--- title: "Product Reviews" description: "The Product Reviews app lets customers submit star ratings and written reviews directly on your product pages." url: "https://docs.j2commerce.com/v6/apps-and-extensions/apps/app-reviews" markdown_url: "https://docs.j2commerce.com/v6/apps-and-extensions/apps/app-reviews.md" last_updated: "2026-10-23T02:33:38+00:00" version: "J2Commerce 6" breadcrumbs: - title: "Home" url: "https://docs.j2commerce.com/" - title: "J2Commerce 6" url: "https://docs.j2commerce.com/v6" - title: "Apps and Extensions" url: "https://docs.j2commerce.com/v6/apps-and-extensions" - title: "Apps" url: "https://docs.j2commerce.com/v6/apps-and-extensions/apps" - title: "Product Reviews" url: "https://docs.j2commerce.com/v6/apps-and-extensions/apps/app-reviews" --- # Product Reviews The Product Reviews app lets customers submit star ratings and written reviews directly on your product pages. Reviews appear below the product with a summary showing the average rating and star distribution. Store owners can moderate submissions, respond to reviews, and trigger automated email requests after purchase. Key capabilities include image uploads per review, Google reCAPTCHA spam protection, structured data (JSON-LD) for Google rich snippets, CSV import for existing reviews, review analytics, and a customizable HTML review request email. ## Requirements - PHP 8.3.0+ - Joomla! 6.x - J2Commerce 6.x ## Purchase and Download The **Product Reviews** app is a separate add-on available from the [Product Reviews](https://www.j2commerce.com/extensions/apps/product-reviews). It is not included with the core J2Commerce 6 component. 1. Go to the [J2Commerce website](https://www.j2commerce.com/extensions) **->** **Apps**. 2. Locate the **Product Reviews** app **->** click **View Details** **-> Add to cart -> Checkout**. 3. Download the `app_reviews.zip` file from your account downloads. ## Install the App You can install the **Product Review** App using the Joomla installer. The following steps help you with a successful installation. In the Joomla admin, go to **System -> Install -> Extensions** Upload the `app_reviews.zip` file or use the Install from URL option. ![Install extensions](https://docs.j2commerce.com/images/docs/v4/assets/app%20install1%20%281%29%20%281%29.webp) ## Enable the App Once you have installed the App, you will need to enable it. There are **two** ways you can access the extension. **Option A:** Go to the **J2Commerce** icon at the top right corner **-> Apps** **Option B:** Go to **Components** on the left sidebar **-> J2Commerce -> Apps** ![shipping method](https://docs.j2commerce.com/images/docs/shared/accordions-app.webp) Look for **Product Review**, click the **X,** and it will turn into a green checkmark. It is now enabled and ready for setup. ## Configure the App > **Tip:** Click the **Toggle Inline Help** button in the toolbar and the app will show a description below each field as you configure it. ### Basic Settings ![Product Reviews settings, Plugin tab highlighted: Enable Reviews Yes, Auto-Approve Reviews Never, Login Requirement Optional, Prevent Duplicate Reviews Yes](https://docs.j2commerce.com/images/docs/shared/product-review-basic.webp) **Enable Reviews:** Turn review functionality on or off globally **Auto-Approve Reviews:** Publish new reviews immediately without moderation **Login Requirement:** Whether customers must be logged in to submit **Prevent Duplicate Reviews:** Block the same user from reviewing the same product twice **Enable Quick Icon:** Show a quick-access icon in the Joomla administrator dashboard **Enable Dashboard Statistics Tab:** Add a Review Statistics tab to the main dashboard chart area with date-filtered review metrics. **Debug Mode:** Enable debug logging. Logs are written to the Joomla log file app_reviews.php. Disable in production. ### Display Settings ![Product Reviews settings, Display Settings tab highlighted: stars After/Below Product Title, Reviews Per Page 10, Default Sort Order Most Recent](https://docs.j2commerce.com/images/docs/shared/product-review-display1.webp) **Sub Template:** Select the sub template to use for rendering the review star ratings. Auto inherits from the active menu item. **Product Display Stars:** Where to show the star summary on product detail pages ![Product Reviews Product Display Stars dropdown open and highlighted, listing None, After/Below Product Title and Add-To-Cart and Price positions](https://docs.j2commerce.com/images/docs/shared/product-review-product.webp) **Category Display Stars:** Where to show the star summary in category listing views ![Product Reviews Category Display Stars dropdown open and highlighted, listing None and positions such as Before Product Card and