Find a WordPress Star Rating Plugin for Simple Customer Reviews
Last Updated May 29, 2023
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Star ratings are a great way to add quick and simple review capabilities to your website. Whether you are selling physical products, digital goods, or just want to have a way for readers to rate your content. A good star rating system can quickly enhance interactivity and engagement on your website. For WordPress site owners, without a star rating system built-in to the popular CMS, you must rely on plugins to help. So, with that in mind, we’ve put together a list of some of the most popular WordPress star rating plugins you can use. Let’s get started.
Popular WordPress Star Rating Plugins
Each of the WordPress star rating plugins on this list is available from WordPress.org. You can download them from the site, absolutely free, and upload them to your WordPress installation to get started. Or, as a simpler option, install and activate them from the Plugins screen of your WordPress admin.
The goal of this article is to briefly summarize each of the features found in these plugins. We’ve done our best to give you an overview of each plugin’s capabilities. In the case of premium plugins, where a paid option is available, we’ve also summarized what you get when using that version of the plugin over the free option.
Yasr
Yasr, or Yet Another Stars Rating, is a WordPress plugin that adds user-generated reviews to any part of your website including posts, pages, and custom post type. It accomplishes this without compromising your site’s speed and helps promote loyalty and visibility of your brand.
Your site users vote and the overall rating can then be inserted into your site’s content. Multisets allow readers to score different aspects and categories of a review. This provides a more comprehensive look into whatever they are reviewing’s qualities.
Migration is easily done from other rating plugins such as WP-PostRatings, kk Star Ratings, Rate My Post, and Multi Rating. This plugin has a built-in tool to handle the conversion for you. Finally, Yasr supports a huge array of item types. This makes it easier to find a viable rating system for whatever product or service you may offer on your site.
Plugin Details
This plugin was initially released by its creator in June of 2014. It is now on version 3.4.9 and last had an update on March 19th, 2024. The most recent edition functions on WordPress 6.5.2 and requires at least PHP 5.4 to work on your server. This plugin is presently operating on over 20,000 WordPress sites. It has had over 1,808,160 downloads. There have been 5 assistance requests with a 80% response rate. YASR – Yet Another Star Rating Plugin for WordPress has ok support from its owner. Reviews for YASR – Yet Another Star Rating Plugin for WordPress are very positive. Many of the end-users who left an evaluation found this plugin to be worthwhile.
Security Issues and Vulnerabilities
There have been 4 recorded security or vulnerability issues with Yasr. All of those security problems have been fixed. Here are the details:
| Date | Description | Fixed? |
|---|---|---|
| 3/4/22 | Missing Authorization Checks This was a medium concern issue that was fixed in version 2.0.2. | Yes |
| 2/3/22 | Cross-Site Scripting via source This was a medium concern issue that was fixed in version 2.9.9. | Yes |
| 1/27/19 | Unauthenticated PHP Object Injection This was a critical concern issue that was fixed in version 1.8.6. | Yes |
| 7/6/15 | Authenticated SQL Injection This was a high concern issue that was fixed in version 0.9.1. | Yes |
GD Rating System
GD Rating System is a WordPress star rating plugin that allows you and your readers to rate anything on your site. Basic rating entities are supported and several rating types can be put into one review. These can be done on default posts and custom post types, comments, users, or custom taxonomies.
There are several rating methods available like “Stars” and “Like This”. “Stars” comes with 20 icons and six image-based sets. The “Like This” rating system comes with two font icon sets and one image-based set. Add-ons are included with sort by rating on posts and comments, dynamic load, feeds support, shortcodes builder, and rich snippets support.
From the WordPress admin, users can check the logs of votes and rating objects as well as set custom rules for rating. You may transfer data as well from the previous version of the plugin which was called GD Star Rating. There is also additional support for moving data from other rating plugins like WP PostRatings, Yet Another Stars Rating, and KK Star Ratings.
Plugin Details
This plugin was initially released by its owner in December of 2015. It is actively on version 3.5.1 and last saw a revision on December 19th, 2023. The most recent edition runs on WordPress 6.4.4 and requires at least PHP 7.4 to function on your server. This plugin is currently running on over 1,000 WordPress websites. It has had over 118,440 downloads. There have been 4 assistance requests with a 0% response rate. GD Rating System has below average support from its creator. Reviews for this plugin are very positive. Many of the users who left a review found GD Rating System to be excellent.
