RicReviews is a free and open-source WordPress plugin that displays Google Places reviews on your website using a simple shortcode. The plugin fetches reviews from Google Places API (New) and displays them beautifully on your WordPress site.

Key Features

Easy Integration: Display reviews anywhere on your site with a simple shortcode
Automatic Updates: Reviews are automatically fetched and updated via configurable WordPress cron (daily, weekly, or monthly)
Smart Caching: Built-in caching system to improve performance
Customizable: Choose your primary color and theme (light/dark)
Flexible Display: Control the number of reviews and sorting options
Multilingual Support: Fetch reviews in multiple languages and filter by language in shortcode
Debug Logging: Optional debug logging for troubleshooting API issues
Secure: Follows WordPress coding standards and security best practices

How It Works

Initial Fetch: When you save settings, the plugin fetches reviews from Google Places API
Database Storage: Reviews are stored in a custom database table for fast retrieval
Caching: Reviews are cached using WordPress transients for 24 hours
Automatic Updates: WordPress cron job automatically fetches new reviews based on your configured frequency
Display: Shortcode retrieves reviews from cache/database and displays them

Important Note

Google Places API returns a maximum of 5 reviews per place per API call. This is a hard limit imposed by Google, not a limitation of this plugin. Each API call returns up to 5 reviews, and the plugin performs automatic fetches based on your configured frequency (daily, weekly, or monthly). Over time, you may accumulate more reviews in the database as Google updates the “5 most helpful reviews” for your place.

If you configure multiple languages, each language requires a separate API call, potentially allowing you to collect more reviews (up to 5 per language).

For more information, see Google’s Review Policy Documentation.

Service Information

This plugin acts as an interface to Google Places API (New). By installing and configuring this plugin, you consent to the use of Google Places API service. Please review Google Places API Terms of Service before use.