After/Below Product Title](https://docs.j2commerce.com/images/docs/shared/product-review-category.webp) **Show Average Rating:** Display the numeric average alongside stars in the summary **Clickable Star Rating:** Make the review count a link that scrolls to the reviews section **Reviews Per Page:** Number of reviews to show per page in the list **Show Rating Distribution:** Show the breakdown bar chart (5-star, 4-star, etc.) **Show Rating Distribution:** Display the star rating distribution chart. **Default Sort Order:** Initial sort when the reviews list loads **Form Display Mode:** Show the review form inline on the page or in a modal popup ### Style Settings ![Product Reviews settings, Style tab highlighted: Theme Color red hex value, Star Color orange hex value and an empty Custom CSS box](https://docs.j2commerce.com/images/docs/shared/product-review-style.webp) **Theme Color:** Accent color applied to buttons and interactive elements **Star Color:** Color for filled star icons **Custom CSS:** Additional CSS rules applied to all review output ### Submission Settings ![Product Reviews settings, Submission Settings tab highlighted: review length 10 to 5000, image uploads Yes, Maximum Images 5, Convert to WebP Yes](https://docs.j2commerce.com/images/docs/shared/product-review-submission1.webp) **Minimum Review Length:** Minimum characters required in review text **Maximum Review Length:** Maximum characters allowed in review text **Require Review Content:** Make the text field mandatory (rating is always required) **Enable Review Title:** Allow reviewers to add a short title to their review **Enable Image Uploads:** Allow customers to attach photos to their review **Maximum Images:** Maximum number of images per review **Maximum Image Size (MB):** Maximum file size per uploaded image **Allowed File Extensions:** Comma-separated list of accepted image formats **Convert to WebP:** Automatically convert uploaded images to WebP format **WebP Quality:** Quality level for WebP conversion (50–100) **Maximum Image Width:** Maximum width in pixels for stored images **Maximum Image Height:** Maximum height in pixels for stored images **Thumbnail Width:** Width of generated thumbnails **Thumbnail Height:** Height of generated thumbnails ### Security Settings ![Product Reviews settings, Security Settings tab highlighted: Enable reCAPTCHA Never, Rate Limit 3 per hour, Enable Honeypot Yes](https://docs.j2commerce.com/images/docs/shared/product-review-security.webp) **Enable reCAPTCHA:** Add Google reCAPTCHA to the review form - **reCAPTCHA Type:** Version to use: v2 (checkbox) or v3 (invisible) - **reCAPTCHA Site Key:** Your Google reCAPTCHA public site key - **reCAPTCHA Secret Key:** Your Google reCAPTCHA private secret key - **reCAPTCHA v3 Threshold:** Minimum score for v3 (0.0–1.0, higher = stricter) **Disable For Logged In Users:** Skip reCAPTCHA for logged-in customers **Rate Limit (Per Hour):** Maximum review submissions per user per hour **Enable Honeypot:** Add a hidden field to catch spam bots ### Email Settings ![Product Reviews settings, Email Settings tab highlighted: Brand Logo picker, Cron URL with Copy button, Enable Review Requests Yes, Request Delay 7 days](https://docs.j2commerce.com/images/docs/shared/product-review-email1.webp) The app can automatically send review request emails to customers after their order reaches a specific status. **Brand Logo:** Your store logo displayed in review request emails **Enable Review Requests:** Send automated post-purchase review request emails **Request Delay (Days):** Days to wait after trigger status before sending **Trigger Order Status:** Which order status triggers the email **Token Expiration (Days):** Days the one-click review link in the email remains valid **Admin Notification:** Email admins when a new review is submitted **Admin Email Addresses:** Addresses to notify (one per line) — leave blank for site admin **Customer Approval Email:** Email customers when their review is approved ## Setting Up the Cron Job Emails are sent via a cron job, not immediately on order status change. 1. In the **Email Settings** fieldset, copy the **Cron URL** displayed there. 