How to Add Review Section in Shopify

Introduction

Customer reviews are often the invisible multiplier behind strong conversion rates. Stores with visible, credible customer feedback convert more visitors into buyers, improve SEO, and give teams actionable product insights. At the same time, merchants face "platform fatigue"—too many tools, overlapping features, and complicated integrations—which is why choosing the right reviews solution matters as much as collecting reviews.

Short answer: You can add a review section in Shopify by using Shopify’s native product review functionality, creating a custom section in your theme, or connecting a reviews and UGC solution that displays reviews, photos, and video on product pages. The fastest route is to install a reviews and UGC solution that integrates with your theme and product pages, exposes review schema for SEO, and automates collection via post-purchase flows. We recommend choosing a single retention solution that combines reviews with loyalty and UGC so you avoid piling on multiple tools.

This article walks through every practical option for adding a review section to your Shopify store—technical setup, placement and design best practices, tips for collecting more high‑quality reviews, SEO and schema considerations, moderation and responder workflows, and how to connect reviews to loyalty incentives. Along the way we’ll show why a unified retention suite offers better value for money and less overhead than stitching multiple solutions together.

Our main message: reviews are foundational to retention-driven growth, and you should pick a solution that reduces complexity while amplifying lifetime value. If you want to compare plans and start a 14-day free trial, check our pricing and plans to see how a single retention suite can replace multiple point solutions.

Why Reviews Matter For Shopify Stores

Reviews Drive Conversions and Trust

Reviews act as social proof. When shoppers see authentic ratings and customer photos next to product details, they gain confidence faster. That confidence shortens the decision process and reduces hesitancy at checkout. Reviews also provide micro-conversions—small actions (reading a review, seeing a photo) that build trust before the main conversion.

Reviews Improve SEO and Long-Term Traffic

User-generated content keeps product pages fresh with relevant keywords and long-tail terms. That content helps product pages rank for more queries and captures search traffic from people seeking specific experiences (sizing, durability, use cases). When reviews include images and descriptive text, they add semantic richness that search engines favor.

Reviews Give Product and Support Insights

Beyond marketing, reviews are a two-way feedback channel. They surface common product questions, recurring defects, and opportunities for improved packaging or instructions. When teams proactively use review insights, they reduce return rates and improve product quality—both drivers of higher lifetime value.

Reviews Power Cross‑Channel Social Proof

Reviews and customer photos fuel emails, product pages, ads, and social posts. Having a single source of verified reviews that’s easy to reuse across channels reduces manual work and keeps messaging consistent.

Where to Place Your Review Section (Design & UX)

Core Placement Options

• On the product page, below the product description (most common)
• As a collapsed tab on the product page (clean for long descriptions)
• Highlighted near the add-to-cart area for social proof at point of purchase
• On collection pages as a rating overlay to help product discovery
• On a dedicated testimonials or reviews page for shoppers who browse reviews first

Best Practices for Placement

• Keep the average rating visible near the product title or price, so shoppers see it immediately.
• Use progressive disclosure—show the most recent or most helpful review first, with an option to view all.
• Include photo and video reviews near the top of the review list; visuals boost credibility.
• Make the review submission action obvious and frictionless—don’t hide the form behind multiple clicks.
• For mobile, ensure star ratings and photo thumbnails are tappable and load quickly.

Options for Adding a Review Section in Shopify

There are three practical approaches. We’ll compare them and explain when each makes sense.

Native Shopify Reviews (When To Use It)

Shopify provides basic review functionality via a simple review block or native integrations. It’s great for merchants who want a minimal setup with no third-party dependencies and limited customization needs.

Benefits:

• Fast to implement for standard themes.
• Keeps everything within Shopify admin.
• Lightweight and low overhead.

Limitations:

• Limited display customization and media (photos/video) options.
• Basic moderation and limited automation for collection.
• Less powerful schema and SEO management than dedicated solutions.

Theme Customization (When You Want Full Control)

If you or a developer want a tailored design, you can add a custom Liquid section to your theme (for example, Dawn or Online Store 2.0 themes) and render reviews from a review data source or metafields.

Benefits:

• Full control over layout, styles, and interactions.
• Ability to integrate reviews into unique product templates or microsites.

Limitations:

• Requires development time and ongoing maintenance.
• You still need a source for review content and a way to collect new reviews.

Reviews & UGC Platform (When You Want Scale and Integration)

A reviews and UGC solution built for retention ties together collection, display, moderation, incentives, and analytics. Choosing a retention suite that includes reviews alongside loyalty and UGC reduces tool fragmentation and delivers better value for money.

