=== Vouch Rate Reviews ===
Contributors: vouchrate
Tags: reviews, testimonials, woocommerce, star rating, trust badge
Requires at least: 6.5
Tested up to: 7.1
Requires PHP: 8.1
Stable tag: 2.0.0
License: GPLv2 or later
License URI: https://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-2.0.html

Show verified Vouch Rate reviews anywhere on your site, and invite every customer from WooCommerce, Easy Digital Downloads or your own code.

== Description ==

[Vouch Rate](https://www.vouchrate.com) is an independent review platform. Every verification badge is backed by evidence a reader can inspect, and no business can pay to hide, reorder or remove a review.

This plugin brings your Vouch Rate profile onto your own site, and — if you sell through WordPress — makes the reviews you collect as strong as a review can be.

= Show your reviews, on any WordPress site =

WooCommerce is not required.

* **Rating badge** — your rating, stars and review count, in three layouts: badge, inline and card with the star breakdown and Evidence Score.
* **Latest reviews** — your newest reviews as a list or grid, with verification labels and your replies.
* **Review button** — sends customers straight to your review page.
* **Widgets** — any widget you design in your Vouch Rate dashboard: star rating, trust badge, carousel, grid, list, review wall and more. They load in a sandboxed frame, so a theme cannot change what they say.
* **Floating badge** — a small rating badge in the corner of every page, with position, phone and per-page controls.
* **Blocks for the block editor**, shortcodes for classic pages, widget areas and page builders (Elementor, Divi, Beaver Builder and others).
* **Dashboard summary** — your rating, Evidence Score and latest reviews on the WordPress dashboard, with a note on reviews you have not replied to.

= Collect verified reviews =

When an order completes, the plugin records it on Vouch Rate and invites the customer after a delay you choose. A review from that customer then carries a **Verified Experience** badge confirmed against your own store — not merely your say-so.

* **WooCommerce** — trigger on Completed or Processing, a status column on the orders screen, a "Send to Vouch Rate" order action, an optional permission checkbox at checkout (classic checkout and the Checkout block), an optional "review us" link in the completed-order email, and a tool to record past orders without inviting anyone. Compatible with High-Performance Order Storage.
* **Easy Digital Downloads** — completed purchases are recorded and customers invited.
* **Manual invites** — for jobs, bookings and invoices paid outside your shop.
* **Your own code** — `vouchrate_record_experience()` for booking, membership and form plugins.
* **Automatic retries** — anything that fails because of a network or server problem is retried with back-off for about two days.

= Connect in one click =

Click **Connect with Vouch Rate**, approve the site on vouchrate.com, and you are done. There is no key to copy. The plugin shows your plan and exactly what it includes, and updates when your plan changes.

= What depends on your Vouch Rate plan =

Everything built into this plugin works on every plan, including Free, and nothing in the plugin is locked. Some tools run on Vouch Rate's own servers and are part of paid plans; the plugin reads your plan and says what is included:

* **Every plan** — rating badge, latest reviews, review button, dashboard summary, and the star rating and trust badge widgets.
* **Starter** — every widget design, including the carousel, review wall and floating badge.
* **Professional** — recording orders and sending review invitations (WooCommerce, Easy Digital Downloads, manual and custom code).
* **Business** — invitations attributed to branches and staff, and webhooks for instant updates.

See [vouchrate.com/pricing](https://www.vouchrate.com/pricing).

= What it will not do =

It cannot invite only the customers you expect to be happy, hide a review, show only positive reviews, or change your rating. Every eligible customer receives the same invitation. That constraint is the reason the rating is worth displaying at all.

= For developers =

* `vouchrate_record_experience( array $args )` — record a dealing and optionally invite the customer.
* `vouchrate_get_rating( string $business = '' )` — a business's cached public rating.
* Filters: `vouchrate_experience_payload`, `vouchrate_invitation_payload`, `vouchrate_capability`, `vouchrate_show_floating_badge`, `vouchrate_base_url`.
* Actions: `vouchrate_record_experience`, `vouchrate_experience_recorded`, `vouchrate_invitation_sent`, `vouchrate_job_finished`, `vouchrate_webhook_received`, `vouchrate_webhook_{event}`.
* Constants: `VOUCHRATE_API_KEY` to keep the key in wp-config.php, `VOUCHRATE_BASE_URL` for a staging server.
* WP-CLI: `wp vouchrate status`, `wp vouchrate refresh`, `wp vouchrate queue [list|run|clear]`, `wp vouchrate backfill --days=30`.

== Installation ==

1. Install and activate the plugin.
2. Open **Vouch Rate** in the admin menu and click **Connect with Vouch Rate**.
3. Sign in to Vouch Rate, choose your business and approve the site.
4. Add the Vouch Rate blocks or shortcodes where you want your reviews to appear.
5. To collect reviews, open **Vouch Rate → Collection** and turn collection on.

