Did you know that over 95% of people base their shopping decisions on online reviews? As such, this is the most significant factor that influences a customer’s decision as to whether or not they should buy your product.
Whether it is online shopping or purchasing from a physical store, the first step is often a quick internet search. It will reveal information not only about the quality of the product but also the user experience offered by your business.
In fact, consumer reports suggest that a product with over five reviews is likely to have a 270% higher purchase likelihood than a product with no reviews at all. The statistics speak for themselves.
In the era of online shopping, you can no longer afford to neglect the significance of having raving reviews on your site. An array of positive customer feedback can increase sales exponentially by creating trust. On the other hand, a lack of testimonials might even be a red flag for a potential customer.
So how do you make the best of this feature for your website? You already know the answer to this. Of course, there is a plugin specifically for that purpose.
Today, we will introduce you to the review management tool TrustIndex. The plugin can help you showcase the best reviews on your website – through attractive designs that can instantly catch the attention of your visitors.
What is TrustIndex?
TrustIndex is a premium plugin that can help you to embed reviews on your site effortlessly. The platform was launched in late 2018, and at the time, you could only feature Facebook reviews.
Since then, the plugin has evolved to collect and feature reviews from over 17 platforms, including Google, Facebook, Yelp, TrustPilot, TrustIndex, Hotel.com, Szallas.hu, Árukereső.hu, and more.
The plugin integrates with almost every review site on a wide range of niches. So no matter what your business is involved in, you should be able to find and feature the relevant reviews.
Most importantly, unlike the majority of plugins in this space, TrustIndex is not limited to WordPress alone, On the contrary, you can use the plugin on Shopify, Magento, Wix, Weebly, and almost all prominent CMS platforms available today.
TrustIndex has widget designs with 13 different layouts and 9 preloaded styles for you to choose from. The plugin will automatically update the reviews from these platforms on a daily basis, so your website will always remain up-to-date.
TrustIndex Features
TrustIndex offers a range of notable features, which we uncover in more detail below.
Custom Widgets
Choose how to display reviews on your site from a range of different options. You can choose to include sliders in dark or light mode, with or without badges.
TrustIndex also allows you to shorten long reviews in order to present the gist of the respective testimonial to your potential customers. You can also edit the widgets to choose which order these reviews should be displayed.
Filter Reviews
Decide which reviews are featured based on their star rating. You can choose to hide negative ratings or ones with less than five stars.
Combine Platforms
Mix reviews from different platforms and showcase them in one review widget. You can also create a summary page to show all reviews from several platforms at once.
Collect and Manage Reviews
Use the review invitation system to create a database of reviews from different platforms. You can also initiate email notifications so you will be alerted every time you get feedback. This will help you to stay on top of things and ensure you engage with customers at all times.
Verify Reviews
Want to leave the review-bots at the doorstep? TrustIndex will verify all reviews and ensure that you only feature legitimate ones.
Use Domains to Organize Reviews
If you have more than one service on your website, you can also assign different domains for each category. This will be accompanied by a tag, and you can filter out which type of reviews will be displayed on specific pages.
This will also help you to choose the right review platforms to connect with. For instance, if you are renting a room, then you want to feature Booking.com or Airbnb reviews primarily.
This feature is useful in keeping your database and reviews organized, so you can easily find the ones you are looking for to feature in the widget.
How to Set up Widgets with TrustIndex
TrustIndex comes with a full set-up guide that will help you navigate the interface and configure the settings. Once you install the plugin, you can activate it by signing into your TrustIndex account.
Add the Platforms
The next step is to add all the review platforms and connect your account to set up the source of reviews.
Create the Widget
If you are using the set-up guide, you will be redirected to create your widgets directly. If not, you can find the page under the Widget Configurator button on the left side of the dashboard.
The first step is to pick the layout of the widget. You can go with a template that best suits the theme and style of your website.
Configure the Widget
TrustIndex comes with the option to filter only the reviews you want. You can choose to show all reviews or ones with four or five stars. Here, you can also assign your widgets tag filter for easy sorting.
Under the reviews section, you will be able to choose the source and specify the number of characters of each review. The plugin will also let you decide whether you want to arrange the reviews in order of date or ratings.
Further options for customization include the colour theme, language, option to display the reviewer’s photo, and more. Depending on the plan you have chosen, you can also set different refresh rates for your reviews.
You should be able to see a preview of how the widget looks in the current settings. Once you have configured everything, make sure you assign a name to the widget and save it.
Embed your Widget
When you save the widget, the plugin will generate a Javascript shortcode. You only need to copy and paste this to the desired position on your webpage. And voila – your review widget is up and fully-functioning.
Collect Reviews With Email Campaigns
TrustIndex also has an in-built functionality that allows you to request reviews from your users. You can access the Collect Real Customer Reviews button directly from the dashboard and proceed to add a campaign to create a new email promotion.
