Google Review Widget for Joomla — Free, No Extension Needed
BlooTrue's Google Review Widget for Joomla is a free, extension-free embed that displays your 5-star Google reviews on any Joomla site. It works on Joomla 3, Joomla 4, and Joomla 5, with the default Cassiopeia template (J4/J5), the older Protostar template (J3), and any third-party template from JoomShaper, YooTheme, JoomLart, or other vendors. There is no Joomla Extensions Directory install, no recurring extension subscription, and no permission scopes to approve. Joomla ships the Custom HTML module type out of the box on every install — that's the canonical pattern for any third-party embed on Joomla. Six widget styles (slider, grid, list, masonry, badge, compact badge) with light and dark themes plus a free custom color picker. SEO rich snippets — schema.org Review + AggregateRating JSON-LD — are injected automatically, making your Joomla pages eligible for star ratings in Google search.
How to embed Google reviews on Joomla in 60 seconds
- Search your business in the configurator above (or paste your Google Maps share link).
- Pick a widget style and customize colors, theme, and layout.
- Click Copy Code to get the one-line HTML embed.
- For module placement: open Content → Site Modules (Joomla 4/5) or Extensions → Modules (Joomla 3), click + New, choose Custom, click Toggle Editor to switch to HTML, and paste.
- For inline article placement: edit the article, click Toggle editor to switch to HTML view, and paste the code where you want reviews.
- Set Position (e.g. position-7) and Menu Assignment, then Save.
Does BlooTrue work on Joomla 3, Joomla 4, and Joomla 5?
Yes. All three. The Custom HTML module type ships with every modern Joomla version. The admin navigation path differs slightly — Joomla 4 and 5 use Content → Site Modules in the streamlined admin UI, while Joomla 3 uses Extensions → Modules — but the embed code is identical. The widget is pure client-side HTML and JavaScript, so it doesn't depend on Joomla's PHP version or template engine.
BlooTrue vs paid Joomla review extensions
The Joomla Extensions Directory lists multiple Google-review extensions (RSReviews, J-BusinessDirectory, Reviewfy) at $20 to $80 for the entry tier. BlooTrue is free and has no view cap, and unlike most JED listings it works without writing PHP override files or configuring an OAuth flow. For most small Joomla sites, the free BlooTrue embed covers the use case completely.
