Nik Google Reviews
▶ Live demo — see every display style in action
When someone finds you on Google, the first thing they look at is the stars: the rating decides whether they call you or scroll on. Nik Google Reviews brings that trust straight to your website — the average score, the star row, the number of ratings and up to five of your latest Google reviews in full appear on any page with a single shortcode: 
Show the reviews as a list, a responsive grid, a built-in slider or right next to a live map of your venue. Fine-tune every detail — from the colour of the stars to the card shadow — on a dedicated Design tab. And it is all legal: the plugin talks to the official Google Places API (v1), never scrapes and never keeps a permanent copy of the reviews, and the required «Powered by Google» attribution is always shown.
The gist in 10 seconds
- One line — and it works. Drop
- Four layouts: list, responsive grid, built-in slider and «map + reviews».
- Only the reviews you want: a minimum-rating filter — for example, show 4★ and up only.
- Always fresh. Reviews arrive from Google automatically and refresh on your schedule — nothing to copy over by hand.
- Your budget under control: smart caching turns thousands of paid Google requests into a handful a day.
What your visitors see
- Rating summary. The average score, a row of stars and the total number of Google ratings.
- Up to 5 latest reviews. Author, avatar, star rating, relative date («2 weeks ago») and the full text.
- Rating filter. Keep low ratings out of the widget: show only reviews rated 3★, 4★ or 5★ and up.
- Tidy long reviews. Collapse after a chosen number of lines — the «Read more / Show less» toggle appears only where the text is actually trimmed.
- A «See all reviews on Google» button — optional, to lead visitors to your full business profile.
- Your language. Reviews are requested in the site language when Google has them.
Four layouts for any design
- List — a classic, clean vertical column.
- Grid — a responsive grid; the number of columns is set separately for desktop, tablet and mobile.
- Slider — a built-in, swipe-friendly carousel (more below).
- Map + reviews — the reviews beside a map of your venue (the «split» layout) with adjustable map width and side.
A built-in slider — a carousel with no extra plugins
Turn your reviews into a carousel without installing a single additional plugin. Choose how many reviews are visible at once — separately for desktop, tablet and mobile — and switch on arrows, dots, autoplay with your own interval and looping. The slider is completely self-contained: plain JavaScript, no jQuery and no global scripts, so it never clashes with a carousel your theme already loads. Autoplay pauses on hover, focus and touch, and respects the visitor’s reduced-motion setting. Prefer your favourite slider library? Loop the reviews with nik_gr_get_reviews() and feed them to it.
The Design tab: every detail, no code
All of the styling lives in one place, so the widget looks like your designer made it:
- Colours: accent (stars, badge, links), review text, secondary text, card background and border.
- Typography & spacing: font size, line height, card padding and the gap between cards.
- Box: border width, corner radius, a soft shadow and a maximum width.
- Responsive: grid columns and slides-per-view with separate values for desktop, tablet and mobile.
- Collapse long reviews after a chosen number of lines.
A map of your venue — beside the reviews or on its own
Add a Google map with your venue’s marker: next to the reviews in the «split» layout, or anywhere on the site with the
Connected in 5 minutes — with checks at every step
The hardest part of widgets like this is usually connecting Google. Here it is thought through end to end:
- A step-by-step guide right in the admin: how to create a Google Cloud project, which two APIs to enable and how to restrict the key correctly — with direct links to the exact console pages.
- The «Test key» button checks three things at once: the key itself, whether Places API (New) is enabled, and whether billing is active.
- Errors in plain language. Instead of cryptic Google codes, the plugin explains what exactly is wrong: an invalid key, an API not enabled, no billing, key restrictions, an exhausted quota or a wrong Place ID.
- Your connected place, always visible. Your venue’s name, address, rating and review count are shown right next to the Place ID field — and if an address is selected instead of a business card, the plugin warns you.