Here, TrustIndex gives you the option to choose one of their email templates, or you can craft the content of the email yourself.
If you have already connected your account with TrustIndex, then you can automate this process. The plugin will import your email contacts every time your visitor signs up or completes a purchase on your website.
You can also manually copy-paste the subscription list here. If you are happy with the email, you can proceed to send it or schedule it for a later date and time.
Create Email Signatures
An email signature is a nice touch that can encourage your customers to review your site. Using TrustIndex, now you can create your exclusive email signature to accompany all your collection emails.
You can include your personal and contact details, and see how the signature will look in the live preview. Similar to the widget, TrustIndex will generate a shortcode that you can paste into the email software.
If the software supports the rich-text format, that is also available from within the plugin.
TrustIndex Pricing
TrustIndex offers a variety of pricing options – which we discuss in more detail below.
Forever Free Version for WordPress
TrustIndex offers a separate free review plugin for WordPress users. But, the catch is that you can use only it to source reviews from one platform.
Furthermore, you can display only 5 reviews, and get access only to limited design templates. If you need to source reviews from multiple platforms, you are best off choosing one of the paid plans listed below.
Single Plan at $65 per year
For a single website
Pro Plan at $125 per year
For five websites
Ultimate at $349 per year
For an unlimited number of websites
All three packages will give you full access to all functionalities of the plugin.
In summary, you can
- Integrate and display reviews from 17 platforms
- Work with predesigned layouts and designs.
- Get alerts for new reviews
- Manage your reviews
- Filter and hide negative reviews
- Display verified reviews
Each plan is also accompanied by a 7-day trial period, so you can try out the features without having to provide your credit card information. Once you subscribe, TrustIndex also offers a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Note: There is another prominent distinction between the free and paid packages. The background system of TrustIndex will update reviews several times in a day in the paid-for plans. You also get to choose the refresh rate in the widget settings. On the other hand, a free account will only download new reviews once a day.
If you are impressed with the plugin, you can also upgrade your plan by paying the difference.
TrustIndex Support
Given that offering excellent customer support can indeed boost your reviews, TrustIndex encourages you to reach out to the team in case of any required assistance. However, you can only message them through the contact form or by sending an email.
The website also has a blog section, which covers manuals on setting up the plugin and its configuration. There is also a demo that gives you previews of how the widgets might look on your site.
TrustIndex Pros
Here’s what we like about TrustIndex
No Coding Required
As we uncovered earlier, it is straightforward to set up the plugin. You do not need to manually program the widgets onto your site. Instead, the plugin will automatically load your reviews, without you having to tweak or update the underlying code.
Integration with Multiple Platforms
Another significant advantage is that the plugin is not restricted to WordPress alone. Not only this, instead of having to install a different platform for each review source, TrustIndex can handle the entire review management system for you.
Numerous Widget Styles
You have full control over how the widgets look. This includes its design and how the reviews are displayed. The customization adds to the functionality of the plugin.
Easy Review Management
As you can see all of your reviews from multiple platforms in one place, it is easy to organize and handle them. You also get to decide which reviews to feature, and which not. The review-collection email campaign is another useful feature for business owners.
Affordable Pricing
The pricing model offered by TrustIndex is highly affordable for single-site owners. You also do not have to compromise between features and can choose a plan that fits your needs.
TrustIndex Cons
Here’s what we don’t like about TrustIndex.
No Review Form
Being a review management software, there is no way to collect reviews through TrustIndex directly. If you need customers to leave a review on your website, you’ll need another plugin.
No Option to add Images
Some customers include images to their reviews, adding to the authenticity of their feedback. TrustIndex does not come with the option to embed any media to its widgets.
TrustIndex Review: The Verdict?
TrustIndex boasts that the plugin has helped its clients attain 17.7% growth by displaying reviews. It is true that when it comes to embedding reviews, TrustIndex does more than a decent job.
It gives you the means to combine and showcase reviews from all platforms. In fact, there are no other plugins that can help you manage all these review sources at once. This puts TrustIndex at the forefront in the space.
Its widgets and variety of customization features only adds to the plugin’s attractiveness. In simple words – what it does, it does very well.
However, there is a lot of growth potential for TrustIndex. If the plugin can integrate its features to collect reviews right through the website, then it would offer a much better package.
The review email campaigns are a good place to start, and we can hope that the feature will be polished and refined to a better version.
For now, there is no other plugin that can help you embed these many review sources at once. As such, it’s well worth giving TrustIndex a go via its 7-day trial. If you find that the plugin is not for you, then you’ve got nothing to lose.
TrustIndex
Pros
- No Coding Required
- Integration with Multiple Platforms
- Numerous Display Widget Styles
- Easy Review Management
- Affordable Pricing
Cons
- No Way to Collect Reviews on-site
- No Option to add Images in reviews
