Description

Init Review System adds a clean and customizable 5-star rating system to your WordPress site. Votes are stored via REST API, tracked with localStorage, and the average score is auto-calculated and optionally displayed with schema markup.

Built to be lightweight, developer-friendly, and easy to integrate into any theme or custom UI. Now with multi-criteria reviews and an emoji reactions system for richer user interaction.

This plugin is part of the Init Plugin Suite — a collection of minimalist, fast, and developer-focused tools for WordPress.

GitHub repository: https://github.com/brokensmile2103/init-review-system

Highlights:

5-star voting via frontend
NEW: Multi-criteria review support
NEW: Emoji Reactions with Login Enforcement
Average score display
Optional login requirement
Optional strict IP checking
REST API for vote submission
JSON-LD schema for SEO
Works with any post type
Minimal, theme-friendly UI

Features

5-star rating system
Multi-criteria review scoring (up to 5 custom criteria)
Emoji-based reactions bar with live counts (requires login)
REST API endpoint for reactions: /wp-json/initrsys/v1/reactions/toggle
Reactions stored in both post meta and dedicated userpost mapping table
Accessibility-ready with aria-pressed + aria-live updates
Shortcode-based integration
Auto-insert blocks before/after content or comments
Optional login + IP check to prevent abuse
REST API endpoint: /wp-json/initrsys/v1/vote
Developer filters and extensible architecture
No jQuery, only minimal assets loaded when needed

Usage

[init_review_system]

Displays interactive 5-star voting block.

Attributes:
– id: Post ID (default: current post)
– class: Custom CSS class
– schema: true|false – Output JSON-LD schema markup

[init_review_score]

Displays average score (read-only).

Attributes:
– id: Post ID (default: current post)
– icon: true|false – Show star icon (default: false)
– sub: true|false – Show /5 subtext (default: true)
– class: Custom CSS class
– hide_if_empty: true|false – Hide if no reviews (default: false)

[init_review_criteria]

Displays multi-criteria review block.

Attributes:
– id: Post ID (default: current post)
– class: Custom CSS class
– schema: true|false – Output schema markup (default: false)
– per_page: Number of reviews to show (default: 0 = all)
– paged: Current review page number (default: 1)

[init_reactions]

Displays emoji reactions bar under a post.

Attributes:
– id: Post ID (default: current post)
– class: Custom CSS class
– require_login: Always true (login required)

Filters for Developers

This plugin provides filters and actions to let developers customize auto-insert behavior, schema output, review permissions, and REST API logic.

init_plugin_suite_review_system_auto_insert_enabled_score
Enable or disable automatic score output (before/after content).
Applies to: Frontend filter
Params: bool $enabled, string $position, string $post_type

init_plugin_suite_review_system_auto_insert_enabled_vote
Enable or disable automatic voting block insertion.
Applies to: Frontend filter
Params: bool $enabled, string $position, string $post_type

init_plugin_suite_review_system_default_score_shortcode
Change the default shortcode used for score auto-insertion.
Applies to: Frontend
Params: string $shortcode

init_plugin_suite_review_system_default_vote_shortcode
Change the default shortcode used for voting block auto-insertion.
Applies to: Frontend
Params: string $shortcode

init_plugin_suite_review_system_require_login
Force login for submitting reviews, even if disabled in settings.
Applies to: REST /submit-criteria-review
Params: bool $require_login

init_plugin_suite_review_system_min_len_for_ws_check
Adjust minimum length threshold for triggering no-whitespace check.
Applies to: Backend + JS precheck
Params: int $threshold (default 20)

init_plugin_suite_review_system_repetition_threshold
Adjust repetition threshold for detecting excessive word repetition.
Applies to: Backend + JS precheck
Params: int $threshold (default 8)

init_plugin_suite_review_system_schema_type
Customize schema.org type (e.g., Book, Product, Course).
Applies to: Shortcode output
Params: string $type, string $post_type

init_plugin_suite_review_system_schema_data
Modify JSON-LD schema output array.
Applies to: Shortcode output
Params: array $data, int $post_id, string $schema_type

init_plugin_suite_review_system_after_vote
Run custom logic after a single-star vote is submitted.
Applies to: REST /vote
Params: int $post_id, float $score, float $avg_score, int $total_votes

init_plugin_suite_review_system_after_criteria_review
Trigger custom logic after a multi-criteria review is submitted.
Applies to: REST /submit-criteria-review
Params: int $post_id, int $user_id, float $avg_score, string $review_content, array $scores

init_plugin_suite_review_system_get_reaction_types
Customize available reaction types (labels + emojis).
Applies to: Reactions system
Params: array $types

init_plugin_suite_review_system_reaction_meta_key
Customize the meta key used for storing reaction counts.
Applies to: Reaction counts storage
Params: string $meta_key, string $rx_key

License

This plugin is licensed under the GPLv2 or later.
You are free to use, modify, and distribute it under the same license.

