Getting a wall of five star reviews on TripAdvisor takes months of hard work and exceptional service. Yet, most people who arrive on your WordPress website will never see a single one of those reviews.
Embedding your TripAdvisor reviews in WordPress changes everything. It instantly makes your business look more professional, trustworthy, and ready to welcome new customers.
In this step by step guide, I will show you how to display your TripAdvisor reviews in a beautiful, interactive feed on your WordPress website. Even better, you can set this up in just a few minutes without writing a single line of code or paying for a TripAdvisor API key.
Why Embed TripAdvisor Reviews on Your WordPress Site?
Embedding TripAdvisor reviews on your WordPress site isn’t just about showing off nice feedback. It’s about building trust with your visitors the moment they land on your page.
Instead of manually copying and pasting your favorite customer quotes, you can use a plugin that pulls all the reviews from your TripAdvisor page.
The right plugin will fetch the complete feedback, including each review’s star rating, the reviewer’s name, and their profile picture. This creates an instantly recognizable TripAdvisor feed that proves your reviews are authentic and unedited.
If you’re running a business that has a public TripAdvisor listing, then there’s several reasons why it’s such a good idea to embed those reviews on your website:
- Instant Social Proof: People naturally trust reviews from independent sites more than promotional text on your page. Showing real, positive experiences from past customers helps first-time visitors trust your business.
- More Time Spent on Your Site: When visitors can read your reviews right on the page, they’re more likely to stay and keep browsing rather than clicking away to TripAdvisor. Keeping potential buyers on your site is a proven way to boost your conversion rates.
- Real, Search-Friendly Text: When your reviews load as genuine text rather than static images, search engines can easily read and index them. This keyword rich content can improve your WordPress SEO, especially if you pair it with a good SEO plugin.
The great news is that you can easily embed TripAdvisor reviews in WordPress without having to write a single line of code.
Step 1: Install and Activate Reviews Feed Pro
When it comes to embedding TripAdvisor reviews in WordPress, the tool I recommend is Smash Balloon’s Reviews Feed. This plugin lets you display reviews from any public TripAdvisor page on your site, without having to pay for an API key or deal with complicated settings.
While there is a free version of Reviews Feed that you can download from WordPress.org, it only lets you show reviews from Google and Yelp. To display TripAdvisor reviews on your site, you will need the premium Reviews Feed Pro plugin and Elite plan ($149/year) or higher.
Once you’ve purchased the plugin, you can install and activate it on your site, just like any other plugin. If you haven’t installed a plugin before, our step-by-step guide on how to install and activate a plugin walks you through the entire process.
After activating the plugin, go to Reviews Feed » Settings in your WordPress dashboard and enter your license key to unlock the premium features.
You can find this key in your Smash Balloon account dashboard or inside the email you received when you purchased the plugin.
Step 2: Create Your TripAdvisor Reviews Feed
After entering your license key, you’re ready to build your first review feed.
To get started, go to Reviews Feed » All Feeds in your WordPress dashboard. Then, click the Add New button at the top of the screen to start the setup process.
This launches a guided setup wizard that walks you through connecting your account, step by step.
You can create as many separate feeds as you need for different pages or locations on your site, and each feed can be customized and managed independently.
If you have several different venues or businesses, then you can even connect multiple TripAdvisor pages and manage everything from the same plugin.
Step 3: Connect Your TripAdvisor Page (No API Key Needed)
Now, it’s time to point the plugin towards your TripAdvisor listing. This may sound technical, but Smash Balloon makes it incredibly straightforward.
On the setup screen, click the ‘Add Source’ button.
You’ll see all the different platforms that Smash Balloon supports.
Simply select TripAdvisor from the list and click Next.
This is the spot where I see people hesitate, because the next screen asks for a TripAdvisor API key. If you have no idea what that is, don’t worry, because you almost certainly don’t need one.
Reviews Feed Pro can connect to any public TripAdvisor page for you. Simply click the ‘Skip’ button to move on without it.
If you do have an API key, then you can paste it here instead. Just keep in mind that TripAdvisor does not provide these for free. You will need to add billing details and purchase TripAdvisor’s Content API, which is why skipping this step is usually the best option.
