Curate and display standout customer quotes alongside your reviews, with full control over what appears and how.
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Testimonials vs Reviews
Reviews are submitted by customers and go through moderation. Testimonials are a separate, curated system where you have complete editorial control.
| Reviews | Testimonials | |
|---|---|---|
| Submitted by | Customers (via product pages) | Customers via a public form, or added by you in admin |
| Storage | WordPress comments (comment_type=review) | WordPress custom post type (trustie_testimonial) |
| Moderation | Approve / hold queue | Pending / Published with optional auto-approval rule |
| Best for | Authentic, volume-based product feedback | Hand-picked quotes for landing pages, home pages |
| Requires WooCommerce | Yes | No |
Think of reviews as the raw, authentic voice of your customers. Testimonials are the highlight reel: the best quotes you want front and centre.
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Where to find them
Everything testimonial-related lives at Tracksies → Trustie → Settings → Testimonials. That tab has three sub-tabs:
- Settings: storage configuration (built-in CPT or map to an external one), submission-form options, consent text, auto-approval threshold.
- Testimonials List: paginated list of every testimonial (any status) with author, excerpt, rating, status badge (Published / Pending / Draft), date, and an Edit link. Includes an Add New Testimonial button.
- Moderation: paginated list filtered to testimonials awaiting approval. Same row format and Edit links; an empty state when nothing is pending.
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Adding a testimonial
- Go to Tracksies → Trustie → Settings → Testimonials → Testimonials List.
- Click Add New Testimonial.
- Fill in the details:
| Field | What It Is |
|---|---|
| Content | The testimonial text, the customer’s quote |
| Author Name | Who said it |
| Rating | Star rating (1-5, optional) |
| Company | The customer’s company or business (optional) |
| Role | Their role or title (optional) |
| Source | Where the testimonial came from, for example “Email”, “Google” or “In person” (optional) |
| Featured Image | A photo of the customer (optional) |
- Click Publish.
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Editing and organising
From the Testimonials List sub-tab, click Edit on any row to open the WordPress post editor:
- Edit content, author, or metadata at any time
- Draft testimonials you’re not ready to publish yet
- Trash ones you no longer want to display
- Reorder by changing the published date or using a menu order plugin
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Moderation workflow
When customers submit testimonials via [trustie_testimonial_form], they save as Pending and are not displayed publicly. To review them:
- Open Tracksies → Trustie → Settings → Testimonials → Moderation.
- Click Edit on a row to read the full submission, change the status to Published (or Trash), and save.
- The testimonial appears in your shortcodes, floating widget, and reviews page once published.
The auto-approval rule in the Settings sub-tab can publish higher-rated submissions automatically, leaving only lower-rated or no-rating ones in the Moderation queue.
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External CPT support
Already have testimonials from another plugin stored as a different custom post type? Trustie can map to existing testimonial CPTs so you don’t have to re-enter everything. Configure under Settings → Testimonials → Settings sub-tab.
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Displaying testimonials
Grid, masonry, or list (shortcode)
Use the [trustie_testimonials] shortcode to display testimonials on any page:
[trustie_testimonials]| Parameter | Type | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
limit | int | 10 | How many testimonials to show |
columns | int | From Card Columns setting | Grid columns (1-4). Per-shortcode override. |
layout | string | From Card Layout setting | grid, masonry, or list. |
show_rating | yes / no | yes | Show star rating |
show_photo | yes / no | yes | Show customer photo |
Examples:
There are two shortcuts as well: [trustie_testimonial_slider] for an auto-advancing carousel, and [trustie_testimonial_grid] for the grid layout without having to pass layout="grid".
Three-column masonry:
[trustie_testimonials layout="masonry" columns="3" limit="9"]Simple list without ratings:
[trustie_testimonials layout="list" show_rating="no"]Use yes and no, not true and false. These two attributes are matched against the exact word yes, so show_rating="true" switches the rating OFF rather than on, which is the opposite of what it looks like.
Testimonial cards display the quote, the author’s name, their company and role (if provided), and a star rating. If you’ve added a featured image, it appears as a circular avatar beside the author name. Column counts respect the per-screen-size settings under Display Settings → Card Columns (Desktop / Tablet / Phone).
Submission form (shortcode)
Let visitors submit testimonials directly from your site:
[trustie_testimonial_form]Submitted testimonials are saved as Pending and won’t appear publicly until you review them in the Moderation sub-tab (or until they meet your auto-approval rule).
In the floating widget
Testimonials can appear in the floating review widget alongside your product reviews and Google reviews. When testimonials are published and the widget is enabled, they’re included in the widget’s content rotation.
On the reviews page
If you’re using the
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Practical tips
Keep testimonials concise. A punchy two-sentence quote is more powerful than a three-paragraph essay. If a customer sends you a long email of praise, pull out the best line and use that.
Include company and role when possible. “Sarah M., Marketing Director at Bloom Studio” carries more weight than “Sarah M.”, especially for B2B businesses.
Mix your sources. Testimonials from email, social media, and in-person conversations all count. Use the Source field to track where each one came from.
Refresh regularly. A testimonials section with quotes from 2022 looks stale. Add new ones as they come in and retire older ones to keep things current.
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Common questions
Can customers edit their testimonials after submitting?
No. Once submitted, testimonials are managed entirely by you in the admin. If a customer wants to change their testimonial, they’d contact you and you can edit it directly.
Do testimonials affect my star rating?
Testimonials have their own star ratings, but they’re separate from your product and site review averages. They don’t inflate (or deflate) your product ratings.
Can I import testimonials from another plugin?
If your existing testimonials are stored as a WordPress custom post type, Trustie can map to that CPT via the Settings sub-tab. For other formats, you can add them manually.
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If something’s not working
Testimonials not appearing on the page:
- Check that the testimonial is set to Published (not Pending or Draft) in the Testimonials List sub-tab
- Make sure the shortcode is correct:
[trustie_testimonials] - Clear any page cache
Submission form not showing:
- Verify you’re using
[trustie_testimonial_form](not the review form shortcode) - Check for JavaScript errors in your browser console, because a theme or plugin conflict might be interfering
Still stuck? Drop us a line at support@tracksies.com and we’ll help you sort it out.