Display reviews

Google Reviews WordPress Plugin That Search Engines and AI Can Read

Show Google reviews on WordPress as server-rendered HTML, refreshed nightly. Setup in 4 steps: ZIP, secret, shortcode or block. Works with Elementor and Divi.

By Oz IlyasFounder of Revys

Updated October 20, 2026

Contents

Most Google reviews plugins for WordPress fetch reviews in the visitor's browser with JavaScript. That works for people, but the reviews never make it into the HTML of your page. The Revys plugin takes the opposite route: Revys sends your reviews to WordPress every night, and the plugin writes them straight into the page on the server.

Because AI search engines read your raw HTML, not what JavaScript adds later. Vercel analyzed AI crawler traffic in December 2024 and found that none of the major AI crawlers, including OpenAI's GPTBot and Anthropic's ClaudeBot, render JavaScript. Google does run JavaScript, but in a separate rendering step after the initial crawl.

Here is how the Revys plugin works:

Revys pulls your reviews through the official Google Business Profile API (OAuth connection, no scraping).
Every night, Revys sends the fully rendered widget to your site in a signed request (HMAC SHA-256) to /wp-json/revys/v1/sync.
The plugin checks the signature, filters the HTML it received (tag allow-list, CSS scoped to the widget), and stores it.
When a page contains the shortcode or block, WordPress outputs that HTML on the server. No JavaScript loads for your visitors.

If you're comparing every way to put reviews on a site, not just WordPress, start with our guide on how to embed Google reviews on your website.

Which method should you use on WordPress?

For almost every WordPress site, the plugin. It's the simplest option that keeps reviews readable by Google and AI.

Method	Reviews in page HTML	Readable by AI crawlers	Updates	Best for
Revys plugin (shortcode or block)	Yes	Yes	Nightly, or on demand	Any WordPress site
PHP server include in your theme	Yes	Yes	1-hour cache	Developers editing the theme
JSON API (Pro plan)	Yes, if rendered server-side	Yes	Your own cache	Fully custom design
JavaScript snippet (iframe)	No	No	Live	Last resort

The server include and the API are covered on the PHP, HTML and other platforms page.

How do you install the Google reviews plugin?

Plan on about five minutes once your Google Business Profile is connected to Revys. There's no widget to create: each business comes with one ready to go (a carousel), which you can restyle with “Change style” on its “On my website” page.

Download the plugin from Revys
In your Revys dashboard, open My businesses › your business › On my website and click Put on my website. Your site address is filled in from your Google Business Profile when it lists one, and Revys recognizes WordPress (if it doesn't, pick WordPress under “Not right?”): click Continue. Check that the address matches WordPress exactly (with or without www), click Generate the secret, then download the ZIP with Download the plugin.
The plugin isn't in the wordpress.org directory yet. The stable link to the latest version is https://revys.io/downloads/revys-wordpress.zip.
Upload and activate it
In WordPress, go to Plugins → Add New → Upload Plugin, choose the ZIP, click Install Now, then Activate. The plugin requires WordPress 6.0 and PHP 8.0 or later.
Paste the connection secret
Back in Revys, click Done: the assistant shows your connection secret, only once. Copy it, open the Revys menu in the WordPress admin sidebar (also under Settings → Revys), paste it into “Connection secret” and click Save.
The plugin checks the secret with Revys right away. If it matches, Revys sends the first sync immediately and the status switches to “Connected” with the time of the last sync.
Add your reviews to a page
In the block editor, add the Revys Reviews block (Widgets category) and enter the widget ID. Or paste the shortcode, which Revys shows ready to copy with your real ID:
```
[revys_reviews widget="YOUR_WIDGET_ID"]
```
Publish, then view the page source (right-click → View Page Source). The text of your reviews should be right there. Finally, click Done, check it in Revys: the assistant confirms the plugin received your reviews.

The widget matches the layout you picked in Revys: grid, list, carousel, wall or badge, light or dark, with your colors. Restyling in Revys doesn't require a plugin update; the new design arrives with the next push.

Does it work with Elementor, Divi and Gutenberg?

Yes, because the output comes from a standard WordPress shortcode rendered on the server. There's no dedicated Elementor or Divi module; step-by-step guides are on our pages for Google reviews in Elementor and Google reviews in Divi.

Editor	How to add reviews
Gutenberg (block editor)	Revys Reviews block, or a Shortcode block with `[revys_reviews widget="…"]`
Classic editor	Paste the shortcode into the content
Elementor	Shortcode widget, paste the shortcode
Divi	Code module, paste the shortcode
Other page builders	Any element that runs WordPress shortcodes

In the block editor, the Revys Reviews block shows a “Widget ID” field rather than a live preview. That's expected: rendering happens when the page is served.