The Place ID finder — without leaving WordPress
Don’t know your Place ID? No external tools needed: type your business name or address and the finder returns matching places complete with their rating, review count and venue type, so you pick the business card and not a bare address. One click on «Use this» — and the Place ID is filled in. For chains and common names there is geo-refinement: optional latitude, longitude and radius fields help you find exactly your location.
Smart caching: fast for visitors, cheap for you
The reviews come from the paid Google Places API, billed to your own Google Cloud key — never to us, and with no per-view fee from our side. The reviews field is one of Google’s pricier calls, so a busy page with no cache can run up a real bill. The solution is built in: pick a refresh interval (from 1 hour to 3 days) and the plugin calls Google at most once per place per period, reusing the answer — thousands of paid requests become a handful a day, while the reviews still refresh on their own. Need up-to-the-second freshness? Switch to «Live». Changed your mind? The «Clear the cache now» button fetches fresh reviews instantly. There are no display limits in any mode.
Legal, private and fast
- Official API. Google Places API (v1) — no scraping and no grey-area widgets that can break at any moment.
- Compliant caching. Reviews are cached briefly for performance and refreshed on your schedule — or turned off for always-live — never a permanent copy, exactly as Google requires.
- Required attribution. «Powered by Google» is always displayed.
- Lightweight. With caching on, most visits are served from the stored result with no call to Google, and the markup stays clean and theme-friendly.
Shortcodes — with a cheat sheet right in the admin
count,min_rating,layout(list / grid / slider / split),columns,per_view,arrows,dots,autoplay,loop,avatars,summary,collapse,place_id,map_width,map_position.
height,zoom,size,ratio).- The
place_idattribute lets you show different venues on one site — even several widgets on the same page. - For developers:
nik_gr_get_reviews()returns the reviews as an array — build any custom markup or feed your own slider.
The full attribute table with examples lives on the settings page — no need to keep the documentation open.
Licence and updates
Nik Google Reviews is activated with a licence key from your account. One licence covers your domain and all of its subdomains, and updates arrive in the WordPress admin as usual while the licence is active. Moving? The «Detach this site» button frees the key for a new domain, and you can also change the domain in your client area.
Requirements
WordPress 6.0+, PHP 7.4+, and a Google Cloud API key with Places API (New) enabled; add Maps Embed API for the map. The interface is translated into English, Ukrainian and Russian.
How to get started
- Buy a licence here and download the archive in your account.
- Upload it in Plugins → Add New → Upload Plugin and activate it.
- Open Nik Google Reviews → Licence and enter your key.
- Paste your Google API key, find your venue with the Place ID finder, pick a layout on the Design tab — and put
Frequently asked questions
Is this allowed by Google?
Yes. The plugin uses the official Places API and never keeps a permanent copy; the optional cache is short-lived and refreshes on your schedule, which Google’s terms allow for performance. The «Powered by Google» attribution is shown at all times.
Who pays for the Google API, and how much?
You do — the widget uses the key you enter, billed to your own Google Cloud account (Google has a monthly free tier). We never charge per view and set no display limits. The cache setting keeps the number of paid requests — and the bill — low.
Will the slider clash with my theme’s slider?
No. The built-in slider is self-contained — plain JavaScript, no jQuery and no global variables — so it runs independently of any carousel your theme or another plugin loads. And if you prefer your own slider, loop the reviews with nik_gr_get_reviews().
How many reviews can I show?
Google returns up to five reviews per place, so the maximum is five — always the most recent ones. The minimum-rating filter helps you show only the best of them.
Can I show reviews for several venues?
Yes. Use the place_id attribute in the shortcode to show different locations on different pages — or even on the same page: for example, every branch with its own map and its own rating.
How do I find my Place ID?
With the built-in finder on the settings page: type the name or address, refine with the geo fields if needed — and click «Use this». Results come with the rating and review count, so you pick the actual business card.
Will it slow my site down?
No. With caching on, most page views are served from the stored result without any call to Google, so it stays fast and light.
Does the licence cover more than one site?
One licence covers a single domain and all of its subdomains. For a separate domain, use a separate licence; if you move, you can detach the key and activate it on the new domain.
Reviews
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