Don't have a Vouch Rate profile yet? [Claim or add your business](https://www.vouchrate.com/for-businesses/claim) — it is free.

== Frequently Asked Questions ==

= Do I need WooCommerce? =

No. Showing your reviews, widgets and the rating badge works on any WordPress site. WooCommerce or Easy Digital Downloads is only needed to record orders automatically, and manual invites work without either.

= Do I need a paid plan? =

No. Your profile, reviews and Evidence Score are free and stay published whether or not you subscribe, and everything built into the plugin works on the Free plan. Recording orders and sending invitations are part of the Professional plan and above, because they run on Vouch Rate's servers.

= Where are the settings? =

In the **Vouch Rate** menu in wp-admin: Overview, Display, Collection, Settings and Activity.

= Can I choose which customers are invited? =

You can ask for permission at checkout and only invite customers who agree. You cannot choose customers by how satisfied you expect them to be.

= Why doesn't it add star ratings to Google results? =

Google does not show review stars for reviews a business collects about itself and marks up on its own website, and adding that markup anyway can lead to a manual action against the site. Your stars can appear in search results for your Vouch Rate profile instead.

= Will it slow my site or checkout down? =

No. Ratings and reviews are cached (30 minutes by default), widgets load asynchronously, and order hooks run after the order is placed and never block the customer. If Vouch Rate cannot be reached, orders are queued and retried.

= What happens if I cancel my plan? =

Collection switches off and the plugin tells you why. Your profile, every review on it and the displays on your site keep working.

= What happens when I uninstall? =

Scheduled tasks are removed. Settings and the key are deleted too if you ticked that option under Vouch Rate → Settings → Advanced. Your reviews on Vouch Rate are never affected.

== External services ==

This plugin connects to **Vouch Rate** (https://www.vouchrate.com), a review platform operated by Vouch Rate Limited, a company registered in England and Wales. The service is what the plugin exists for: without it there are no reviews to show and nowhere to collect them.

It contacts Vouch Rate in these situations, and only these:

* **When you click Connect.** Your browser goes to vouchrate.com with this site's address, its name and a random security code. After you approve, this site's server sends the one-time code and the site's address to Vouch Rate and receives an API key.
* **When you use the Vouch Rate admin screens**, and at most every six hours after that, this site's server requests your plan, businesses and widgets. It sends the API key and the site's address.
* **When a page shows the rating badge, latest reviews or the dashboard summary**, this site's server requests the business's public rating and reviews. It sends the business's profile name. Responses are cached.
* **When a page shows a widget or the floating badge**, the visitor's browser loads https://www.vouchrate.com/widget.js and a frame from vouchrate.com. As with any embedded content, Vouch Rate receives the visitor's IP address, browser details and the page address.
* **Only if you turn on collection or send a manual invite:** when an order completes, this site's server sends the customer's name, email address, order number, order total and currency, the order date and the names, SKUs and quantities of the items bought. Vouch Rate records the purchase so a review from that customer can be verified, and may email the customer an invitation to review their experience.
* **Only if you set up webhooks:** Vouch Rate sends events such as "review published" to this site's REST API.

Vouch Rate terms of service: https://www.vouchrate.com/legal/terms
Vouch Rate privacy policy: https://www.vouchrate.com/legal/privacy

The plugin adds suggested wording to the WordPress privacy policy guide (Settings → Privacy) covering the data above.

== Screenshots ==

1. The Overview screen: your business, plan and what it includes.
2. The Display screen: widgets, the floating badge and shortcodes.
3. The rating badge, card and latest reviews on a site.
4. Collection: WooCommerce and Easy Digital Downloads settings, manual invites and the retry queue.
5. The Vouch Rate status column on the WooCommerce orders screen.
6. Connecting a site on vouchrate.com.

== Changelog ==

= 2.0.0 =
* New: its own Vouch Rate menu with Overview, Display, Collection, Settings and Activity. WooCommerce is no longer required.
* New: one-click Connect — no API key to copy.
* New: shows your plan and what it includes, and updates when it changes.
* New: rating badge, latest reviews and review button blocks and shortcodes.
* New: floating badge with position, phone and per-page controls.
* New: widget picker in the block editor.
* New: Easy Digital Downloads, manual invites and `vouchrate_record_experience()`.
* New: automatic retries, a status column and order action on WooCommerce orders, checkout permission checkbox, completed-order email link and recording past orders.
* New: webhook receiver, dashboard summary, activity log, privacy policy text and WP-CLI commands.
* Your existing key, profile, widget and collection settings carry over.

= 1.0.0 =
* Order-triggered experiences and invitations.
* Gutenberg block and shortcode.
* Connection test in settings.

== Upgrade Notice ==

= 2.0.0 =
Settings move to their own Vouch Rate menu and WooCommerce is no longer required. Your existing key and settings are kept.
