Short answer: Install a reviews app from the Shopify App Store, add its review widget to your product page in the theme editor, and switch on automatic review requests. Shopify has retired its own free Product Reviews app, so every store now needs a third-party app. On most client stores we install Judge.me.
Adding the reviews section to a Shopify store takes about half an hour. Getting customers to write reviews takes longer, and it depends more on your customer support than on the app. This guide covers both: the setup, and what we do on client stores to get reviews, including photo and video reviews.
Shopify’s own Product Reviews app is gone
Older guides, including the earlier version of this one, tell you to install the free “Product Reviews” app made by Shopify. Shopify has retired that app. You cannot install it any more, so you need a reviews app from another developer.
The reviews app we install
We use Judge.me on most client stores, and similar apps where a store needs something different. These are the reasons, taken from its Shopify App Store listing on 10 October 2026:
- The free plan covers unlimited product and store reviews, including photo and video reviews.
- The free plan includes the review widget, the star rating badge, carousels and Google rich snippets.
- It can import reviews from other review apps and from Amazon, Etsy and AliExpress.
- The paid plan costs $15 a month. It adds questions and answers, coupons for reviewers, Google Shopping, more widgets and control over the email design.
- It is rated 5.0 from more than 48,000 reviews on the App Store.
If you want to compare it with Loox, Yotpo and others first, see our comparison of Shopify review apps.
How to add reviews to your Shopify store
Step 1: Install the app
Open the Judge.me listing on the Shopify App Store, click Install and approve it in your Shopify admin. Start on the free plan. You can move to the paid plan later if you need its features.
Step 2: Add the review widget to your product page
In your Shopify admin, go to Online Store, then Themes, and click Customize on your live theme. Open the product page template. In the product section click Add block, choose the Apps tab and pick the review widget. Add the star rating badge the same way and drag it under the product title. Save.
Step 3: Switch on automatic review requests
This is the step that brings in most reviews. Judge.me can send a review request by itself after an order is fulfilled or delivered. Set it to go out after delivery, so the customer has the product in hand when the message arrives. Requests can go by email, and the app also supports SMS and push notifications.
Step 4: Import the reviews you already have
If you are moving from another reviews app, or you sell the same products on Amazon or Etsy, import those reviews so your product pages do not start from zero.
Step 5: Show reviews in more places
Add a review carousel to your home page from the same Add block menu. Check that rich snippets are on, so your star ratings can appear in Google search results.
If you get fewer than 10 orders a day, ask each customer yourself
How you ask depends on the size of the store. A store with few orders does not need automation first. It needs reviews, and the quickest way to get them is to write to every customer personally once the order is delivered.
In India, send the message on WhatsApp, because customers here prefer it. Elsewhere, a short personal email does the same job. Something like this is enough:
Hi Priya, your order was delivered today. I hope you like it. If you were happy with the delivery and the product, please share your feedback here: [your review link]
Below 10 orders a day this is very doable, and you get something an automatic email does not give you: customers reply, and you hear what they liked and what went wrong. Once the orders are more than you can message by hand, switch on the automatic requests from step 3.
Put a review card in the parcel
Photo and video reviews sell more than text, and they are harder to get. What we tell store owners to do is put a small card in every parcel. The card has a QR code that opens the review form and an offer on the next order: 5% off for a review, 10% for a photo review and 20% for a video review.
Do not count this discount as a cost. Count it as marketing. A customer’s video keeps helping you sell for as long as it stays on the product page, and the customer has to come back to your store to use the discount. Work out what it costs you, then offer it to every customer.
Make the job easy for the customer: scan, upload, done. Judge.me can create the QR code for one product or for the whole store. You can also let customers send the photo or video on WhatsApp and add it to the site yourself, with their permission.
Give the discount for any honest review, whatever the rating. A reward for five stars only makes your reviews dishonest, and shoppers can tell.
How we get more reviews for client stores
The app only sends the request. Whether the customer writes anything depends on how they were treated. This is the routine we follow:
- Reply fast. We put a chat app on the store. We also answer customers in Instagram and Facebook messages, because that is where many of them ask.
- Solve the problem properly. A customer who got quick, useful help is the one most likely to leave a review.
- Ask when the customer is happy. Once a customer says they are happy with the support, we ask them for a review in that same conversation.
- Let the automatic request cover the rest. Customers who never contacted support still get the review request after delivery.
Stores that wait for reviews to arrive get very few. The stores that collect them are proactive with support and ask at the right moment.
Where to put the stars and the reviews
Put the star rating at the top of the product page, near the title. The full reviews do not need to be up front. They are for shoppers who are still unsure and want to read what other buyers say, and those shoppers will scroll to find them.
Three things we have learnt on client stores:
- Never show “No reviews yet”. One store we worked on had that line where the stars should be, and we found it was hurting conversion a lot. Show the star rating only on products that have reviews.
- Keep the numbers believable. If your page says 735 reviews, shoppers expect to find 735 reviews somewhere on your site. Do not show a number you cannot back up.
- A few real reviews are enough to start. Even two or three good reviews change how a product page feels. Until you have them, other proof also works: testimonials, a guarantee, cash on delivery.
How long it takes
Reviews take time. It usually takes three to six months to get good reviews on most of your products. To start faster, ask friends and family to buy the product, use it and write what they honestly think, with good photographs.
Read every review as feedback as well. When reviews point to a problem with the product or the delivery, fix it, and the reviews that come after will be better.
What to check after setup
- Place a test order and confirm the review request arrives after delivery, not before.
- Open a product page on your phone and check that the stars and the review widget show.
- Reply to reviews, including the unhappy ones. Other shoppers read the replies.
Want the reviews, chat support and product pages set up for you? See our Shopify CRO service.