🌟 Social Review Slider - Complete Solution

A complete, production-ready solution for automatically scraping and displaying customer reviews from Google Business, TripAdvisor, and Airbnb on your WordPress website. This project combines a beautiful WordPress plugin with a powerful AI-driven scraper service.

📦 What's Included

This repository contains two main components:

1. WordPress Plugin - Social Review Slider

A beautiful, modern WordPress plugin that displays reviews in an elegant slider format.

2. AI Scraper Service - Review Scraper API

A 100% FREE Node.js service that automatically scrapes reviews using Google Gemini AI.

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✨ Key Features

WordPress Plugin Features

🎨 Beautiful Design

• Modern, premium card-based design
• Platform-specific color schemes (Google Blue, TripAdvisor Green, Airbnb Red)
• Smooth animations and transitions
• Fully responsive layout
• Dark mode support

⚙️ Flexible Display Options

• Random or chronological order
• Autoplay with customizable delay
• Configurable slides per view
• Navigation arrows and pagination dots
• Filter by specific platform or show all

🔧 Easy to Use

• Custom post type for reviews
• Simple meta boxes for review details
• Shortcode support with extensive parameters
• Widget support
• No coding required

🤖 Automatic Import

• Auto-fetch reviews from all platforms
• Scheduled imports (hourly, daily, weekly)
• Manual import on-demand
• Duplicate detection
• Import activity logging

AI Scraper Service Features

🆓 Completely Free

• Uses Google Gemini API (no costs!)
• Save 100% on review scraping costs
• No expensive API subscriptions needed

🎯 Multi-Platform Support

• Google Business reviews
• TripAdvisor reviews
• Airbnb reviews
• Batch scraping from all platforms

🤖 AI-Powered Intelligence

• Google Gemini 2.0 Flash for data extraction
• Automatic fallback to OpenAI (optional)
• Adapts to website changes automatically
• Smart HTML parsing

🔒 Production Ready

• API key authentication
• Rate limiting (100 req/15min)
• Security headers with Helmet.js
• CORS protection
• Input validation

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🚀 Quick Start

Prerequisites

• WordPress 5.0 or higher
• PHP 7.0 or higher
• Node.js 18+ (Download)
• Google Gemini API Key (Get FREE key)

Installation Steps

Step 1: Install WordPress Plugin

1. Upload the Plugin

   # Copy the entire folder to WordPress plugins directory
   cp -r social-review-slider /path/to/wordpress/wp-content/plugins/

2. Activate the Plugin

   • Go to WordPress admin → Plugins
   • Find "Social Review Slider"
   • Click "Activate"

3. You're Ready!

   • A new "Reviews" menu will appear in your WordPress admin

Step 2: Setup AI Scraper Service

1. Navigate to scraper service directory

   cd scraper-service

2. Install dependencies

   npm install

3. Get your FREE Gemini API Key

   • Visit Google AI Studio
   • Click "Create API key"
   • Copy the key (starts with AIza...)

4. Configure environment

   Windows (Automated):

   .\configure-gemini.ps1

   Manual Setup:

   cp .env.example .env

   Edit .env:

   # Google Gemini API (FREE!)
   GEMINI_API_KEY=AIza...your-key-here
   
   # API Security
   API_SECRET_KEY=your-secret-key-here
   PORT=3000
   NODE_ENV=production

5. Start the service

   npm start

   The service will be running at http://localhost:3000 🎉

6. Verify it's working

   # Test Gemini integration
   node test-gemini.js
   
   # Check service health
   curl http://localhost:3000/health

Step 3: Connect WordPress to Scraper Service

1. Go to WordPress Admin

   • Navigate to Reviews → Import Settings

2. Configure Scraper Service

   • Service URL: http://localhost:3000 (or your deployed URL)
   • API Secret Key: Your configured secret key from .env

3. Configure Platform URLs

   • Google Business URL: Your Google Maps place URL
   • TripAdvisor URL: Your TripAdvisor listing URL
   • Airbnb URL: Your Airbnb listing URL