Screenshots

Plugin Settings Page – Configure general options like login requirement, IP restriction, auto-display position, and up to 5 custom criteria fields.
Single-Star Rating Display – Star-based rating shown on a post with average score and vote count.
Multi-Criteria Review Display – Frontend layout showing score breakdown per criteria and full user review content.
Reactions Bar – Emoji-based reactions under the post, showing total counts, current user reaction highlight, and requiring login to interact.

Installation

Upload plugin to /wp-content/plugins/
Activate via Plugins menu
Go to Settings > Init Review System to configure options

FAQ

Is login required to vote?: Not by default. You can enable it in plugin settings.
Does it support IP protection?: Yes. You can enable strict IP check to prevent duplicate votes.
Can I use this with custom post types?: Yes, it works with any post type that uses the_content() or comment_form().
Does it support multi-criteria reviews?: Yes. You can define up to 5 custom criteria and show them using the provided shortcode.
Does it support 10-star ratings?: No. The plugin currently supports only a 5-star scale.

Reviews

There are no reviews for this plugin.

Contributors & Developers

“Init Review System – Reactions, Multi-Criteria, Guest-Friendly” is open source software. The following people have contributed to this plugin.

Hao Nguyen

Translate “Init Review System – Reactions, Multi-Criteria, Guest-Friendly” into your language.

Interested in development?

Browse the code, check out the SVN repository, or subscribe to the development log by RSS.

Changelog

1.11 – November 5, 2025

Added User Review Fetching API
- New function init_plugin_suite_review_system_get_reviews_by_user_id()
- Supports pagination (paged, per_page) just like the post-based fetcher
- Automatically joins with wp_posts to exclude orphaned reviews
- Returns unserialized criteria_scores for direct UI rendering
Added Total Pages Counter for User Reviews
- New function init_plugin_suite_review_system_get_total_pages_by_user_id()
- Counts reviews belonging to a specific user (filtered by status)
- Returns the total number of pages (minimum value: 1 for UX consistency)
Performance and internal improvements:
- Consistent sanitization and safety (absint(), max(), typed values)
- All SQL queries use $wpdb->prepare() — no unbound parameters
- PHPCS/WPCS compliant and follows plugin prefix standard

1.10 – November 3, 2025

Added Admin Reset & Manual Score Adjustment Metabox
- Visible only when a post already has rating data
- New UI: compact stat chips showing Avg / Votes / Total (premium-style mini cards)
- Supports manual override: admin can set Average (0–5) and Vote Count
- Internal logic auto-calculates Total = Avg × Count (rounded to 2 decimals)
- All displayed values are fully escaped (esc_html() / esc_attr()) following PHPCS
- Metabox is registered per-post, not globally — zero UI clutter
Security and permissions:
- Only users with capability edit_others_posts (Editor+) can view or interact with the metabox
- save_post handler validates nonce + capability, protects against unauthorized POST submissions
- Input sanitized: sanitize_text_field( wp_unslash() ) before casting to float/int
UX improvements:
- No inline <style> tags — every style moved to inline attribute (WordPress admin standard)
- Metabox does not appear at all until the first vote exists (no “empty” box)

1.9 – October 31, 2025

Added Double-Click Confirmation Rating (anti-misclick mechanic)
- New setting: Require double-click to rate
- When enabled, users must click the same star twice to confirm rating
- First click enters pending state, visually marked with .hovering
- Second click submits rating and disables the block as usual
JavaScript improvements:
- New pending handler with auto-timeout (2.2s) — no accidental lock state
- .hovering class persists across mouseleave while pending
- Clean async state teardown ensures no ghost states
No UI popups, no alerts — rating confirmation is purely action-based
Zero breaking changes — existing rating logic untouched

1.8 – October 6, 2025

Updated function init_plugin_suite_review_system_get_reviews_by_post_id():
- When $post_id = 0, orphaned reviews are now automatically excluded (posts that no longer exist across all CPTs).
Shortcode [init_review_criteria] enhanced:
- Added new attribute paged to control review pagination.
- Internal call now passes $paged dynamically to init_plugin_suite_review_system_get_reviews_by_post_id().

