Product reviews (and all that stuff at the bottom of my product pages)

[VisHorizons]

I'm looking into adding a reviews module. Is there any standout among the bunch? I'm leaning towards the Miva option, because it's Miva and because it seems to be the only one without an absolutely required re-up charge.

Also, at the bottom of my product pages, I have related products, "customers also bought," and soon I'll have reviews. Is there a way to organize these items? Tabs or something? (I'm not attached to the "customers also bought" being there.)

Example:
https://www.storesmart.com/mm5/merch...t_Code=R900___

Thanks for any input.

[SunCam]

I use the Phosphor Media "Easy Review" module. It works great and the renewal charge has not been a burden. I don't even recall how much they charge.

[Bruce - PhosphorMedia]

the 'Miva' version (actually Glendale's) according to the web site, does require renewal

• Module licenses are valid for one year from date of purchase. Once expired, your Ratings & Reviews module will continue to function, however a renewal fee of $125 is required to obtain updates/support for another year.

(Our fee is $78.00 and we are still actively supporting it in both features and bug issues.)

While it's a fine competitor, it does miss on a few points we feel important:

Feature	Easy Review	Glendale
Automated mail after review request	X	X
Import reviews from almost any source	X(1)	X
Easily change star rating icons	X	X
Ratings snapshot	X	X
Additional rating types	(2)	X
Store ratings/testimonials	X	X
Approve, disapprove and delete reviews	X	X
Recommended product		X
Verified reviewer	X	X
Basic Spam and abuse protection	X(3)	X
Customer review status email notification	X	X
Merchant review email notification	X	X
100% template based for advanced customization	X	X
Structured data/rich snippets support	X	X
Product and store rating pagination and sorting	(4)	X
Review voting (was this review helpful)	X
Random Review and/or Random Testimonial	X(5)
Reserved Store Owner Response bucket	X(6)
Product Grouping	X
Product Exclusion	X
Sub 15 minute install (for novices)	X
Verified Purchaser (checks Order Table against email/product)	X
Edit Reviews Before and After Submittal	X	?
Review Annotation to help reviewers enter appropriate content	X	?

1 Easy Contact Auto Imports from Sebenza. Manual Imports supported from others. Also Exports reviews for easy transfer or updates.
2 Not sure what Glendale refers to as there isn’t an apparent way to have votes on additional elements in the review.
3 Glendale relies on Google Recapta which is fine for bots, but a lot of spam these days come from actual humans. Our system blocks these as well which lets you run with fewer manual checks such account or email required.
4 We left out pagination because it sucks on mobile. Instead we use infinite scrolling.
5 Greatly expands to usefulness of review content. Letting you put review pull quotes anywhere on the site. Can pull from Product, Category or Testimonial levels. Hugely valuable when you are just starting out and only have a few reviews. Highlighting the ones you have make your site look more legitimate and encourage others to review as well.
6 Lets the store easily provide a response (thank you, clarification,etc) through the Module's admin. Formatted to clearly show that it’s a response from the store owner.

[Ron Frigon]

Is item 6, Lets the store easily provide a response, a new feature? I think this was a deal breaker for us in the past because it wasn't available.

[Gordon - Phosphor Media]

No, it's been there all along.

[Bruce - PhosphorMedia]

Hmmm, I think that's been in there for quite some time. Basically, it provides you with access to the review in the admin, and a specifically tagged container for your response. Its great because it can make a 'less than stellar' review a positive. For example, if a review posts " great product, but it was delivered damaged" and you respond with "Sorry for the hassle, we've sent a replacement"...the review is now a positive one because you've demonstrated good product support. (I know Bill Dunn uses this feature a lot :) )

[Ron Frigon]

Thanks guys, I found my old emails and it was a different reviews module I was thinking of. I wasn't aware that your module had this feature or I would be using it... Talk soon.

[VisHorizons]

the 'Miva' version (actually Glendale's) according to the web site, does require renewal
Module licenses are valid for one year from date of purchase.
Once expired, your Ratings & Reviews module will continue to function, however a renewal fee of $125 is required to obtain updates/support for another year.
(Our fee is $78.00 and we are still actively supporting it in both features and bug issues.)

From your site

Easy Review is licensed for one year from the date of purchase. This includes free support, feature updates, and of course any bug fix releases.

Products expire after this period unless they are renewed.

The renewal cost for Easy Review is: $78.00.

Sounds like Miva's will still work and Phosphor's will conk out after a year without renewal.

But don't worry, I haven't ruled out Easy Review yet.

[Bruce - PhosphorMedia]

No offense but...anyone who runs software to support a critical piece of their business (social validation) that is unsupported and can break any day...well, i can't say that is a wise decision.

[Rick Wilson]

It's worth noting "Miva's" in this case is a module we acquired from another Developer to make sure it didn't go unsupported. I wouldn't consider it equivalent to a feature we've built and put our name to.

[oliverands]

I'll chime in here with a strong recommendation for the Phosphor Media Easy Review module. It's great, and the team provides exceptional support for it. The annual renewal cost is minimal and isn't worth worrying about. I'm actually happy to pay that each year when I get the reminder (believe it or not...) because the module works so well and is so well supported.

In terms of organizing information, we're doing something similar to what you do. In the last two years, we've made an effort to put as much "social proof" as possible right on the product page where someone can see it when they are making a purchase decision. We use tabs to organize produce details, related products, customer reviews, blog posts on the product, customer discussion on the product, and photos our customers have posted. You can see how we do it on this product page:

https://oliverands.com/shop/digital-...g-pattern.html

[VisHorizons]

Cool, thanks for the info. Nice shop, Todd!

[tleonardo1]

How hard is the Phosphor Media one to install?

[Ron Frigon]

How hard is the Phosphor Media one to install?

Installation and setup was pretty straightforward and the documentation is really well done. Knowing how to edit css is helpful if you need to edit the look and feel to match your store. Only took an hour or so to set up.

[Bruce - PhosphorMedia]

Well it is called EASY Review for a reason :)