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Merchants have access to Shift4Shop's Product Review module which allows customers to post reviews about specific products. These reviews can then be viewed by other store shoppers as they browse the store. This can help drive conversion up by providing additional information to other shoppers about the products you sell.
With the Product Review Module, merchants can enable a special helpfulness rating system on the Review Module that will allow visitors to vote whether the reviews provided were helpful to them or not. Merchants can also allow reviews to be posted by only registered users or verified purchasers of the items. Furthermore, merchants can elect to show which reviews are left by verifed purchasers of the items to further drive the point that the person writing about the product is also really using the product.
This article will guide you through the process of setting up and using the Product Review module.
This article contains the following sections. please click on a link to be taken directly to the applicable topic.
Enabling the Product Review Module
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Please take the following steps to enable the Review Module:
- Log into your Shift4Shop Online Store Manager
- Using the left hand navigation menu, go to Modules
- Then, using the search bar at the top, search for "Product Reviews" to view the module
You will see the following settings and configuration options:
- Enable Product Reviews
Place a mark in this checkbox and save the Store Modules page to enable the feature.
- Auto-Approve Reviews
This will automatically approve and post the review to your product's listing page.
- Hide stars for zero reviews
Mark this checkbox if you would like to remove the blank stars from the category pages for products that have not yet had any reviews left on them.
- Allow upload of images* version 8
Marking this checkbox will allow the users to upload images when leaving a review.
- Reviews Allowed By
This drop down menu lets you specify what type of users will be allowed to leave reviews. Your choices are:
- All Users
Any visitor to your site can post a review
- Registered Users
Only people with an actual Customer Record on your store will be able to post a review
- Verified Buyers
Only people who actually purchased the product will be able to post a Review. If the email address of the person posting the review matches the email address used on the order, the review is allowed.
- Display Verified Buyer
Enabling this option will show the reviewer's name along with a legend reading that they are a "Verified Buyer"
- Number of Reviews on Product Page
Enter the maximum number of reviews which will be displayed on the page.
- Enable Product Review Emails
Select this checkbox if you would like your store to send automated emails to customers who placed orders on the item. The email then invites the user to leave a review.
- Change Settings
Use this link to manage your Product Review Emails.
(see next section)
- Enable CAPTCHA for Review
Use this checkbox to enable CAPTCHA verification on the module for when reviews are submitted.
- Allow Helpfulness Rating
This will add a button to each posted review, allowing visitors to vote on which Review was most helpful.
- Allow users to edit reviews* version 8
Mark this checkbox to allow the users to edit their reviews after submitting them. Note that approved reviews will revert to unapproved status if/when they are edited, and must be approved by you again. (If auto-approve is not enabled)
- Enable Multiple Reviews from the Same IP
If this checkbox is not marked, then only one review, per customer, per product will be allowed. Enabling this feature allows it so that multiple reviews can be left from the same connection IP address. (Still only one review per customer record per product, though.)
Once the module is enabled, your product listing pages will be displayed with a link, inviting people to ask Post a Review.
As mentioned in the previous section, enabling the module will add a special link to your product listing page inviting users to ask a question about the product.
Tip
You can change the wording of the links in the Settings >Design >Store Language page.
Clicking on the link will open up a pop up window that will allow the user to post their question.
If the user is already logged in, their name and email address information will be pre-populated. Otherwise, the form will ask for this information.
Note
If you have login required for the Review module, the user will first be taken to the login page so they can log in. Then they will need to revisit the page to leave their review.
Product Review Emails
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As mentioned, there is a setting to enable an automated script that sends an email to customers who have purchased products, inviting them to write out a review. This email contains the same link to the product reivew described above. The resulting reviews can be beneficial to your business and encourage others to order from you as well.
Within the module, this setting has an an enable checkbox to turn on the feature and a "Change Settings" link to fine tune the feature.
The Change Settings page for this option will contain the following:
The settings for this script are:
- Enable
Mark the checkbox to use the feature (Same as in the previous screen)
- Include related items on review email* version 8
Mark this checkbox to add a section on the email template that will list related items (products marked as related to the one being reviewed) at the bottom of the email for upselling purposes.
Be sure to update the email template to the latest version!
- Emails
Specify which time frame would apply for the automated email in days. (e.g. Shipped orders placed within the last 30 days)
- Click Here
Within this area, you will see a link that enables you to edit the review email's template to your liking.
- Order Status
Specify the order status this script will apply to. (Default is "Shipped" status)
- Email Log To
Designate which email address you would like for the Automatic email log to be sent to.
- Last Run
View when the script was most recently launched as well as a link to view the script's deployment history
Upon submitting their review, the user's posting will be ready to display on the product page. However, the display depends on whether or not you have the module set to auto-approve reviews (see the Auto-Approve Reviews setting mentioned above)
If the checkbox is marked, then the review is posted right away, allowing it to be seen directly on the product page. If the box is not marked however, you will need to go to the Review section of your store to read, edit and approve the review.
To do this:
- Log into your Shift4Shop Online Store Manager
- Go to Products >Reviews
You will see all of the products that have had reviews posted thus far. Clicking on the name of the product will allow you to view its individual reviews.
After clicking "edit" for the respective Review, you can read, edit and approve the review as needed by clicking on its action wheel at the far right and selecting the "Edit" option.
Tip
You can use the Filter button on the Questions and Answers page to find your products more easily. You can also use the column headings to sort the listings as needed. Then, when viewing the product questions page, you can also use the column headings to sort your listing for ease of use.
The Product Review Module also contains a setting that allows users to rate posted reviews as being helpful or not (see the Allow Helpfulness Rating setting mentioned above)
When this option is enabled, users can vote on the helpfulness of the review provided. The page will have a button labeled "Did you find this Helpful?" and users can select yes or no to rate it.
The system will then record the number of Yes votes, compared with the total number of votes and provide viewers with a listing of the most helpful answers to the question.
The Product Review Module also contains a setting that displays whether the reviewer is also a verified buyer of the item (see the Display Verified Buyer setting mentioned above).
Additional Information
This portion of the module will display the "Verified Buyer" note on the review as long as the poster's email address matches the email placed on the order at the time of purchase.
The system is tailored to send notification emails for several transactional events on the Product Review module. These emails are controlled by special HTML templates that can be modified to your specific needs is desired.
Important
The email templates themselves are written in HTML and will require HTML knowledge to edit. Please note that Shift4Shop Support is not able to provide instructions on HTML design or modification as it is outsode the scope of support.
To view/edit the email notification templates:
- Log into your Shift4Shop Online Store Manager
- Go to Settings >Design >Email
Towards the bottom of the page, you will see a section labeled "Product Emails." Within this section, you will have a series of email templates pertaining to the Product Review module.
- Click on the action wheel and select "Edit" on any of the email templates to alter your notification emails as needed.
Here's a brief description of each email template:
- New Review - Approval
This email sends to the reviewer when their respective review is Approved by the merchant
- New Review - Customer
This email is sent to the reviewer when they first post the review, letting them know that the review has been received and may be pending approval.
- New Review - Merchant
This email is sent to the Merchant, notifying them that a new review has been received
Further down the Email Template page you will also see this template:
- Review - Automatic Email Reminder
If using Automatic Review Emails, this is the template of the email that is sent.
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