How to Add Reviews to IONOS MyWebsite: Mind the Consent Switch

Almost every builder in this series asks the same two questions: which element takes the code, and which plan includes it. IONOS asks a third that nobody expects, and it is the one that decides whether your reviews are actually seen. The HTML module carries a privacy consent setting. Set to require consent, the code runs only after a visitor approves. Set the other way, it runs on load. Both are legitimate choices and they produce very different pages, so this is worth deciding rather than accepting whatever the default happens to be.

Where the HTML Module Lives

Open the MyWebsite Now editor and select Content from the left menu. In the section where the reviews belong, click Elements, then choose HTML Module. Click Code and enter the markup in the text area, then Done to save.

It is an element inside a section rather than a section of its own, which means it sits in the flow alongside the other content in that band. That is usually convenient: a heading above it and the widget below reads as one block without needing a separate section.

IONOS also documents Settings then Custom Head Code for HTML or JavaScript that should execute on every page. That is the right home for analytics and verification and the wrong home for a widget, which needs a place to render.

The Consent Setting Is the Real Decision

When you configure the module IONOS offers two privacy consent options. Consent required means the code executes only after the visitor approves. No consent required means it executes immediately when the page loads.

This exists because IONOS serves a large European customer base where consent management is routine, and it is a genuinely useful control. It also means a review widget can be configured, correct and invisible to a large share of your visitors, without anything being broken.

Decide it rather than inherit it. If the widget is behind consent, expect the section to be empty for anyone who dismisses the banner, and lay the page out so that an empty band is not a hole. If it runs on load, make sure that matches the rest of how the site handles third-party content.

The Module Is Not on Every Plan

IONOS states plainly that the HTML module is not available in all MyWebsite Now plans, and suggests contacting customer service if you are unsure whether your package includes it. That is unusually vague as plan gates go, and it is vague because IONOS sells a lot of packages.

The practical approach is to look for the element before building anything. Open the Elements list in any section: if HTML Module is there, you have it, and if it is not, no amount of care with the snippet will help.

Bundled packages are the common case here. A website plan that arrived with a domain or a hosting purchase often sits at a tier below the one that includes custom HTML, and the owner has no particular reason to know that.

Check Which IONOS Product You Are On

IONOS has sold several website products under similar names, and their editors differ. MyWebsite Now is the current one and the instructions above are its. Older MyWebsite Creator sites have their own element set and their own documentation.

If the editor you are looking at does not match the steps here, that is the likely reason rather than a mistake in the steps. The IONOS help centre keeps separate sections per product, and the one to follow is the one for the editor in front of you.

IONOS also sells managed WordPress hosting, which is a different situation entirely: on that, the answer is the WordPress answer and none of this applies.

How Do You Build the Widget?

Paste your Google, Trustpilot or Facebook profile URL, preview your real reviews and rating, then choose from over 100 layout styles across the slider, marquee, grid, list, masonry and badge families, and match the colours to the site.

Choose a layout that degrades gracefully if you are running behind consent. A compact badge leaves a small gap when it does not render, and a tall grid leaves a large one, which is worth thinking about before you build the section around it.

The header rating comes from the platform aggregate rather than from the cards on screen. Free plan, unlimited widget views.

Where Should the Reviews Go?

In the section immediately before the contact details or the enquiry form. IONOS MyWebsite sites are usually straightforward brochure sites for local businesses, and that is where a visitor is deciding whether to make contact.

Because the module is an element rather than a section, you can put a heading and a line of context in the same band. That reads better than a bare widget dropped into empty space, and it also gives the band a purpose if the widget is consent-gated and does not render.

One placement is enough on a small site. A compact badge near the top is worth adding only if the site is long enough that people are not reaching the bottom.