4. Set Import Schedule

   • Enable "Auto Import"
   • Choose frequency (Daily recommended)
   • Set import limit (50 reviews default)
   • Save changes

5. Run First Import

   • Click "Import Reviews Now" button
   • Wait for completion
   • Check "Recent Import Activity"

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📖 Documentation

WordPress Plugin Documentation

Using Shortcodes

Add this shortcode to any page, post, or widget:

[social_reviews]

Available Parameters:

[social_reviews 
    platform="all"           // Options: all, tripadvisor, google, airbnb
    count="-1"              // Number of reviews (-1 for all)
    autoplay="true"         // Enable autoplay (true/false)
    autoplay_delay="5000"   // Delay in milliseconds
    loop="true"             // Loop slides (true/false)
    slides_per_view="1"     // Number of slides visible
    space_between="30"      // Space between slides in pixels
    show_navigation="true"  // Show arrow buttons (true/false)
    show_pagination="true"  // Show pagination dots (true/false)
    random="true"           // Random order (true/false)
]

Examples:

Show only Google reviews:

[social_reviews platform="google"]

Show 5 random reviews with autoplay:

[social_reviews count="5" random="true" autoplay="true"]

Show 3 slides at once (great for desktop):

[social_reviews slides_per_view="3" space_between="20"]

Using Widgets

1. Go to Appearance → Widgets
2. Find Social Review Slider widget
3. Drag it to your desired widget area
4. Configure the settings
5. Save

Adding Reviews Manually

1. Go to Reviews → Add New
2. Fill in the review details:
   • Title: A brief title for the review (for admin reference)
   • Content: The actual review text
   • Reviewer Name: Name of the person who left the review
   • Rating: Select rating from 1 to 5 stars (supports half stars)
   • Review Date: When the review was posted
   • Review URL: Link to the original review
   • Reviewer Location: Where the reviewer is from
   • Reviewer Avatar: Upload a profile picture (optional)
   • Platform: Select TripAdvisor, Google, or Airbnb
3. Publish the review

AI Scraper Service Documentation

API Endpoints

Health Check

GET /health

Scrape Google Reviews

POST /api/scrape/google
Headers: X-API-Key: your-secret-key
Body: {
  "placeUrl": "https://www.google.com/maps/place/...",
  "maxReviews": 50
}

Scrape TripAdvisor Reviews

POST /api/scrape/tripadvisor
Headers: X-API-Key: your-secret-key
Body: {
  "hotelUrl": "https://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-...",
  "maxReviews": 50
}

Scrape Airbnb Reviews

POST /api/scrape/airbnb
Headers: X-API-Key: your-secret-key
Body: {
  "listingUrl": "https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/12345678",
  "maxReviews": 50
}

Batch Scrape All Platforms

POST /api/scrape/all
Headers: X-API-Key: your-secret-key
Body: {
  "googleUrl": "https://www.google.com/maps/place/...",
  "tripadvisorUrl": "https://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-...",
  "airbnbUrl": "https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/12345678",
  "maxReviews": 50
}

For complete API documentation, see scraper-service/README.md

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📁 Project Structure

socialEmbed/
├── social-review-slider.php          # Main WordPress plugin file
├── includes/                          # WordPress plugin classes
│   ├── class-review-post-type.php    # Custom post type
│   ├── class-review-meta-boxes.php   # Meta boxes for review details
│   ├── class-review-shortcode.php    # Shortcode functionality
│   ├── class-review-widget.php       # Widget functionality
│   └── class-review-importer.php     # Auto-import functionality
├── assets/                            # WordPress plugin assets
│   ├── css/
│   │   ├── styles.css                # Frontend styles
│   │   └── admin-styles.css          # Admin styles
│   └── js/
│       ├── scripts.js                # Frontend scripts
│       └── admin-scripts.js          # Admin scripts
├── scraper-service/                   # AI Scraper Service (Node.js)
│   ├── server.js                     # Express server
│   ├── scrapers/                     # Platform-specific scrapers
│   │   ├── google-scraper.js
│   │   ├── tripadvisor-scraper.js
│   │   └── airbnb-scraper.js
│   ├── utils/                        # Utility functions
│   ├── .env.example                  # Environment template
│   ├── package.json                  # Node.js dependencies
│   └── README.md                     # Detailed scraper docs
├── doc/                               # Additional documentation
│   ├── README.md                     # WordPress plugin docs
│   └── API-SETUP-GUIDE.md           # API setup guide
├── demo.html                          # Demo page
└── README.md                          # This file