1.7 – September 13, 2025

Added content moderation: banned words, banned phrases, no-whitespace, excessive repetition
New settings: enable JS precheck (optional), manage banned words/phrases in textarea fields
Improved modal UX: must rate all required criteria, inline error/success messages under submit button
JavaScript updated: i18n error mapping, client-side prechecks, red outline highlight for missing scores
CSS enhancements: .init-review-inline-msg for messages, .init-review-criteria-error for criteria validation (with dark mode support)

1.6 – September 2, 2025

Reactions endpoint /reactions/toggle now requires login: enforced is_user_logged_in() and nonce validation
Updated REST API registration: permission_callback for /reactions/toggle now only allows logged-in users
Shortcode [init_reactions] updated: require_login is always true, ensuring consistent frontend behavior
Improved JS logic:
- Removed guest/localStorage fallback (no more anonymous reactions)
- Preserved initial disabled state for buttons; guest users always see counts but cannot interact
- Fixed bug where guest buttons could be re-enabled after API calls
CSS adjustments: new .is-disabled style keeps emoji + counts fully visible, while visually indicating login requirement
Enhanced accessibility: reaction buttons now toggle aria-pressed accurately and support is-active state for current user reaction
Code cleanup: removed obsolete guest handling code paths and simplified state management

1.5 – September 1, 2025

Enhanced Reactions System with total reactions counter displayed under “What do you think?”
Added unique id for total counter span (irs-total-reactions-{post_id}) to support JS live updates
Updated JavaScript: total reaction count now updates instantly when users toggle reactions
Synced UIkit theme template with total reactions output for consistent frontend display
Added CSS styles for .init-reaction-total (font weight, spacing, responsive display)
Improved accessibility: total reactions wrapped with aria-live="polite" for screen reader updates
Minor code cleanups and consistency improvements

1.4 – August 31, 2025

Introduced Reactions System: emoji-based reactions (👍 😄 😍 😯 😠 😢)
Added shortcode + template for reactions bar
Reactions stored in both post meta (counts) and dedicated init_reactions table (userpost map)
Guest-friendly: works without login (tracked via localStorage)
Added developer filters:
- init_plugin_suite_review_system_get_reaction_types
- init_plugin_suite_review_system_reaction_meta_key
Internal refactor: extracted reaction-core functions, silent table creation with dbDelta()

1.3 – August 25, 2025

Restructured admin interface: moved from Settings submenu to dedicated main menu with star icon
Added comprehensive review management system with bulk operations and filtering capabilities
Implemented review approval workflow with pending/approved/rejected status management
Enhanced admin dashboard with review statistics, search functionality, and pagination
Added individual review actions: approve, reject, delete with proper nonce security
Integrated bulk actions for managing multiple reviews simultaneously
Created dedicated review management page with detailed review display and user information
Improved database queries with proper prepared statements and PHPCS compliance
Added admin-only review management scripts with proper enqueueing standards
Refined plugin architecture for better scalability and maintainability

1.2 – July 27, 2025

Standardized all output with esc_html(), esc_attr(), and wp_kses() for frontend safety
Secured REST API endpoint with enforced login + nonce validation for logged-in users
Added uninstall.php to clean up plugin options when uninstalled
Refined UI labels and descriptions on settings page
Improved shortcode documentation and attributes in readme.txt
Enhanced multi-criteria input layout for better clarity

1.1 – July 11, 2025

Added support for multi-criteria reviews
New shortcode for criteria-based score display
Separate logic and schema handling for criteria reviews
Improved review interface and modal UX
Refactored code to support both single and multi-criteria review paths

1.0 – June 28, 2025

Initial release
Shortcode [init_review_system] for 5-star voting block
Shortcode [init_review_score] for average score display
REST API endpoint /wp-json/initrsys/v1/vote with conditional login and nonce check
Vote tracking via localStorage for guest users
Optional login restriction + strict IP check using hashed IP + transient
JSON-LD schema output using AggregateRating
Auto-insert system: before/after post content or comment form
Admin settings page with shortcode builder and control toggles
Minimal, responsive, theme-inheriting design
Developer-friendly: filters, actions, and reusable helpers