How do the nightly push and caching work?

Revys pushes your reviews to every connected site each night, around 3:30 a.m. UTC, after refreshing your Google reviews. The plugin saves them in the WordPress database (one option per widget) and outputs them on every page render, with no outbound call during the visit. If Revys is down, your pages keep showing the last push.

To push right away, for example after a great new review, click Sync now on the “Live on…” card of your business's “On my website” page. If a push fails, Revys flags it on that same page (“Your reviews are no longer updating on…”), with a Try again now button.

What about caching plugins (WP Rocket, LiteSpeed Cache, W3 Total Cache)?

The Revys plugin doesn't purge your page cache. If your site serves cached pages, new reviews show up when the cached copy expires or gets rebuilt. Either:

set the cache lifespan to 24 hours or less (in WP Rocket: Cache tab, “Cache Lifespan”), or
clear the cache for your reviews page after an important new review.

Caching doesn't hurt readability: the cached page holds the same HTML, reviews included.

Can Google and ChatGPT actually read your reviews?

Check it in ten seconds: open the page, view the source, and search for a sentence from one of your reviews. If it's there, any crawler that reads HTML can read it. You can also run a URL through our AI review visibility checker. For what AI search engines do with reviews, read how reviews get you cited in AI search.

Troubleshooting

The status on the Revys settings screen in WordPress usually points to the cause.

Message or symptom	Cause	Fix
“Not saved: you pasted a Revys API key”	An `rv_…` API key was pasted instead of the secret	The plugin needs the WordPress connection secret, not an API key. Generate it in Revys: “On my website” page, Put on my website, then Generate the secret
“Secret saved, but it does not match”	The secret was copied incorrectly	Copy it again. If it's no longer shown, run Put on my website again and click Generate the secret: the new secret replaces the old one
“Revys has no connection for this site”	The address in Revys differs from WordPress (`www`, `http` vs `https`)	Use exactly the Site Address from WordPress Settings → General
“Waiting for the first sync”	No push received since the secret was saved	Click Save again on the Revys settings screen in WordPress: the plugin re-checks the secret and Revys retries the push
“Revys could not be reached”	Your host blocks outbound requests	The secret will be checked on Revys' next push, the following night
Push errors or “WordPress rejected the secret” in Revys	A security plugin, firewall or password protection blocks `/wp-json/revys/v1/sync`	Allow POST requests to that route
The shortcode shows nothing	Nothing received for that ID, or the shortcode ID isn't the widget linked to the connection	Check the ID under Embed code (“WordPress” option) on the widget's card, “On my website” page, then click Sync now
Old reviews still showing	Page cache	Clear the cache or shorten its lifespan

Deleting the plugin from the Plugins screen also removes its data (secret and stored reviews), including on multisite networks.

What's next?

Once your reviews are on your site, the next steps are getting more of them and replying to them. Revys gives you a Google review link and QR code to share, and the Pro plan adds AI review replies that you approve before they go live. Pro starts at $7.90/month for your first listing; see pricing. The Google reviews widget page covers every layout.

FAQ

Is the Revys WordPress plugin free?

Yes. The plugin is GPL-licensed and works on the Revys Free plan for one Google Business Profile, with a small “Free widget by Revys” link under the widget. The Pro plan removes that link and adds AI review replies.

Is the plugin on wordpress.org?

Not yet. You download the ZIP from your Revys dashboard or from https://revys.io/downloads/revys-wordpress.zip, then install it with Plugins → Add New → Upload Plugin.

Does it work with Elementor and Divi?

Yes, through the shortcode. Paste [revys_reviews widget="YOUR_WIDGET_ID"] into Elementor's Shortcode widget or Divi's Code module. It renders on the server, the same way it does in the block editor.

Will my reviews show star ratings in Google search results?

No. Google doesn't show review stars for reviews a business displays about itself on its own site, widgets included. The plugin only outputs compliant Organization or LocalBusiness markup, never AggregateRating.

How often do the reviews update?

Revys pushes your reviews to the plugin every night, around 3:30 a.m. UTC. You can trigger a push at any time with the “Sync now” button on your business's “On my website” page.

Can I connect several WordPress sites?

Yes, one per business: each business has its own “On my website” page, with its own connection and secret. Showing the same business on several WordPress sites isn't available yet.

Does the plugin send visitor data anywhere?

No. It makes a single request to Revys when you save the secret, to verify it. That request carries your site URL and a signature, never the secret itself and never visitor data.