Riccardo

<p>RicReviews is a free and open-source WordPress plugin that displays Google Places reviews on your website using a simple shortcode. The plugin fetches reviews from Google Places API (New) and displays them beautifully on your WordPress site.</p>
<h4>Key Features</h4>
<ul>
<li><strong>Easy Integration</strong>: Display reviews anywhere on your site with a simple shortcode</li>
<li><strong>Automatic Updates</strong>: Reviews are automatically fetched and updated via configurable WordPress cron (daily, weekly, or monthly)</li>
<li><strong>Smart Caching</strong>: Built-in caching system to improve performance</li>
<li><strong>Customizable</strong>: Choose your primary color and theme (light/dark)</li>
<li><strong>Flexible Display</strong>: Control the number of reviews and sorting options</li>
<li><strong>Multilingual Support</strong>: Fetch reviews in multiple languages and filter by language in shortcode</li>
<li><strong>Debug Logging</strong>: Optional debug logging for troubleshooting API issues</li>
<li><strong>Secure</strong>: Follows WordPress coding standards and security best practices</li>
</ul>
<h4>How It Works</h4>
<ol>
<li><strong>Initial Fetch</strong>: When you save settings, the plugin fetches reviews from Google Places API</li>
<li><strong>Database Storage</strong>: Reviews are stored in a custom database table for fast retrieval</li>
<li><strong>Caching</strong>: Reviews are cached using WordPress transients for 24 hours</li>
<li><strong>Automatic Updates</strong>: WordPress cron job automatically fetches new reviews based on your configured frequency</li>
<li><strong>Display</strong>: Shortcode retrieves reviews from cache/database and displays them</li>
</ol>
<h4>Important Note</h4>
<p>Google Places API returns a maximum of 5 reviews per place per API call. This is a hard limit imposed by Google, not a limitation of this plugin. Each API call returns up to 5 reviews, and the plugin performs automatic fetches based on your configured frequency (daily, weekly, or monthly). Over time, you may accumulate more reviews in the database as Google updates the “5 most helpful reviews” for your place.</p>
<p>If you configure multiple languages, each language requires a separate API call, potentially allowing you to collect more reviews (up to 5 per language).</p>
<p>For more information, see <a href="https://developers.google.com/maps/documentation/places/web-service/policies#review-policy" rel="nofollow ugc">Google’s Review Policy Documentation</a>.</p>
<h4>Service Information</h4>
<p>This plugin acts as an interface to Google Places API (New). By installing and configuring this plugin, you consent to the use of Google Places API service. Please review <a href="https://developers.google.com/maps/documentation/places/web-service/policies" rel="nofollow ugc">Google Places API Terms of Service</a> before use.</p>


RicReviews

Display Google Places reviews on your WordPress site using a simple shortcode. Fetches reviews from Google Places API (New).

Suzanne

<p>Shift8 for Google Business syncs your business info and hours from Google My Business to WordPress, storing data in a custom post type for easy display.</p>
<h3>External services</h3>
<p>This plugin connects to the Google Places API to retrieve business details based on Place IDs. This connection is required to display business information within the plugin.</p>
<p>It sends the Google API key and the requested Place ID each time the API is queried. No user-identifiable information is transmitted during this process.</p>
<p>This service is provided by Google:<br />
– <a href="https://developers.google.com/maps/terms" rel="nofollow ugc">Google API Terms of Service</a><br />
– <a href="https://policies.google.com/privacy" rel="nofollow ugc">Google Privacy Policy</a>Shared Settings Area:<br />
This plugin shares a common settings area with other Shift8 plugins. To avoid conflicts, shared functions such as <code>shift8_main_page</code> are wrapped with <code>function_exists</code> checks.</p>
<h3>Want to see the plugin in action?</h3>
<p>You can check out our demos or contact us at <a href="https://shift8web.ca" rel="nofollow ugc">Shift8web</a> for more information and live examples.</p>
<h3>Features</h3>
<ul>
<li>Polls Google My Business daily (or on-demand via WP CLI) to fetch location data  </li>
<li>Uses a custom post type to store and display business information  </li>
<li>Settings page to define your Google Places API key  </li>
<li>Easily manage multiple Place IDs in a single admin interface  </li>
<li>Automates updates so your WordPress site always has the most recent business hours and info</li>
</ul>


Shift8 for Google Business

Shift8 for Google Business syncs your business info and hours from Google My Business to WordPress, storing data in a custom post type for easy displa …

RicReviews vs Shift8 for Google Business