2. Set up a cron job on your server to call that URL every 30–60 minutes: ```bash */30 * * * * curl -s "https://yoursite.com/index.php?option=com_j2commerce&..." > /dev/null ``` The cron processes the queue and sends pending emails once the configured delay has passed. ## Customizing the Email Click the **Email Editor** tab within the plugin settings to edit the subject line and HTML body of the review request email. Available shortcodes you can use in the subject and body: | Shortcode | Replaced With | | --- | --- | | `[CUSTOMER_NAME]` | Customer full name | | `[CUSTOMER_FNAME]` | Customer first name | | `[PRODUCT_NAME]` | Product name | | `[PRODUCT_SKU]` | Product SKU | | `[PRODUCT_LINK]` | Link to the product page | | `[REVIEW_LINK]` | Direct link to leave a review | | `[REVIEW_LINK_1]` through `[REVIEW_LINK_5]` | Pre-filled rating links (1–5 stars) | | `[ORDER_ID]` | Order ID | | `[ORDER_DATE]` | Order date | | `[STORE_NAME]` | Your store name | | `[STORE_URL]` | Your store URL | Click **Send Test Email** to preview the email against a real product in your store. ## UTM Tracking ![Product Reviews settings, UTM Tracking Parameters tab highlighted: UTM Source j2commerce, UTM Medium email, UTM Campaign review_request](https://docs.j2commerce.com/images/docs/shared/product-review-utm.webp) Add UTM parameters to review links in emails to track campaign performance in Google Analytics: | Field | Example Value | | --- | --- | | **UTM Source** | `j2commerce` | | **UTM Medium** | `email` | | **UTM Campaign** | `review_request` | | **UTM Content** | *(optional differentiator)* | ## Google Rich Snippets ![Product Reviews settings, Google Rich Snippets tab highlighted: Enable Rich Snippets Yes, Minimum Reviews 1, Maximum Individual Reviews 10, USD currency](https://docs.j2commerce.com/images/docs/shared/product-review-google.webp) When enabled, the app outputs JSON-LD structured data on product pages so Google can display star ratings in search results. **Enable Rich Snippets:** Output JSON-LD on product pages with reviews **Integrate with Schema.org Ecommerce Plugin:** Inject review data into a co-installed schema plugin instead of outputting standalone schema **Minimum Reviews:** Minimum approved reviews required before schema is added **Include Individual Reviews:** Add individual review details to the structured data **Maximum Individual Reviews:** Number of individual reviews to include in the schema **Include Product Variants:** Add ProductGroup schema for products with variants **Include Merchant Listing:** Add pricing and availability to the schema **Brand Name:** Default brand for structured data (leave blank if not applicable) **Default Currency Code:** ISO 4217 currency code for pricing in schema (e.g., USD, EUR) ## Managing Reviews Go to **J2Commerce** -> **Apps** -> **Product Reviews** -> **Manage** Reviews to access the review management screen. ![Product Reviews plugin toolbar with the Manage Reviews button highlighted at the left, above the Plugin tab and the enabled Status field](https://docs.j2commerce.com/images/docs/shared/product-review-manage.webp) ### Review Statuses ![Manage Reviews list with the sortable Status column header highlighted; two reviews with five stars show an Approved status](https://docs.j2commerce.com/images/docs/shared/product-review-status.webp) **Pending:** Submitted but not yet reviewed by a moderator **Approved:** Visible on the product page **Rejected:** Hidden from the public but kept in the database **Spam:** Identified as spam, hidden from the public ### Moderating Reviews ![Manage Reviews list with the Actions menu open and highlighted (Approved, Rejected, Pending, Spam, Trash) and one review row checked](https://docs.j2commerce.com/images/docs/shared/product-review-manage-bulk.webp) - Click the \*\*checkbox (\*\*next to the individual review or select more than one) **-> Action.** - Use the **Bulk Actions** dropdown to approve, reject, mark as spam, or delete multiple selected reviews at once. ### Filter Reviews ![Manage Reviews list with Filter Options highlighted and the status, rating and product filter dropdowns open, listing statuses Pending to Spam](https://docs.j2commerce.com/images/docs/shared/product-review-filter2.webp) Click on Filter Options. Filter by status, rating, or product using the toolbar dropdowns. ### Editing a Review ![Add Review form, Review Details tab highlighted: five-star Rating, Title, Content, Status Approved, Verified Purchase Yes, Product Ball Sack, Store Response](https://docs.j2commerce.com/images/docs/shared/product-review-manage-add-new-review.webp) Click on a reviewer's name to open the full edit form. You can: - Change the rating, title, and content - Write a **Store Response** that appears publicly below the review - Update the reviewer's name, email, and associated user - Add or remove review images - Toggle **Verified Purchase** status - Change the review status ## Importing Reviews ![Product Reviews plugin toolbar with the Import Reviews button highlighted beside Manage Reviews, Add Review, Save and Close, above the settings tabs](https://docs.j2commerce.com/images/docs/shared/product-review-import.webp) The app includes a CSV import tool to migrate reviews from another platform. 