User Reviews Setup

Overview

User reviews extension adds a 5 star user rating and review system to the site, so users can rate/review each other. This document provides instructions on how to set up a User Reviews.

Contents

Settings #

Extension's settings #

Once the extension is activated, you will see a Reviews tab on wp-admin > Ultimate Member > Settings > Extensions. In this tab, you can find the following options:

  • Show user rating in members directory – If turned on the user rating (stats) is shown in member directories.
  • Review date format – Choose the format to display the date of the review.
  • Who can flag reviews – Choose who can flag reviews.
  • Enable review reply – Enable/disable the reply functionality.

Image - Settings on wp-admin > Ultimate Member > Settings > Extensions > Reviews.

Profile Menu settings #

The extension adds settings to the page wp-admin > Ultimate Member > Settings > Appearance > Profile Menu. These settings allow you to manage the Reviews item in the profile menu:

  • Reviews Tab – Allows enabling/disable "Reviews" item in the profile menu.
  • Who can see Reviews Tab? – Manage access to the "Reviews" tab in the profile menu.

Image - Settings on wp-admin > Ultimate Member > Settings > Appearance > Profile Menu.

Email settings #

The extension adds these email templates:

  • New Review - This setting enables an email notification to be sent to a user when someone writes a new review for them.
  • New Review is Pending - This setting enables an email notification to be sent to the site admin when a review is written by someone but its status is set to "Pending", meaning it needs approval before being displayed publicly.
  • New Reply - Sends an email notification to the reviewer when the user replies to the review they received, keeping them informed of any responses to their feedback.
  • Review is reported - This setting allows you to turn on or off the email notification for flagged reviews.
    • When enabled, administrators will receive an email notification whenever a user flags a review, indicating that the review may require your attention or moderation. This can help you stay informed about potentially inappropriate or problematic content on your site.

Administrators can edit email templates: enable, disable, change subject or body. Go to wp-admin > Ultimate Member > Settings > Email, find the needed email template and click the button "Manage" button. You'll see email template settings. Change what you want and save changes.

Image - Settings on wp-admin > Ultimate Member > Settings > Email.

Member Directory Settings #

This extension enhances the sorting options available in Ultimate Member's Member Directories settings. After activating the extension, you can configure the sorting of users in the member directory based on their ratings in wp-admin > Ultimate Member > Member Directories > Edit Member Directory> Sorting section>Default sort users by. The sorting options include:

  • Highest rated first: This setting arranges users in the member directory so that those with the highest ratings appear at the top of the list. This can help highlight users who are highly regarded by others.
  • Lowest rated first: Conversely, this setting arranges users so that those with the lowest ratings appear at the top. This can be useful for identifying users who may need improvement or attention.

These sorting options provide more flexibility in how you display and organize users in your member directory, allowing you to showcase top-rated users or address any issues with lower-rated users more effectively.

User Role permissions #

The extension adds a widget to the user role page so you can give each user role unique review/rating permissions

  • Can have user reviews tab? – If turned off user reviews will be disabled for this role.
  • Can review other members? – This option allows you to select if a role can review other members.
  • Can review these roles only – If a user role can review other members you can decide if the role can only review certain roles.
  • Automatically publish reviews from this role? – If turned off, reviews from this role will be pending admin review and not published automatically.
  • Can edit/remove their own reviews? – If turned off users with this role will not be able to delete their own reviews that they have left for other users.
  • Can edit/remove other reviews? – If turned on users with this role will be able to delete user reviews.

Image - Role permissions on wp-admin > Ultimate Member > User Roles > Edit User Role.

Manage reviews #

The extension adds an item User Reviews to the submenu wp-admin > Ultimate Member. This link will take you to the User Reviews page which lists all (approved, flagged, pending) user reviews. Administrators can edit all user reviews and change the review from approved to pending or vice versa.

Image - User Reviews on wp-admin > Ultimate Member > User Reviews.

Display user rating #

The extension includes the field User Rating. With this field you can display users rating in their profile header or anywhere else where the field can be added.

How to add User Rating into the profile header #

Go to wp-admin > Ultimate Member > Forms > Edit Form (profile) and add the User Rating field to the User Meta box.

Image - The box User Meta on wp-admin > Ultimate Member > Forms > Edit Form.

How to add User Rating into the profile form #

Go to wp-admin > Ultimate Member > Forms > Add or Edit Form (profile) and click the "+" button, then click User Rating in the Fields Manager. The field User Rating will be added to the form area

Image - User Rating is shown in the profile header and in the profile form.

How to remove User Rating from the member cards in the Member Directory #

The extension shows user rating in the member directories if the setting Show user rating in members directory is turned on.

Image - User Rating is shown in profile cards in the member directory.

You can disable user rating for a certain member directory. Go to wp-admin > Ultimate Member > Member Directories > Edit Member Directory and turn on the setting Hide rating stars in the Profile Card box, then click the Update button

Shortcodes #

The extension adds these shortcodes:

  • [ultimatemember_top_rated] - Display top rated reviews.
  • [ultimatemember_most_rated] - Display most rated reviews.
  • [ultimatemember_lowest_rated] - Display lowest rated reviews.

Read the article Reviews Shortcodes for details.

Extra settings for developers #

By default, each member can write a review to another member once. You may use the code below to allow multiple reviews:

add_filter( 'um_reviews_allow_multiple_reviews', '__return_true' );

You can add custom code to the end of the file functions.php in the active theme directory (recommended using the child theme). The functions.php is an important theme file, so each theme created for WordPress contains this file.

User interface #

Read reviews #

Members can view and manage their profile reviews in the profile tab Reviews. This tab displays two sections for the profile owner: 

  • a user rating overview, 
  • a list of user reviews.

Image - The  Reviews tab in profile.

Leave a review #

Members can not leave a review in their own profiles. A member should go to another member profile and look at the profile tab Reviews to leave a review. This tab displays three sections for the profile visitor: 

  • a user rating overview, 
  • a form to add a review, 
  • a list of user reviews.

Click the Write a review for this user in the form section to show a form.

Select rating (click a star), enter subject and review, then click the  Submit Review button.

Related Articles