Benefits:

• Rich media reviews (photos, videos) and advanced widgets.
• Automated collection flows (post-purchase email and SMS).
• Built-in schema markup for SEO and rich snippets.
• Rewards and loyalty integration to boost review submission rates.
• Unified reporting and fewer integration points.

Limitations:

• Slightly more setup than the native option, but far more powerful.
• Requires choosing a partner platform and installation.

We recommend exploring an integrated retention suite that includes reviews and UGC, loyalty, wishlists, referrals, and shoppable Instagram—all in one place. Our retention suite is trusted by 15,000+ brands and has a 4.8-star rating on Shopify. You can compare plans and start a 14-day free trial to test full functionality without adding multiple point solutions.

Step-By-Step: How to Add a Review Section in Shopify

Below we walk through actionable steps for the three approaches. Use the path that matches your team’s resources and growth goals.

Adding Reviews With Shopify’s Native Tools

• Access Shopify admin and browse Online Store > Themes > Customize for your active theme.
• Open the product page template where you want reviews to appear.
• Add a section or block for reviews—look for a “Reviews” option or a generic "Apps" block that can host a review widget.
• Save and preview on desktop and mobile.

Tips:

• If the theme doesn’t offer a reviews block, add a custom block and use product metafields to store and load review summaries.
• Test the Shop app integration: Shopify supports reviews displayed inside the Shop app when reviews originate from supported partner collections.

Limitations to expect:

• No photo upload in many native implementations.
• Basic rating and text only—advanced moderation tools are limited.

Adding a Custom Review Section via Theme Code (Dawn and Online Store 2.0)

If you need a custom layout (for example, a two-column review showcase with reviewer photo and product use-case), follow these conceptual steps. The exact code varies by theme, so treat these as developer guidelines.

• Create a new section file in your theme’s code (Sections > Add section) named something like product-reviews.liquid.
• In that section, add Liquid markup to loop over reviews stored in a metafield namespace or an external JSON endpoint.
• Include HTML for star rating, reviewer name, review text, and photo thumbnails.
• Add CSS for responsive layout and accessibility attributes (alt text for images).
• Insert the section into the product template using the theme editor or by adding the section tag to product.json template.

A simple Liquid loop pattern (conceptual):

• Fetch reviews from product metafields or an external reviews endpoint.
• For each review render stars, date, and media.
• Include a lightweight pagination or “load more” control that requests additional reviews without a full page reload.

Developer tips:

• Store reviews in product-level metafields if you control both writing and imports. Metafields are searchable and backed by Shopify.
• For heavy traffic, cache external review content and update periodically to keep pages fast.
• Ensure you include structured data (schema) so search engines understand ratings.

If you prefer not to build and maintain this yourself, a reviews and UGC platform provides an embeddable widget and backend for storing reviews.

Using a Reviews & UGC Platform: Fastest Path to a Modern Reviews Section

Using a retention suite that includes social reviews simplifies everything: collection, display widgets, moderation, SEO, and rewards integration. Below are the typical steps for adding a reviews section through a solution like ours.

• Install the solution from your Shopify listing or integrate via the provided snippet. You can install from our Shopify listing and follow the guided onboarding.
• Connect the product catalog so reviews map to SKU or product handles.
• Choose a widget layout for product pages and customize colors and fonts to match your theme.
• Enable media capture (photo/video) in submission forms to boost credibility.
• Activate automatic post-purchase review requests so collected reviews are gathered without manual outreach.

Why this approach is powerful:

• Widgets are prebuilt and responsive; no deep theme edits.
• The backend handles moderation, duplicate checks, and spam filtering.
• Built-in connections let reviews show across channels and feed loyalty rewards automatically.

To see how reviews can work together with loyalty and rewards, check how you can reward customers for leaving reviews and how that increases submission rates.

Collecting More High‑Quality Reviews

Automate Post-Purchase Review Requests

The single most effective tactic is to automate review requests after delivery. A typical flow:

• Wait until the order is delivered (timing depends on product type).
• Send a friendly email or SMS asking for a review, include an incentive if you use loyalty.
• Keep the review form short, allow photos and video, and make submission a single click.

We recommend linking reviews to loyalty so reviewers automatically receive points when they submit verified feedback. This creates a virtuous loop of engagement and repeat purchases; learn how loyalty and reviews can pair in our loyalty and rewards feature.

Offer Incentives Without Biasing Reviews

Reward reviewers for their time rather than for positive feedback. Offer loyalty points, a small discount on the next purchase, or an entry into a prize draw. Make the reward unconditional to preserve review authenticity and to comply with platform policies.

Make It Frictionless

• Allow signed-in customers to submit a review without re-entering details.
• Enable photos and video uploads directly from mobile devices.
• Pre-fill product details and let reviewers pick a star rating and a short comment.

