As you are probably aware, Shopify has a huge app store with thousands of free and paid apps that extend the functionality of your store. I get that for new Shopify users this can seem daunting due to the different categories and wide range of choices – it can be difficult to know which apps are useful.
To help, I want to explain one of the best app types on Shopify – customer reviews. Adding reviews to Shopify is a great starting point and there is even a free app available – Shopify Product Reviews. This allows you to get validation for your products and build a bond of trust with new potential customers.
Why are Customer Reviews Important for Your Online Store?
It may seem obvious that adding customer reviews to your Shopify store is a wise idea, but why exactly is it? What’s the point and what benefits can this bring?
- Provide social proof so customers are more willing to make a purchase.
- Helps you see where your products need improvements.
- Great for Shopify SEO and customer engagement.
The main benefit is social proof. This is based on the premise that people are far more likely to make a purchase if they can see a positive review from a real person who has bought the product. I know this works as any time I buy something from Amazon I always check the reviews!
Aside from social proof, reviews are a way to gauge your product’s effectiveness too. You can look at what customers love about your product and build on this success. But you can also look at any negative reviews or suggestions to make improvements.
Shopify SEO consultants can also utilize customer data like this to further improve your SEO marketing strategies.
How to Add the Shopify Product Reviews App
Adding reviews to Shopify can vary depending on the app you use but for this example, I am using the free Shopify Product Reviews app. This is available to everyone and it’s a good starting point to add social proof to your store.
Step 1 - Install Shopify Product Reviews
First, you must find the customer review app in the Shopify App Store. Once you have found the page there should be an “add app” button.
Click this and it should take you to the Shopify login page to log on to your online store. You can also access the app store directly on your dashboard by clicking on “apps” on the left-hand menu. Either way, follow the installation instructions – the Product Reviews app should then display on your Shopify dashboard.
Step 2 - Add reviews to your product pages
You now have to add a review section to your products – to do this we have to edit the underlying theme of your Shopify store. Click on: Online Store > Themes > Customize, and select your main store theme to edit.
Within the theme settings there should be a sub-menu for products – click on this and it should show a list of options on the left-hand side including the current sections you have. Click on “add section” and select either the “reviews” or “star rating” option depending on which type of customer review you want and click save.
Step 3 - Customize the review section
Step 2 has added a review block to your product pages but you can now go one step further and customize how the reviews appear.
I advise doing this so that the reviews fit nicely with the schema, style, and layout of your Shopify store and don’t just look tacked on.
To edit the customer review style simply click on it from the product menu of your theme editor and this should show the different things you can change. You can edit parameters like the review alignment, text size, and star color for example.
Step 4 - Preview and finalize
Whenever you add a new feature or app to your store it’s important to preview the changes before publishing! This can save time and effort in making corrections or realizing days later that you have done something wrong.
Once you are happy with the layout and style of the review block, finalize and save the changes, and you are good to go!
Alternatives to Shopify Product Reviews App
The Shopify Product Reviews app is a brilliant starting point for new stores as it is free, easy to use, and has a decent level of customization. However, it does have its limitations and there is certainly a range of better product review apps available too including:
- Stamped Product Reviews & UGC
- Eputon Customer Reviews App
- Automizely Product Reviews
- Fera Product Reviews App
- Loox Product Reviews & Photos
These apps all have an excellent customer rating of 4.5 or greater out of 5 and have been used by thousands of Shopify users.
Loox Product Reviews & Photos, for example, is an incredibly popular option and allows you to go far beyond simple text reviews by adding social proof like video and photo reviews. You can also send out review request emails and integrate them with Google Shopping and other tools.
Give Your Customers Assurance By Adding Feedback to Your Online Store
Once you have set up your basic store, customized your theme, and added your products, adding reviews to Shopify is one of the next logical steps. If people visiting your store can read glowing customer reviews they are far more likely to buy your products and be assured of the quality.
Customer feedback is also vital for growth as you can see what aspects of your products people like, and where you could make improvements.
