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 forms) | Customers or added by you in admin |
| Storage | Trustie’s custom reviews table | WordPress custom post type (trustie_testimonial) |
| Moderation | Approve/reject queue | Full editorial control — edit, reorder, feature |
| Best for | Authentic, volume-based social proof | Hand-picked quotes for landing pages, home pages |
| Requires WooCommerce | Product reviews do, site reviews don’t | 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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Managing Testimonials
Adding a Testimonial
- Go to Trustie > Testimonials in your WordPress admin
- Click Add New
- 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 — e.g. “Email”, “Google”, “In person” (optional) |
| Featured Image | A photo of the customer (optional) |
- Click Publish
Editing and Organising
Testimonials use WordPress’s familiar post editor, so you can:
- Edit any testimonial’s 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
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. Check Trustie > Settings for external CPT mapping options.
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Displaying Testimonials
Grid or Slider (Shortcode)
Use the [trustie_testimonials] shortcode to display your testimonials on any page:
[trustie_testimonials]| Parameter | Type | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
limit | int | 10 | How many testimonials to show |
columns | int | 2 | Grid columns (1-4) |
layout | string | From Card Layout setting | grid, masonry, or list. Defaults to your global Card Layout (Settings > Layout); overrides it on this instance. list is a testimonial-specific stacked layout with no columns. |
show_rating | bool | true | Show star rating |
show_photo | bool | true | Show customer photo |
Examples:
Three-column masonry layout:
[trustie_testimonials layout="masonry" columns="3" limit="9"]Simple list without ratings:
[trustie_testimonials layout="list" show_rating="false"]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.
Submission Form (Shortcode)
Let visitors submit testimonials directly from your site:
[trustie_testimonial_form]This renders a form where visitors can write a testimonial, add their name, company, role, and a star rating. Submitted testimonials are saved as drafts — they won’t appear publicly until you review and publish them in the admin.
In the Floating Widget
Testimonials can appear in the floating review widget alongside your product reviews, site 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 [trustie_reviews_page] shortcode, testimonials get their own tab in the tabbed interface. Visitors can click between Product, Store, and Testimonials tabs to browse different types of social proof.
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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. For other formats, you can add them manually — or contact support and we can help with a bulk import.
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If Something’s Not Working
Testimonials not appearing on the page:
- Check that the testimonial is set to Published (not Draft) in the admin
- 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 — a theme or plugin conflict might be interfering
Testimonials tab missing from the reviews page:
- You need at least one published testimonial for the tab to appear
- Check that the
[trustie_reviews_page]shortcode isn’t filtering out testimonials with thetabsparameter
Still stuck? Drop us a line at support@tracksies.com and we’ll help you sort it out.