=== Embed Google Reviews – Google Reviews Widget by ReplyOnTheFly ===
Contributors: replyonthefly
Tags: google reviews, google reviews widget, embed google reviews, reviews, testimonials
Requires at least: 5.8
Tested up to: 6.9
Requires PHP: 7.4
Stable tag: 1.0.0
License: GPLv2 or later
License URI: https://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-2.0.html

Embed Google reviews on WordPress — written into the page itself, so search engines and AI assistants can actually read them.

== Description ==

Most review widgets draw themselves with JavaScript after the page loads. That works for visitors, and it works for Google, which runs JavaScript. It does not work for the crawlers behind AI assistants — ChatGPT, Claude and Perplexity read the HTML your server sends and never run a line of JavaScript. To them, a JavaScript review section is an empty box.

This plugin embeds your Google reviews into the page itself. Crawlers read real review text. Visitors get the live, interactive widget, which takes over the moment it loads. You maintain nothing: the reviews refresh in the background on a schedule.

**How it behaves**

* Reviews are fetched on a schedule, never while someone is loading your page. A slow or unreachable reviews service can never slow your site down.
* The last set of reviews stays up until a newer set arrives, so a failed refresh is invisible to visitors.
* The block reserves its space before the widget loads, so your page doesn't jump.
* Reviews are marked up as quotations with an author and a date, which is what extractors look for.
* Six layouts — carousel, grid, masonry, list, slider, and badge — with light, dark, and auto themes.
* Filter by keyword per page: a wedding page can show only reviews that mention weddings.

**What you need**

A free ReplyOnTheFly account is not required to display your reviews, but connecting one lets the widget show your full review history instead of the five Google's public API hands out. Build your widget at replyonthefly.com and paste the code into this plugin's settings.

== Installation ==

1. Install and activate the plugin.
2. Go to **Settings → Google Reviews**.
3. Paste the embed code from [replyonthefly.com](https://www.replyonthefly.com/tools/google-reviews-widget). Every setting comes across with it.
4. Add the **Google Reviews** block to any page, or use the shortcode `[rotf_reviews]`.

== Frequently Asked Questions ==

= How do I embed Google reviews on WordPress? =

Install this plugin, paste your embed code from replyonthefly.com (or just your Google Place ID) into Settings → Google Reviews, then add the Google Reviews block or the `[rotf_reviews]` shortcode wherever you want the reviews to appear.

= Does this slow my site down? =

No. Your pages never wait on the reviews service. Reviews are fetched by a scheduled background job and stored in your database; rendering a page only reads what is already there.

= What happens if the reviews service goes down? =

Nothing visible. The reviews already stored keep showing until a refresh succeeds.

= Can different pages show different reviews? =

Yes. Any setting can be overridden per placement:

`[rotf_reviews layout="carousel" filter="brunch" max_reviews="3"]`

= What if no review matches my keyword? =

The widget shows your most recent reviews rather than an empty space, and switches to matching reviews on its own once someone writes one.

= Does this add review schema / star ratings in search results? =

No, deliberately. Google does not allow review rich results for reviews about a business on that business's own website — it names embedded review widgets specifically. A plugin that injected that markup anyway would earn nothing and risk a manual action.

== Screenshots ==

1. The Google Reviews block in the editor — the preview is the real server render.
2. A grid of Google reviews embedded on a page, with the live widget loaded.
3. Settings → Google Reviews: paste your embed code and every option comes across.
4. The badge layout — a compact Google rating widget for a header or footer.
5. Per-page keyword filtering: a wedding page showing only wedding reviews.

== Changelog ==

= 1.0.0 =
* First release. Embed Google reviews with a block or shortcode; google reviews widget layouts (carousel, grid, masonry, list, slider, badge); server-rendered review text for SEO and AI search; hourly background refresh; per-page keyword filters; optional credit setting.
