Reviews System
Availability: Free + Pro. 1-5 star ratings, written reviews, helpful votes, owner replies, and the report-a-review workflow are Free. Pro adds Multi-Criteria Reviews (per-aspect stars) and Photo Reviews (reviewers attach images).
What it does
Listora includes a full review system. Visitors rate listings with 1-5 stars, write a review, vote on helpful reviews, report inappropriate ones, and read owner replies - all on the listing detail page without leaving the page.
Why you'd use it
- Star ratings and reviews build social proof for listed businesses.
- Owner replies show businesses are engaged, which keeps the directory active.
- Helpful votes surface the most useful reviews at the top.
- Moderation tools let you maintain quality without deleting all reviews manually.
How to use it
For site owners (admin steps)
- Go to Listora → Settings → Reviews to configure:
- Auto-approve reviews - publish immediately or hold for moderation.
- Minimum content length - require a minimum character count (e.g., 30 characters).
- One review per listing - prevent duplicate reviews from the same user.
- Require login - only registered users can submit reviews.
- To moderate held reviews, go to Listora → Reviews:
- Filter by Pending, Approved, or Rejected.
- Search by listing name or reviewer.
- Bulk approve or reject using the checkboxes.
- View the flag status of reported reviews.
For end users (visitor/user-facing)
Submitting a review:
- Navigate to a listing detail page and click Write a Review.
- Select a star rating (1-5).
- Write your review title and text.
- If the listing type has multi-criteria ratings enabled (
Pro ), rate each criterion separately. - Click Submit. Depending on moderation settings, your review appears immediately or after admin approval.
Editing a review: If the site allows it, you can edit your review by clicking Edit next to your existing review.
Deleting a review: Click Delete on your own review to remove it.
Helpful votes: Click Helpful on any review to upvote it. The most helpful reviews rise to the top.
Reporting a review: Click Report to flag a review as inappropriate. Admins see flagged reviews in Listora → Reviews.
Owner reply: If you own a listing, navigate to the listing's detail page or your User Dashboard → Reviews tab and click Reply next to any review. Your reply appears below the review, labelled "Owner Response."
Tips
- Enable One review per listing to prevent review manipulation - users can update their existing review instead of submitting duplicates.
- Use Auto-approve only if your directory has a small, trusted user base. For public directories, manual moderation is safer.
- Encourage listing owners to reply to reviews - directories with active owner replies see more review submissions.
- Multi-criteria reviews (Pro) let you define custom rating aspects per listing type. For example, restaurants get Food, Service, Ambiance, and Value; hotels get Rooms, Cleanliness, Service, Location, and Value. See Multi-Criteria Reviews.
- Photo reviews (Pro) let reviewers upload images. See Photo Reviews.
Common issues
| Symptom | Fix |
|---|---|
| Review form not visible | Verify the Listing Reviews block is on the detail page template, or that the Listing Detail block is present |
| Reviews stuck in Pending | Go to Listora → Reviews and approve them manually, or enable auto-approve |
| Owner can't see the Reply button | Confirm the user is the listing author or has the moderate_listora_reviews capability |
| "One review per listing" not working | Clear your site cache - the duplicate check uses a database query that caching may bypass |