Ask the Right Questions

Prompt customers to answer one or two quick, targeted prompts that make reviews more useful:

• “How did the fit compare to expectations?”
• “What did you like most about the product?”
• “Would you recommend this to a friend?”

These micro-prompts increase the information density of reviews and help future buyers.

Promote Photo and Video Reviews

Visual content increases conversions. Encourage customers to upload images showing the product in real use. Reward media submissions through loyalty points and feature top photos on product pages and marketing channels.

Display & Formatting Best Practices

Show Summary Signals Upfront

• Average star rating (visible near product title)
• Total number of reviews
• Percentage of 4–5 star ratings or a distribution graph

These quick signals help shoppers evaluate credibility at a glance.

Highlight Representative Reviews

Show a mix of short, medium, and long reviews. Rotate featured reviews so new voices surface regularly. Include a “most helpful” filter and display customer photos next to those reviews.

Use Rich Media Sections

• Add a gallery of customer photos near the top of the review section.
• Offer a video carousel for longer testimonials.
• Make images clickable to open a lightbox for larger views.

Make Reviews Actionable

Add CTAs like “Ask a question” or “Find similar items” within the review display. This keeps shoppers engaged and reduces the need for back-and-forth support interactions.

SEO: Schema, Indexing, and Crawlability

Implement Review Schema

Structured data for reviews increases the chances of rich snippets (star ratings in search results). A modern reviews platform typically injects JSON-LD markup automatically. If you implement reviews manually:

• Add Product and AggregateRating schema to product pages.
• Include reviewCount and ratingValue fields.
• Markup individual reviews if possible.

A retention suite often handles structured data for you, ensuring review scores are included in product schema and improving search appearance.

Ensure Reviews Are Indexable

Make sure review content is server-rendered or allows Google to crawl it. Client-rendered content that requires JavaScript might not be indexed reliably. When using widgets, choose ones that render server-side or provide structured data fallback.

Avoid Duplicate Content and Spam

Moderate reviews to remove spammy or off-topic entries. Use verification indicators (verified purchaser badges) to signal reliable content to both shoppers and search engines.

Moderation, Governance, and Legal Considerations

Establish Clear Moderation Guidelines

Define what you will accept: profanity limits, photo policies, and rules around personal data. Communicate turnaround times for moderation so customers know expectations.

Respond to Negative Reviews Professionally

When you encounter a negative review:

• Acknowledge the issue promptly and thank the reviewer for feedback.
• Offer a clear resolution path (replace, refund, discount).
• Move the conversation to private channels only when appropriate, but keep a public summary of resolution if possible.

A thoughtful response can turn a detractor into a repeat buyer and shows prospective customers how you handle issues.

Compliance and Incentives

Ensure your incentive program complies with platform policies and local laws. Don’t require positive feedback in exchange for rewards. Instead, reward the act of reviewing, not the sentiment.

Importing Existing Reviews and Migrating Data

If you have reviews scattered across marketplaces or older systems, import them using CSV or available import tools.

• Prepare a CSV with required fields: product handle, reviewer name, rating, review text, date, and image URLs.
• Use your reviews platform’s import tool or a migration endpoint to map reviews to Shopify product handles.
• Verify images are publicly accessible during import; otherwise they won’t attach correctly.

A unified reviews platform reduces the complexity of consolidating sources and ensures consistent display and moderation across channels.

Integrations: How Reviews Fit Into Retention Strategy

Combine Reviews With Loyalty and Referrals

When reviews and loyalty are integrated, you can:

• Automatically award points for verified reviews.
• Create referral campaigns that highlight top reviewers as brand advocates.
• Use review photos in referral emails to boost social proof.

See how integrating reviews and rewards increases submission rates by exploring our reviews and UGC solution and the loyalty rewards feature.

Use Reviews in Email and SMS Flows

• Include top reviews and photos in abandoned cart and win-back emails.
• Use customer quotes in product launch campaigns.
• Trigger review requests via post-purchase SMS for faster responses.

Show Reviews Across Channels

Make sure review content can be reused:

• Product pages
• Collection pages
• Marketing emails
• Instagram and shoppable galleries

A retention suite that centralizes reviews ensures consistent messaging and reduces manual copy/paste work.

Measuring Success: Metrics to Track

Track these KPIs to evaluate the impact of your reviews strategy:

• Review submission rate (reviews per 100 orders)
• Average rating and distribution
• Conversion rate uplift on product pages with reviews vs. pages without
• Click-through rate on emails featuring reviews
• SEO traffic to product pages attributed to review keywords
• Repeat purchase rate for customers who leave reviews

A unified dashboard that surfaces these metrics reduces manual reporting and helps the marketing and product teams act faster.