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💰 Cost Comparison

Solution	Cost per Review	Monthly (10k reviews)	Status
This Solution (Gemini)	$0.00	$0.00	✅ FREE
OpenAI GPT-4o-mini	$0.0001	~$1-2	Optional Fallback
Google Places API	$0.017	$170	❌ Expensive
TripAdvisor API	Varies	$100+	❌ Expensive
Commercial Scrapers	$0.01+	$100+	❌ Expensive

Save 100% on review scraping costs! 🎉

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🛠️ How It Works

graph TB
    A[WordPress Site] -->|Import Request| B[Review Importer]
    B -->|HTTP Request| C[AI Scraper Service]
    C -->|Launch| D[Puppeteer Browser]
    D -->|Navigate| E[Review Websites]
    E -->|HTML Content| F[Google Gemini AI]
    F -->|Structured JSON| C
    C -->|Reviews Data| B
    B -->|Save to DB| G[WordPress Database]
    G -->|Display| H[Review Slider]
    H -->|Beautiful UI| I[Website Visitors]

Process Flow

1. WordPress triggers import (manual or scheduled)
2. Scraper service receives request with platform URLs
3. Puppeteer launches headless browser and navigates to review pages
4. HTML content is extracted from the page
5. Google Gemini AI parses the HTML and extracts structured review data
6. Clean JSON data is returned to WordPress
7. WordPress saves reviews to database with duplicate detection
8. Reviews are displayed in beautiful sliders on your site

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🚀 Deployment

Deploy Scraper Service

Option 1: Local Server / VPS

# Install PM2 for process management
npm install -g pm2

# Navigate to scraper service
cd scraper-service

# Start service with PM2
pm2 start server.js --name review-scraper

# Save PM2 configuration
pm2 save

# Setup auto-start on boot
pm2 startup

Option 2: Docker

cd scraper-service

# Build image
docker build -t review-scraper .

# Run container
docker run -d -p 3000:3000 \
  -e GEMINI_API_KEY=your-key \
  -e API_SECRET_KEY=your-secret \
  --name review-scraper \
  review-scraper

Option 3: Cloud Platforms

Heroku:

cd scraper-service
heroku create your-app-name
heroku config:set GEMINI_API_KEY=your-key
heroku config:set API_SECRET_KEY=your-secret
git push heroku main

Railway / DigitalOcean / Render:

• Connect your GitHub repository
• Add environment variables in dashboard
• Deploy automatically

WordPress Plugin

Simply upload to your WordPress site's wp-content/plugins/ directory and activate.

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🔧 Configuration

Environment Variables (Scraper Service)

Variable	Required	Default	Description
GEMINI_API_KEY	✅ Yes	-	Google Gemini API key (FREE)
API_SECRET_KEY	✅ Yes	-	Secret key for API authentication
PORT	No	3000	Server port
NODE_ENV	No	development	Environment (development/production)
OPENAI_API_KEY	No	-	OpenAI key for fallback (optional)
RATE_LIMIT_WINDOW_MS	No	900000	Rate limit window (15 min)
RATE_LIMIT_MAX_REQUESTS	No	100	Max requests per window
HEADLESS_MODE	No	true	Run browser in headless mode
TIMEOUT_MS	No	30000	Request timeout (30 sec)

WordPress Plugin Settings

Configure in WordPress Admin → Reviews → Import Settings:

