StarBadge - Google Reviews Badge Plugin

Display Google Business reviews and ratings as a customizable badge on your WordPress website.

Features

• ⭐ Fetch reviews from Google Business Profile
• 🎨 Multiple display styles (default, minimal, card)
• 📱 Fully responsive design
• ⚡ Built-in caching for performance
• 🔧 Easy configuration via WordPress admin
• 🛠 Shortcode and Widget support
• 🌍 Translation-ready

Installation

1. Download and extract the plugin to /wp-content/plugins/starbadge/
2. Activate the plugin from the WordPress Admin > Plugins
3. Go to StarBadge in the admin menu to configure settings

Setup

Step 1: Get Google API Key

1. Go to Google Cloud Console
2. Create a new project
3. Enable the Places API
4. Create a new API Key (type: Restrict to application)
5. Copy the API key

Step 2: Get Google Place ID

1. Go to Google Business Profile
2. Find your business and get the Place ID
3. Alternatively, use this tool to find your Place ID

Step 3: Configure Plugin

1. In WordPress Admin, go to StarBadge
2. Enter your Google API Key
3. Enter your Google Place ID
4. Save changes

Usage

Via Shortcode

Add to any page or post:

[starbadge style="default" show_reviews="true" limit="3"]

Via Widget

1. Go to Appearance > Widgets
2. Add the StarBadge - Google Reviews widget to your sidebar
3. Configure the widget options

Shortcode Parameters

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
style	string	default	Badge style: default, minimal, or card
show_reviews	boolean	true	Display individual reviews
limit	integer	3	Number of reviews to display

Examples

Minimal badge (rating only):

[starbadge style="minimal" show_reviews="false"]

Card style with 5 reviews:

[starbadge style="card" show_reviews="true" limit="5"]

Styles

Default

Clean, professional design with rating, review count, and individual reviews.

Minimal

Compact rating badge, perfect for headers or sidebars.

Card

Eye-catching card style with accent color and highlighted design.

Caching

The plugin caches reviews for 1 hour by default to reduce API calls and improve performance. To clear the cache manually, use:

delete_transient( 'starbadge_reviews_' . PLACE_ID );

Troubleshooting

"API key and Google Place ID not configured"

• Go to StarBadge settings and enter your credentials
• Verify the API key and Place ID are correct

Reviews not showing

• Check that the Google Places API is enabled in Google Cloud Console
• Ensure your API key has the correct restrictions
• Verify the Place ID is correct

Styling issues

• Check if another plugin or theme is overriding the CSS
• Use browser DevTools to inspect the badge element

Requirements

• WordPress 5.0+
• PHP 7.4+
• Google API Key with Places API enabled
• Google Business Profile

Support

For issues or feature requests, please check the plugin documentation or contact support.

License

GPL v2 or later - See LICENSE file for details