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Stars Rating

By Fahid Javid

E-commerce & Shopping / Product Reviews & Ratings

Reviewed by Omar Dabbas

Trusted WordPress expert with 20+ years of experience evaluating plugins for the WP ecosystem.

Stars Rating Review - In-Depth Analysis

Stars Rating is a comprehensive review plugin that enables star ratings, photo uploads, and likes/dislikes for comments. It enhances user engagement with Google rich snippets and customizable settings.

Performance Overview

WPS Score

6.78/10

User Rating

4.7/5 (based on 23+ reviews)

Active Installations

1,000+

Update Frequency

Below Average It is calculated using the weighted average of same category plugins.

Security Score

5 / 10 (Medium Risk) It is calculated using the weighted average of all versions.

What It Does

Stars Rating transforms WordPress comments into a fully featured review system. It is simple to set up, highly configurable, and designed to keep your Media Library and admin clean no matter how many reviews come in.

Its main features include the ability to turn posts, pages, and custom post types comments into star-rated reviews. You can choose which post types have ratings enabled globally and per post. The plugin offers two star styles with a custom color picker and displays the average rating above the comments section.

Reviewers can attach photos to their comments, which are stored in a dedicated folder separate from the WordPress Media Library. The plugin also allows for likes and dislikes on posts, with options to restrict voting to logged-in users.

Additionally, a negative rating alert can be configured to show a popup when a low star rating is selected. The plugin outputs JSON-LD structured data for Google rich snippets, enhancing search visibility.

All user-facing strings can be customized directly from the settings page, making it easy to tailor the experience without coding.

Comparing to Alternatives

Stars Rating is a popular star rating plugin with a strong user base and a solid feature set. It competes directly with a few alternatives that offer similar functionality.

Top alternatives

YASR – Yet Another Star Rating Plugin for WordPress ( WPS: 6.95)

Strengths

Easy to use and implement on posts
Displays star ratings clearly and attractively
Lightweight without unnecessary features
Good support and regular updates
Free to use with no paid version required

Weaknesses

Known medium severity vulnerability fixed in version 3.5.1
Limited customization options compared to some competitors
No pro version with advanced features
Shortcode issues reported by some users

User Sentiment Analysis

With a high overall rating of 4.7 out of 5 from 23 users, the plugin is well-received. Most users praise its simplicity and effectiveness, with very few complaints.

Positive highlights

'Perfect & Working Well' - aculnetwork
'Great plugin with awesome support' - sroskylos
'Simple and Perfect' - mav0430
'It works perfect' - casiana
'Perfect & Working Well' repeated by aculnetwork showing consistent satisfaction

Common complaints

Weaknesses

Shortcode [stars_rating_avg] not working as expected for some users
Lack of translation options for certain messages
No display of stars or reviews on posts without reviews by default

Who Should Use This?

Best for

Users looking for a straightforward, easy-to-use star rating plugin that integrates well with posts and requires minimal setup.

Not ideal for

Those needing advanced customization, multi-language support out of the box, or a plugin with a paid version offering premium features.

Pricing & Value

Free version includes

The free version includes all core features needed to display star ratings on posts with ease and reliability.

Final Verdict

Stars Rating is a highly rated and user-friendly plugin that effectively meets the needs of users wanting simple star rating functionality without complexity. Its strong positive feedback and ease of use make it a solid choice for many WordPress sites.

However, users should be aware of a past medium severity security vulnerability that has been fixed and the lack of advanced features or a pro version. Those requiring more customization or premium support might consider alternatives.