current version, the AI Summarizer panel generates a short, readable summary of your reviews.

Instead of making visitors read every card, it distills the overall sentiment into a quick paragraph at the top of your widget, so the value lands in seconds. Turn it on if you display a large number of reviews.

Step 8: Turn on Schema.org markup

The Schema.org Markup panel adds structured data to your review widget so search engines can read your rating information. Turning it on marks up your reviews in a machine-readable format, which helps search engines and AI systems understand your review data.

One honest note: Google does not show star rich snippets for reviews a business displays about itself, so do not expect gold stars in search from this alone. The value here is cleaner entity data and better readability for AI answer engines. Keep it on, but set your expectations around that.

Step 9: Style the wrapper

Switch to the Style tab to adjust the overall look, like the height and width of the widget wrapper, to fit the space on your page. Pick the size that matches your layout, then preview it across desktop, tablet, and mobile.

When everything looks right, click Save. Your Google reviews are now live and styled exactly how you want them.

Last words

That is every Google reviews setting in WP Social Ninja, from layout and filters to verified badges, AI summaries, and schema. Set it once and you have a review widget that fits your brand and does the selling for you.

For more, take a look at these:

• How to Embed Google Reviews on Your WordPress Website
• How to add social reviews on your website

For further information, please contact our support team or check out our user guidelines.