Troubleshooting Common Issues

Reviews Not Showing on Product Pages

• Check that the widget is enabled for the correct product template and product handles match.
• Verify that the review source is mapped to product SKUs or handles correctly.
• Ensure CSS or theme overrides aren’t hiding the widget.

Reviews Not Indexed by Search Engines

• Confirm structured data is present and valid using Google’s Rich Results Test.
• Ensure reviews are server-rendered or the widget provides JSON-LD markup in the page source.
• Avoid lazy-loading content without an SEO-friendly fallback.

Low Review Submission Rates

• Automate post-delivery review requests.
• Offer points in your loyalty program as an unconditional thank-you.
• Shorten the review form and allow media uploads.

Best Practices Checklist (Readable Actions)

• Display average rating near the product title.
• Show the total number of reviews and review distribution.
• Make review submission mobile-friendly and support media.
• Automate post-purchase review requests and link them to loyalty points.
• Use structured data so reviewers appear in search results as rich snippets.
• Moderate reviews quickly and respond to negative feedback transparently.
• Reuse high-quality reviews and photos across email, social, and paid channels.
• Consolidate review sources into a single platform to reduce maintenance overhead.

Why Choose a Unified Retention Suite For Reviews

Too many merchants layer multiple specialized platforms—one for reviews, another for loyalty, another for UGC—and end up with overlapping fees, multiple integration points, and inconsistent customer data. Our "More Growth, Less Stack" philosophy means we build a single retention suite that replaces five to seven separate platforms. That reduces complexity while providing feature synergy: loyalty boosts review collection, UGC powers social commerce, and reviews feed into on-site merchandising and email flows.

We’re a merchant-first company focused on sustainable growth. We are trusted by 15,000+ brands and have a 4.8-star rating on Shopify. If you want to test how a unified approach simplifies deployment and drives higher LTV, you can compare plans and start a 14-day free trial or install Growave from Shopify to begin setup.

Practical Example Flows (No Fictional Cases—Actionable Templates)

Email Flow to Request Reviews

• Wait for delivery confirmation.
• Send a short, friendly email with a direct link to the review form.
• Offer loyalty points automatically after submission.
• Send a reminder if no response after a set number of days.

Review Submission Form Elements

• Star rating control with labels (e.g., Ease of Use, Quality).
• Short open-text prompt for top feedback.
• Optional photo and video uploader.
• Checkbox to share the review publicly and consent statement.

Implementing these flows via a retention suite automates the technical plumbing and ensures incentives are applied consistently.

Troubleshooting Checklist

• If photo uploads fail: check file size limits and image storage permissions.
• If schema fails validation: run the JSON-LD through a schema validator and ensure required fields like ratingValue are present.
• If reviews aren’t attributed to the right product: confirm matching is done by product handle or SKU and not an old variant ID.

Conclusion

Adding a review section to Shopify is one of the highest-impact moves a merchant can make. Reviews increase conversions, improve SEO, and provide product intelligence—especially when combined with loyalty and UGC. The three main paths are native Shopify tools, theme-level customization, or a full reviews and UGC solution. For most merchants focused on scaling without multiplying tools, a unified retention suite delivers the best balance of power and simplicity.

We build our retention suite for merchants first, helping you turn reviews into a repeatable growth lever while avoiding platform fatigue. Explore our plans and start a 14-day free trial to add reviews, loyalty, UGC, and more—without adding more systems to manage. Compare plans and start your free trial today.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long does it take to add a review section to my product pages?

Implementation time depends on the approach. Native theme blocks can be added in minutes, theme-level customization can take a few hours to days depending on complexity, and integrating a reviews and UGC platform typically takes a day for setup and customization plus time to import existing reviews.

Can I collect photo and video reviews on Shopify?

Yes. Modern reviews and UGC platforms support photo and video uploads in the review form. If you implement reviews manually, you’ll need to build a media upload flow and storage strategy.

Will reviews affect my SEO?

Yes. User-generated reviews add fresh, keyword-rich content and, when paired with proper structured data, can produce rich snippets in search results. Make sure review content is indexable and includes valid Product and AggregateRating schema.

How do I encourage customers to leave honest reviews?

Automate post-delivery requests, make submission fast, support media uploads, and offer unconditional rewards like loyalty points for the act of reviewing rather than for a specific sentiment.

For hands-on help setting up a reviews program that pairs with loyalty and UGC in a single retention suite, you can see how our reviews and UGC solution works and learn how loyalty can increase review submissions. If you’d like to walk through the setup with a specialist, see a demo of our retention approach and features.