GS Review Booster

Description

GS Review Booster provides a responsive multi-source review carousel through a native Gutenberg block, WordPress widget, Elementor widget, or the [gsreview] shortcode. It combines reviews supplied by Google Places and Facebook Recommendations, preserves each source’s last successful results during temporary API failures, and includes a customizable feedback card.

Highlights:

• Responsive fixed-size review carousel.
• Combined Google Places reviews and Facebook Recommendations.
• Native Gutenberg block with per-block customization, an editor preview, and alignment support.
• Independently customizable WordPress widget for classic widget areas and the Legacy Widget block.
• Native Elementor widget with an optional editable heading.
• Optional per-instance Elementor customization for sites using multiple review widgets.
• Built-in plugin feedback form and a Premium area prepared for future Freemius licensing.
• Reviewer photos where available, with initial-based fallbacks.
• Review source badges, star ratings, dates, and full-review popups.
• Automatic or manual scrolling with configurable speed and arrows.
• Random, newest, oldest, or highest-rated ordering.
• Optional positive-only filtering across supported review sources.
• Configurable card dimensions, spacing, rounding, colours, and visibility.
• Modern, Classic, Soft, and Bold design presets with font-family and text-size controls.
• Minimal, filled, or outline buttons with adjustable rounding, icon style, and icon size.
• Custom positive and negative feedback-button labels displayed as text, icons, or both.
• English, French, or WordPress-site interface wording with flexible review-date formatting.
• Stacked or horizontal mobile layouts with independent width, spacing, padding, feedback, and arrow controls.
• Custom feedback-card and popup wording.
• Manual refresh, automatic refresh intervals, and last-updated status.
• Separate last-successful caches when Google or Facebook is temporarily unavailable.
• Keyboard-accessible tabs, carousel controls, and modal dialogs.
• Optional complete data removal during uninstall.

Google Places returns a maximum of five reviews. Retrieving a complete Google Business Profile review history requires a separate authenticated Google Business Profile integration, which is not included in this version.

External Services

This plugin connects to the Google Places API at maps.googleapis.com to retrieve reviews configured by the site administrator. Requests send the administrator-supplied API key, Place ID, requested review field, and site locale to Google. Reviewer profile images can be loaded from URLs returned by Google. Visitors can choose to open the administrator-configured Google review URL.

When Facebook is configured, the plugin connects to Meta’s Graph API at graph.facebook.com and requests the configured Page’s /ratings connection. Requests include the administrator-supplied Page ID and Page access token. Returned reviewer names, recommendation text, recommendation type, ratings where available, and dates are cached in WordPress. Visitors can choose to open the administrator-configured Facebook recommendations URL.

Use of Google services is governed by Google’s terms and privacy policy:

• Google Maps Platform Terms: https://cloud.google.com/maps-platform/terms
• Google Privacy Policy: https://policies.google.com/privacy

Use of Facebook services is governed by Meta’s terms and privacy policy:

• Meta Platform Terms: https://developers.facebook.com/terms/
• Meta Privacy Policy: https://www.facebook.com/privacy/policy/

No visitor feedback is submitted to GS Computers by this plugin. The thumbs-up and thumbs-down controls only open local dialogs containing the configured review destinations.

Privacy

The plugin stores its configuration and cached Google and Facebook review data in the WordPress database. It does not collect public visitor names, email addresses, form submissions, or analytics. When an administrator intentionally submits the plugin Feedback form, the entered name, email address, feedback message, site address, and plugin version are sent by the site’s WordPress email system to GS Computers. Site administrators are responsible for describing their own use of third-party review content in their privacy policy where required.

Source Code and Development

All PHP, JavaScript, and CSS files included in this plugin are the original, human-readable source code. The plugin does not include minified, compressed, transpiled, bundled, or otherwise generated JavaScript or CSS. No build tools are required: the distributed files can be reviewed, edited, and used directly.

Technical details