Add Review and Rating in Page/Post or Product #
Create a frontend review and rating display for any post type — configure the layout, behaviour, and visual style using three dedicated tabs.
Navigation Path
| WordPress Admin → SchemaEngine AI → Setup Reviews → Add New |
| 📝 How to create a new Review Setup Go to SchemaEngine AI → Setup Reviews → Add New. The editor opens with the Review Settings meta box. Give the setup a descriptive title in the title field at the top (e.g. “Add Review on Blog Posts”) — this is an internal label only, not visible to site visitors. |
Tabs in This Step #
16.1. Tab 1 — Review (Layout & Display Settings)
16.2. Tab 2 — Settings (Behaviour Controls)
16.3. Tab 3 — Style (Visual Customisation)
1. Review Tab — Layout & Display Settings #
The Review tab is the first and primary tab. It controls the core setup: which post type the review applies to, whether reviews are active, how rating criteria are displayed, and which layout style is used.
Figure 16.1 — Review tab showing post type selection, Enable Review toggle, criteria style, summary layout, review layout, and pagination type
Setup Title (above the meta box)
Enter a descriptive internal name for this review setup in the title field at the very top of the editor. This name is only visible in the WordPress admin — it helps you identify the setup in the list view. Example: “Add Review on Blog Posts”, “WooCommerce Product Reviews”, “Tutorial Post Reviews”.
1.1) Select Post Type ★ Required #
Choose which WordPress post type this review setup applies to. All public post types registered on your site appear in the dropdown. Once selected, the review system configured here is applied to all posts of this type.
| Post Type | Use Case |
|---|---|
| Posts | Blog post reviews — most common setup for editorial content |
| Pages | Reviews on static pages such as service or about pages |
| product | WooCommerce product reviews with star ratings and purchase badge |
| download | Easy Digital Downloads product reviews |
| lesson | Course lesson reviews for LearnDash / LifterLMS |
| listing | Classified listing or directory reviews |
2. Enable Review #
The master toggle for this review setup. Must be ON to display the review form, summary, and list on the selected post type. Default: ON once a setup is published. Turning this OFF hides all review functionality for this post type without deleting the configuration.
3. Criteria — Single vs Multi-Criteria Rating #
Choose whether reviewers give a single overall star rating or multiple ratings across separate criteria. Two visual options are shown as clickable thumbnails:
| ★ Single Criteria (default) | ★★ Multi-Criteria |
| One overall star rating per reviewSimple, familiar user experienceGenerates AggregateRating schema with a single ratingValueBest for: blog posts, general content, pages | Multiple criteria fields (e.g. Quality, Value, Design, Support)Criteria names are defined in the review form configurationEach criterion gets its own rating; overall is the averageBest for: products, services, courses, apps — any content with distinct measurable attributes |
4. Review Summary Layout #
Choose the visual style of the aggregate rating summary displayed above the review list. Four layout thumbnails are available — click to select. The summary shows the overall average score and star display.
| Layout | Style description |
|---|---|
| Layout 1 ✓ | Score left-aligned with star bar below — classic horizontal summary. Default selection. |
| Layout 2 | Circular gauge/donut chart — modern dial format with percentage display (e.g. 4.2/5 inside a ring). |
| Layout 3 | Score with stars inline to the right — compact horizontal format. |
| Layout 4 | Score displayed as a fraction (e.g. 4/5) with stars — fraction-style summary. |
5. Review Layout #
Choose the card layout used to display individual review items in the review list. Four layout thumbnails are shown — click to select the style that fits your site design.
| Layout | Description |
| Layout 1 ✓ | Full-width horizontal card with reviewer info on the left and review text on the right. Clean, readable. Default. |
| Layout 2 | Card with reviewer avatar and metadata stacked vertically — blog-style comment card appearance. |
| Layout 3 | Highlighted card with background colour block — draws attention to individual reviews. |
| Layout 4 | Minimal card with border accents — compact display, suitable for dense review lists. |
6. Pagination Type #
Select how review pagination is displayed when there are more reviews than fit on one page. Options available in the dropdown:
- Number — numbered page links (1, 2, 3…). Default. Best for sites with many reviews.
- Load More — a “Load More” button appends additional reviews without a page reload.
- Infinite Scroll — reviews load automatically as the user scrolls down the page.
| 💡 Best practices for pagination Use Number pagination for sites with more than 20 reviews per post — it is the most accessible and SEO-friendly option. Use Load More or Infinite Scroll for a more modern UI experience where full-page reloads would disrupt the reading flow. |
Step 2: Settings Tab — Behaviour Controls #
The Settings tab provides granular toggles to control which review features are visible and active on the frontend. All settings default to OFF — enable only the features you want to display.