1. Go to **J2Commerce** -> **Apps** -> **Product Reviews** -> **Import Reviews** 2. Choose the **Product Identifier** — either **Product ID** or **SKU**. 3. Set the **Default Status** for imported reviews that have no status column. 4. Enable **Skip Duplicate Reviews** to avoid re-importing reviews by the same email for the same product. 5. Download the **Sample CSV** to see the required format. 6. Upload your CSV file and click **Start Import**. ### Required CSV Columns | Column | Required | Description | Example | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | `product_id` | If using Product ID | J2Commerce product ID | `42` | | `sku` | If using SKU | Product SKU code | `SHIRT-L-BLU` | | `reviewer_name` | Yes | Reviewer full name | `Jane Smith` | | `reviewer_email` | Yes | Reviewer email address | `This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.` | | `rating` | Yes | Star rating 1–5 | `5` | | `review_title` | No | Short title | `Great product!` | | `review_content` | No | Full review text | `Arrived quickly...` | | `status` | No | `pending`, `approved`, `rejected`, or `spam` | `approved` | | `verified` | No | `1` for verified purchase, `0` otherwise | `1` | | `created` | No | Date created (YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS ) | `2025-03-15 09:00:00` | | `order_id` | No | Associated order ID | `1001` | | `helpful` | No | Helpful vote count | `12` | ## Review Analytics Go to **J2Commerce** **-> Analytics -> Review Stats** ![J2Commerce menu open on Analytics, with the Analytics group and its Reviews Stats item highlighted below Shop Stats and Reports](https://docs.j2commerce.com/images/docs/shared/product-review-analytics.webp) You can now review the entire summary of review activity: ![Reviews Analytics dashboard: Total Reviews 2, Average Rating 5, Verified Purchases 100%, segmentation donuts, Star Distribution and top product tables](https://docs.j2commerce.com/images/docs/shared/product-review-analytics1.webp) - Total, pending, and approved review counts - Average rating - Email engagement metrics (sent, engaged, pending, expired) - Star distribution chart - Reviews by source (product page, email, profile, backend, import) - Device breakdown (desktop, mobile, tablet) - User type breakdown (registered vs. guest) - Top reviewers - Most reviewed products - Top-rated products ## Frontend Category View Before/Above Product Card ![Category product cards for Nut Sack, Box of Chocolates and Heart Box with the row of review stars highlighted above each card, Nut Sack showing five stars and 1 review](https://docs.j2commerce.com/images/docs/shared/category-above-card.webp) Before/Above Add-to-Cart Button ![Category product cards for Nut Sack, Box of Chocolates and Heart Box with the review stars highlighted between the price or options and the Add to Cart button](https://docs.j2commerce.com/images/docs/shared/category-before-cart.webp) ## Troubleshooting ### Reviews Not Appearing on Product Pages **Cause:** The app is enabled, but **Enable Reviews** is set to No, or the individual product has reviews disabled. **Solution:** 1. In the plugin settings, confirm **Enable Reviews** is set to **Yes**. 2. Edit the product and check the **Reviews** tab — if an override is set to **No**, change it to **Yes** or remove the override. ### Review Request Emails Not Sending **Cause:** No cron job is configured, or the queue has not yet accumulated emails ready to send. **Solution:** 1. Confirm that **Enable Review Requests** is turned on in **Email Settings**. 2. Verify the cron job is running and the URL is correct. 3. Check that enough days have passed since the order reached the trigger status — emails are held until the **Request Delay** period expires. 4. Enable **Debug Mode** in the plugin settings and check the Joomla log file at `administrator/logs/app_reviews.php` for error messages. ### reCAPTCHA Not Working **Cause:** Invalid site key or secret key, or the domain is not registered in your Google reCAPTCHA console. **Solution:** 1. Verify your keys at [https://www.google.com/recaptcha/admin](https://www.google.com/recaptcha/admin). 2. Confirm the domain of your Joomla site is listed under **Domains** in the reCAPTCHA settings. 3. If using v3, try lowering the **reCAPTCHA v3 Threshold** if legitimate submissions are being blocked. ### Rich Snippets Not Appearing in Google Search **Cause:** Google may take days or weeks to re-crawl and index updated structured data. **Solution:** 1. Test your product page in Google's [Rich Results Test tool](https://search.google.com/test/rich-results). 2. Confirm **Enable Rich Snippets** is on and the product has at least the number of approved reviews set in **Minimum Reviews**. 3. If using the Schema.org Ecommerce plugin integration, confirm that plugin is installed and active.