• Scraper Service URL: URL where your scraper service is running
• API Secret Key: Must match the scraper service configuration
• Platform URLs: Your Google, TripAdvisor, and Airbnb listing URLs
• Import Schedule: Frequency of automatic imports
• Import Limit: Maximum number of reviews to import per run

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🐛 Troubleshooting

Common Issues

WordPress Plugin

Reviews not displaying:

• Check if reviews are published (not drafts)
• Verify shortcode syntax is correct
• Clear WordPress cache
• Check browser console for JavaScript errors

Import not working:

• Verify scraper service is running (curl http://localhost:3000/health)
• Check API secret key matches in both WordPress and scraper service
• Review import logs in WordPress admin
• Ensure URLs are correct and accessible

Scraper Service

"Browser launch failed":

# Ubuntu/Debian
sudo apt-get install -y chromium-browser

# Or use Puppeteer's bundled Chromium (already included)

"AI API error" or "Gemini not responding":

• Verify API key at Google AI Studio
• Check rate limits (15 requests/minute on free tier)
• Ensure internet connection is stable
• Run diagnostic: node diagnose-api.js

"Timeout errors":

• Increase TIMEOUT_MS in .env (e.g., 60000 for 60 seconds)
• Check internet connection speed
• Some websites have anti-bot measures

Debug Mode

Enable detailed logging:

# Scraper service
cd scraper-service
NODE_ENV=development npm start

# Check logs
tail -f logs/app.log

Testing Tools

cd scraper-service

# Test Gemini API connection
node test-gemini.js

# Test actual scraping
node test-scrape.js

# Diagnose API issues
node diagnose-api.js

# Check service health
curl http://localhost:3000/health

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📈 Performance

• Average scraping time: 10-30 seconds per platform
• Concurrent requests: Supported with rate limiting
• Memory usage: ~200-300MB per browser instance
• Success rate: ~95% (depends on website stability)
• Rate limits: 100 requests per 15 minutes (configurable)

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🔒 Security

Scraper Service

• ✅ API Key Authentication
• ✅ Rate Limiting (100 req/15min)
• ✅ Helmet.js Security Headers
• ✅ CORS Protection
• ✅ Input Validation
• ✅ Environment Variables for credentials

WordPress Plugin

• ✅ WordPress Nonces for AJAX
• ✅ Capability Checks
• ✅ Sanitized Inputs
• ✅ Escaped Outputs
• ✅ Secure API Communication

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📚 Additional Resources

• WordPress Plugin Docs: doc/README.md
• Scraper Service Docs: scraper-service/README.md
• API Setup Guide: doc/API-SETUP-GUIDE.md
• Contributing Guide: scraper-service/CONTRIBUTING.md
• Changelog: scraper-service/CHANGELOG.md

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🤝 Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please follow these steps:

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a feature branch (git checkout -b feature/amazing-feature)
3. Commit your changes (git commit -m 'Add amazing feature')
4. Push to the branch (git push origin feature/amazing-feature)
5. Open a Pull Request

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📄 License

• WordPress Plugin: GPL v2 or later
• AI Scraper Service: MIT License

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🙏 Acknowledgments

• Google Gemini AI - Free AI API
• Puppeteer - Headless browser automation
• Express.js - Web framework
• Swiper.js - Slider functionality
• WordPress - CMS platform

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📞 Support

• Issues: GitHub Issues
• Discussions: GitHub Discussions

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🗺️ Roadmap

• [ ] Add support for Yelp reviews
• [ ] Add support for Facebook reviews
• [ ] Implement caching layer
• [ ] Add review sentiment analysis
• [ ] Create web dashboard for scraper service
• [ ] Add webhook notifications
• [ ] Support for review monitoring/alerts
• [ ] Gutenberg block for WordPress
• [ ] Elementor widget support

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⭐ Star History

If you find this project useful, please consider giving it a star! ⭐

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Made with ❤️ for hotels, restaurants, and businesses everywhere

Report Bug · Request Feature · Documentation

Enjoy using Social Review Slider! 🌟