Security Issues and Vulnerabilities
There have been 9 recorded security or vulnerability issues with GD Rating System. All of those security problems have been resolved. Here is a look at the most recent issues:
| Date | Description | Fixed? |
|---|---|---|
| 1/8/18 | Directory Traversal This was a high concern issue that was fixed in version 2.3.1. | Yes |
| 1/8/18 | Directory Traversal This was a high concern issue that was fixed in version 2.3.1. | Yes |
| 1/8/18 | Directory Traversal This was a high concern issue that was fixed in version 2.3.1. | Yes |
| 1/8/18 | Cross-Site Scripting This was a medium concern issue that was fixed in version 2.3.1. | Yes |
| 1/8/18 | Cross-Site Scripting This was a medium concern issue that was fixed in version 2.3.1. | Yes |
GD Rating System Pro is the paid and premium version of the plugin. It offers more options and features to further customize the rating experience. These extra features include slider ratings, slider reviews, an “Emote This” function, and thumbs up/down ratings. There are also a bunch of extra add-ons for tooltips, client detection, editing ratings, dummy ratings, geolocation, date-based period queries, and date-based voting limiters.
The plugin comes with integration for BuddyPress and bbPress notifications and activities. There are premium add-ons that include user reviews, analytics, and integration with myCRED. You may even utilize premium and themed graphics packs that are free with the GD Rating System Pro license as well.
Stars Rating
Stars Rating is a very simple and intuitive WordPress plugin that enables you to add reviews to posts, pages, and custom post types. You can choose which post types will have the stars rating feature. This plugin comes with the option to require a rating selection from your viewers when leaving a review. You may enable or disable the stars rating feature for posts and pages individually if you wish. For SEO purposes, there is a feature to display the ratings in your Google search results as well. Stars Rating comes with two styles that you can choose from depending on your look. A shortcode is available so you can insert the average overall rating anywhere on the site.
Plugin Details
This product was first published by its creator in February of 2017. It is presently on version 4.0.2 and last experienced an update on February 15th, 2024. The latest edition operates on WordPress 6.4.4. This plugin is actively working on over 1,000 WordPress websites. It has had over 20,440 downloads. There have been 5 assistance requests with a 60% response rate. Stars Rating has below average support from its creator. Reviews for Stars Rating are very positive. Many of the end-users who left a review found Stars Rating to be wonderful.
Security Issues and Vulnerabilities
There has been one recorded security or vulnerability issue with Stars Rating. The security problem was fixed and here are the details.
| Date | Description | Fixed? |
|---|---|---|
| 12/6/21 | Denial of Service This was a high concern issue that was fixed in version 3.5.1. | Yes |
Five-Star Ratings Shortcode
Five-Star Ratings Shortcode is a minimal WordPress star rating plugin. It allows you to insert five-star ratings anywhere you want on your WordPress site with the use of a simple shortcode. The feature is accessible and light while keeping it attractive to fit in seamlessly with your site. The plugin gives you a variety of icons to use from Font Awesome using their SVG + JavaScript Method.
This is probably the simples of the plugins on our list. The plugin is limited to its star-type rating from one to five. There are no other options built in. If you are looking for other rating methods or styles, this may not be for you. But if you are looking for the simplest implementation this is certainly a quality option.
Plugin Details
This piece of software was initially released by its creator in December of 2019. It is now on version 1.2.51 and last saw a revision on December 21st, 2023. The newest release runs on WordPress 6.4.4 and requires at least PHP 7.0 to operate on your server. This plugin is now operating on over 800 WordPress sites. It has had over 19,760 downloads. There have not been many support requests from users. Reviews for this plugin are very positive. Many of the users who left an evaluation found Five-Star Ratings Shortcode to be wonderful.
Five-Star Ratings Shortcode Pro is the paid and premium version of the plugin. It comes with more customization to expand the possibilities for your rating system. Pro comes with Google Rich Snippets for products, restaurants, and recipes, and a choice of HTML elements in the output.
