Embed a review widget
How do I show my reviews on my website?
A review widget is a small piece of code you paste into your website. Synup keeps it updated, so new reviews appear without you touching the page again.
Open Reviews → Widgets for a location, create or pick a widget, and copy its embed code.
Key facts
| Where it lives | Reviews → Widgets, for one location at a time. With All locations selected the page asks you to pick a location |
| What it shows | Reviews Synup has collected for that location, filtered by the settings you choose |
| Builder | Two steps: Configuration, then Design. It saves the widget as Published |
| Embed code | One snippet per platform: a div and a script for most, an iframe for Wix and Squarespace |
| Updates | The widget reads your reviews each time it loads, so changes to settings apply wherever it is embedded |
| One location per widget | A multi-location site needs one widget per location |
Steps
Open Reviews → Widgets and pick a location. If the location has no widgets yet, you see Create widget and Start from a preset (Top 5-star reviews, Most recent, Auto-scroll wall).
Select Create widget (or New widget if the location already has some). Step 1 is Configuration: give it a name, choose the Minimum rating, pick Review sources, decide whether to Include internal reviews, then choose the Selection and Date range. A line under the form tells you how many reviews match.
Select Continue for step 2, Design. Choose how many reviews to show, the Layout (Carousel or Auto-scroll), the Theme (Brand, White or Dark) and what to Show. The preview on the right updates as you change things.
Select Create widget. The widget opens on its detail page. Choose your platform's tab under Embed code, select the copy icon, and paste the code where the reviews should appear on your site.
What the settings do
- Minimum rating: Any, 3★+, 4★+ or 5★. Only reviews at or above it are shown.
- Review sources: pick which review sites to pull from. Leave it empty to include all of them.
- Include internal reviews: off by default. It adds private feedback collected through your review campaigns, and the minimum rating still applies. See Collect private feedback.
- Selection: Most recent, Highest rated, Rotate daily, Sydekick pick or Hand-pick, where you choose exact reviews yourself.
- Date range: All time, Last 12 months or Last 6 months.
- Reviews to show: how many appear, up to the number that match.
- Show: switches for the star rating, reviewer avatar, date, source name, owner reply and a rating header. The owner reply only appears for replies that have been published.
- Theme: Brand matches your site once Synup has analyzed your website, with an Analyze website control. White and Dark need no analysis.
The detail page's summary line repeats the main settings, for example 4★+ · All sources · recent · 10 shown · carousel · white theme.
Check the preview before you embed anything
The widget detail page shows its settings as a single line and, next to it, a live preview of what visitors will see. The builder also tells you how many reviews match and, in step 2, how many are available.
Look at the preview honestly before you put it on a page. If your settings match only a handful of reviews, the widget shows only those. That is not a fault in the widget. It is what the location currently has to show. If the preview looks thin, the fix is more reviews, not different settings. Loosening the star filter to pad it out only puts weaker reviews on your own website.
The "Write a review" button is a switch in step 2 and it is off by default. It is a label in the widget, not a link, so do not count on it to collect reviews from visitors. Use a campaign or a review link for that: Ask for reviews without a campaign.
Getting the code for your platform
The Embed code panel has a tab per platform: Manual / HTML, WordPress, Framer, Shopify, Wix and Squarespace. Each tab tells you where to paste it, for example Add a Custom HTML block and paste this. for WordPress or Add → Embed Code → Embed HTML, then paste this. for Wix.
The code is not the same on every tab:
- Manual / HTML, WordPress, Framer and Shopify give you a
divthat marks the spot and a script tag that fills it. - Wix and Squarespace give you a single
iframe, because those builders do not accept script tags.
The address in the snippet is your Synup address, or your agency's branded address if one is set up. If your platform is not listed, use Manual / HTML. Any site that accepts a custom HTML block will run it.
What the widget does and does not do
- It updates itself. New reviews that match the settings appear without re-pasting the code.
- It shows only reviews Synup has collected for that location, so a source you have not connected will not appear in it. Only reviews with text are eligible.
- It respects the minimum rating you set, which is why a widget can look emptier than your review count suggests.
- Each widget belongs to one location.
Changing how it looks
Edit reopens the settings. Changes apply to the widget wherever it is already embedded, so you do not need to touch your website again after a settings change.
Delete removes it, after you confirm. Any page still carrying that snippet will stop showing reviews, so take the code off your site first.
What you'll see when it's done
- On your site, the widget shows the reviews you chose in the layout and theme you picked. In Synup, the widget appears in the Review widgets list with a Published badge.
Watch out for
- A thin preview means few matching reviews. Check the match count before you publish.
- Internal reviews are private feedback. Only include them if you are happy for that feedback to appear on your site.
- Brand theme needs an analyzed website. If you have not run Analyze website, use White or Dark.
Questions people ask
Why does my widget show fewer reviews than I have?
The widget applies your minimum rating, sources, date range and the "has text" rule. Check the match count in the builder.
Do I need to paste the code again after changing settings?
No. The code stays the same, and changes apply wherever the widget is embedded.
Can Sydekick build a widget for me?
Use the builder. Sydekick can list your widgets and read their settings, and the product source shows it can also create and change them with your approval, but no instruction for that has been tested.