Figure 2 — Settings tab showing all behaviour control toggles (all OFF by default)
| 📌 Shortcodes for hidden sections The Hide settings include a shortcode that lets you display that section elsewhere on the page using a custom placement. For example, hiding the review summary removes it from its default position but the [rtrs-review-summary] shortcode lets you insert it into any page location via a widget, template, or block. |
Visibility Controls #
| Setting | Description | Default |
|---|---|---|
| Hide Review Summary? | Hides the aggregate rating summary block. Still displayable via shortcode. | OFF Shortcode: [rtrs-review-summary] |
| Hide Review List? | Hides the list of submitted reviews. Still displayable via shortcode. | OFF Shortcode: [rtrs-review-list] |
| Hide Review Form? | Hides the review submission form. Still displayable via shortcode. | OFF Shortcode: [rtrs-review-form] |
| Review title disable? | Removes the review title/headline field from the submission form. | OFF |
Date & URL Controls #
| Setting | Description | Default |
|---|---|---|
| Disable human readable time format? | When OFF, dates show as “1 hour ago”, “2 days ago” etc. When ON, switches to the absolute date format configured in WordPress General Settings. | OFF |
| Review website url disable? | When ON, hides the Website URL field from the review submission form. | OFF |
Media & Content Controls #
| Setting | Description | Default |
|---|---|---|
| Allow image review? | Enables reviewers to upload images alongside their written review. Image formats and size limits are configured in Settings → Media (Step 9). | OFF |
| Allow video review? | Enables reviewers to upload videos alongside their review. Video formats and limits configured in Settings → Media (Step 9). | OFF |
| Allow pros cons? | Adds Pros and Cons fields to the review submission form, allowing structured positive and negative feedback. | OFF |
Engagement & Moderation Controls #
| Setting | Description | Default |
|---|---|---|
| Highlight review? | Allows marking specific reviews as highlighted — displayed with a distinct background style (configured in Style tab → Highlight Review Style). | OFF |
| Sticky review? | Pins a specific review to the top of the review list regardless of sort order. | OFF |
| Social share? | Adds social sharing buttons to each review card, allowing visitors to share individual reviews. | OFF |
| Allow review like? | Adds a thumbs-up / like button to each review. Visitors can upvote helpful reviews. | OFF |
| Allow review dislike? | Adds a thumbs-down / dislike button to each review. | OFF |
| Allow anonymous review? | Allows visitors to submit reviews without entering a name or email. Use with caution — increases spam risk without reCAPTCHA enabled. | OFF |
| Show purchase badge? | Displays a “Verified Purchase” badge on reviews from users who purchased via WooCommerce or EDD. Requires WooCommerce or EDD to be active. | OFF |
| Allow google recaptcha? | Enables reCAPTCHA v3 spam protection on the review form. Requires API keys entered in Settings → Review → Google reCAPTCHA v3 (Step 8). | OFF |
| Filter? | Adds a filter bar above the review list, allowing visitors to sort or filter reviews by rating, date, or other criteria. | OFF |
Step 3: Style Tab — Visual Customisation #
The Style tab provides full visual control over the review display — from overall layout dimensions to individual text colours, font sizes, and the special styles applied to sticky and highlighted reviews. All fields accept standard CSS values.
Figure 3 — Style tab showing layout controls, typography settings, colour pickers, and Sticky / Highlight Review Style groups
Layout #
| Property | Description & Example |
|---|---|
| Parent class | A custom CSS class name added to the review wrapper element. Use this to target the review block with your own custom stylesheet. Example: my-review-wrapper |
| Width | The width of the review block container. Accepts px or % values. Default: 400px. Example: 100%, 600px |
| Margin | Outer spacing around the review container. Accepts px or % values. Default: 40px. Example: 20px, 0 auto |
| Padding | Inner spacing inside the review container. Default: 40px. Example: 20px 30px |
Typography #
| Property | Description & Example |
|---|---|
| Review title — Color | Text colour of the review headline. Click the colour picker to select. Accepts hex, RGB, or HSL values. |
| Review title — Font size | Font size of the review headline. Select from the dropdown or enter a custom value. Default: theme default. |
| Review title — Weight | Font weight of the review headline. Options: Normal, Bold, or theme default. |
| Review title — Alignment | Text alignment of the headline: Left, Centre, Right, or Default. |
| Review text — Color | Text colour of the review body content. |
| Review text — Font size | Font size of the review body text. |
| Review text — Weight | Font weight of the review body text. |
| Review text — Alignment | Text alignment of the review body. |
| Date text — Color | Colour of the review submission date text. |
| Date text — Font size | Font size of the date display. |
| Date text — Weight | Font weight of the date text. |
| Author name — Color | Colour of the reviewer name displayed on the review card. |
| Author name — Font size | Font size of the reviewer name. |
| Author name — Weight | Font weight of the reviewer name. |
| Author name hover — Color | Colour of the reviewer name when a visitor hovers over it (if linked). |
| Author name hover — Font size | Font size on hover. |
| Author name hover — Weight | Font weight on hover. |
Accent Colours #
| Property | Description & Example |
|---|---|
| Star color | Colour of the rating star icons displayed throughout the review system. Default: amber/gold. Click to change to match your brand colour. |
| Meta icon color | Colour of the meta icons (e.g. calendar, user, link icons) shown in review card metadata. Default: dark grey. |
Sticky Review Style #
| Property | Description & Example |
|---|---|
| Background Color | Background fill of sticky (pinned) review cards. Helps them stand out visually from regular reviews. |
| Box Shadow Color | Drop shadow colour applied to sticky review cards. |
| Border Color | Border colour of sticky review cards. |
| Border Radius | Corner rounding of sticky review cards. Default: 8px. Example: 12px for softer corners, 0 for sharp edges. |
| Padding | Inner spacing inside sticky review cards. Default: 20px. |
Highlight Review Style #
| Property | Description & Example |
|---|---|
| Background Color | Background fill of highlighted reviews — applied when a review is marked as highlighted and Highlight review? is enabled in the Settings tab. |
| Box Shadow Color | Drop shadow colour for highlighted review cards. |
| Border Color | Border colour of highlighted review cards. |
| Border Radius | Corner rounding of highlighted review cards. Default: 8px. |
| Padding | Inner spacing inside highlighted review cards. Default: 20px. |
| 💡 Leave Style fields empty to inherit your theme styles Every Style field is optional. When left empty, the review display inherits the font, colour, and spacing from your active WordPress theme — ensuring the reviews blend naturally with your site design. Only fill in Style fields when you need to override the theme default for specific elements. |
💾 Publishing the Review Setup
Click the Publish button in the top-right Publish meta box to save and activate this review configuration. Once published, the review form, summary, and rating display will appear automatically on all posts of the selected post type. You can return to this setup at any time to adjust the configuration by clicking Edit.