Customize the sizes of your icon, as well as its colors and text. This version increases the range of your rating. You can adjust your maximum rating from around 3-10 and even adjust the minimum rating from 0.0, 0.5, or 1.0. The plugin comes with a shortcode generator, a locale-aware decimal separator, and an options reset button.
Rating
Rating is a plugin that enables you to add five-star ratings to several areas on your WordPress site. This can be its posts, pages, or widgets. Your star ratings can also automatically be added to testimonials, custom post types, and media. Finally, for even more control, you can insert your ratings manually via shortcode.
You may choose which user roles are allowed to submit ratings or allow non-logged-in users to rate as well. You may choose if you want your ratings to be positioned before or after the content or even in the comments. The star color is customizable and you may adjust its color on mouse hover as well. Star and text size may be switched up from the default. Finally, you can customize and change the actual text itself as well.
Plugin Details
This piece of software was originally released by its owner in November of 2016. It is actively on version 1.6 and last underwent an update on November 22nd, 2023. The most recent version works on WordPress 6.4.4. This plugin is currently running on over 400 WordPress sites. It has had over 9,410 downloads. There have not been many assistance requests from customers. Reviews for Rating by BestWebSoft are very positive. Many of the customers who left an evaluation found Rating by BestWebSoft to be great.
Security Issues and Vulnerabilities
There have been 2 recorded security or vulnerability issues with Rating. All of those security problems have been fixed. Here are the details:
| Date | Description | Fixed? |
|---|---|---|
| 5/24/22 | Rating Denial of Service This was a medium concern issue that was fixed in version 1.5. | Yes |
| 4/17/17 | Reflected Cross-Site Scripting This was a medium concern issue that was fixed in version 0.2. | Yes |
Rating Pro is the paid and premium version of the plugin. It comes with a few useful extra features to expand the free plugin’s capabilities. Several plans for purchase are available and they can be either renewed annually or you can buy with a lifetime purchase.
Pro has all features in the free version plus the ability to customize the total number of stars in your rating. You can also display the total average rating within your list with pages and posts.
This version gives you the opportunity to receive constant updates and receive premium and top-priority support. Questions are generally answered within one business day.
Custom Ratings
Custom Ratings is the final WordPress star rating plugin on our list. This plugin was built to help increase interaction with your visitors by giving them the ability to rate your site content.
You may choose from the plugin’s variety of rating images or upload your own. The image is automatically converted to grayscale for disabled ratings or split for half values. The text is customizable and translatable thanks to the plugin’s WPML compatibility.
Custom Ratings has built-in CSS but you may add your own if you wish. You have control over caching for AJAX-based voting data. You may manually insert rating components within your theme templates and you have control over which templates your ratings appear on. There is full support for custom post types and the plugin is compatible with WooCommerce products and a variety of caching plugins.
Plugin Details
This plugin was initially released by its developer in March of 2016. It is now on version 1.5.1 and last had a revision on January 14th, 2023. The newest version functions on WordPress 6.1.6. This plugin is currently operating on over 100 WordPress websites. It has had over 5,790 downloads. There have not been many support requests from users. Reviews for Custom Ratings are very positive. Many of the customers who left a review found this plugin to be wonderful.
Find the Best WordPress Star Rating Plugin
That’s the end of our look at the best WordPress star rating plugins. Each of these offers unique and interesting ways to add simple reviews to your site. Some are more complex than others and premium versions add an extra dimension of intrigue to your choice. We recommend giving several of these plugins a try before settling on the right one for you.
Oh, and a word of advice. If you are interested in a premium version please try the free plugin first. Free plugins often reflect the ease of use and support you’ll find in a paid plugin. If the free plugin isn’t satisfactory to you it is highly unlikely the premium version will be any better.
Looking for More Ways to Improve WordPress?
Are you here to find a WordPress star rating plugin for a client site? Or maybe you just want a simple way to make WordPress easier for your site’s admins to use. Check out our White Label WordPress plugin before you go.
White Label was developed to make customizing and modifying the WordPress admin experience simple and easy. You can use our plugin to rebrand logos and colors, build a custom login page, add your own dashboard elements, and much more.
Check out the full list of features to learn all of the ways White Label can improve and enhance your WordPress website’s admin.
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