Once you move past the API screen, the wizard will ask for your source details.
You can find this address by opening your business listing on TripAdvisor and copying the web address straight from your browser bar. Make sure you grab the main business page URL rather than a link to an individual review or photo page.
Paste the full URL of your TripAdvisor business page into the field provided and click Finish.
Step 4: Choose a Template for Your Feed
After connecting your source, the next step is choosing a template.
Smash Balloon comes with a range of professionally-designed templates, which control how your embedded feed looks and functions.
Here’s a quick overview, so you can choose the right template for you:
- Default: Displays a clean, balanced grid. This is a dependable choice if you are unsure which layout fits your project the best.
- Simple Cards: Places each review inside a structured card, making it ideal for modern landing pages and homepages.
- Masonry: Organizes reviews of varying lengths into a mosaic grid. This prevents awkward gaps when customer comments differ in length.
- Single Review: Highlights a single testimonial, making it ideal for landing page hero sections or sales pages.
- Showcase Carousel: Features one prominent review at a time that smoothly slides to the next.
- Carousel: Displays multiple reviews side by side in a single compact sliding row.
- Grid Carousel: Scrolls through several rows of reviews at once. This works well if you want to display lots of customer quotes in a smaller area.
It’s important to note that this choice isn’t permanent. You can change your template at any time inside the Smash Balloon editor. Just pick the option that best fits your goals right now and click Next.
Step 5: Customize Your TripAdvisor Feed
Smash Balloon will now display your review feed in its user-friendly editor.
This is genuinely my favorite part, because you can make changes using the settings in the left-hand menu, and see exactly how the feed will look when placed on your site. There’s no guesswork involved, and it’s incredibly user-friendly.
The first section I usually adjust is the ‘Layout’.
Inside it, you can switch between a ‘List’ that stacks reviews in a single column, a ‘Masonry’ grid with multiple columns, and a ‘Carousel’ that slides through them.
You can also choose how many reviews to display across mobile, tablet, and desktop screens. I recommend showing at least six to eight reviews so potential customers get a full picture of your positive feedback rather than just one or two quotes.
It’s worth exploring the other display options as well.
The Header section lets you show your total average star rating, add a direct Write a Review button, or hide the heading entirely. Displaying your overall star rating straight away is an easy way to build quick trust with new visitors.
Next, click the Review tab and select Post Style.
This setting controls whether each review sits inside its own clean card or displays as simple plain text.
Finally, open the Load More Button settings to customize your call to action.
You can tweak the button text to say anything you want.
Every setting in this editor is straightforward and simple to use. With that said, I recommend spending a few minutes clicking through the menus and trying different options until your review feed matches your website design perfectly.
Step 6: Filtering and Moderating your Reviews
Next, open the Settings tab to access the filtering options. This is where you decide exactly which reviews appear on your website.
Setting a minimum star rating filter is a great first step.
During my own setup, I chose to display only four and five star reviews. This instantly raised the overall quality of the feed and highlighted my best customer experiences.
You can also filter by specific keywords by typing into the ‘Only show reviews containing’ box. This lets you feature reviews that mention a popular service, menu item, or room type, while excluding reviews that are not relevant.
If you want complete control over your content, select the ‘Moderation’ settings.
You can then click the ‘Enable’ slider to activate this feature.
Turning this on lets you manually approve or hide individual reviews before they ever go live on your pages.
Keep in mind that hiding a review inside Smash Balloon only removes it from your WordPress site. It never deletes or alters anything on your official TripAdvisor listing, so your public profile remains completely untouched.
Once your review feed looks exactly the way you want, click the Save button in the top right corner to lock in your design. Your custom TripAdvisor feed is now built and ready to add to your website.
Step 7: Embed Your TripAdvisor Feed in WordPress
Now comes the fun part where all your hard work pays off. Reviews Feed Pro gives you a couple of easy ways to place your feed. I will cover the two most common methods, starting with adding your feed directly to a page.
Adding Your Feed to a Page or Post
While you are still in the feed editor, click the Embed button in the top right corner. A popup menu will appear where you can select ‘Add to a Page.’
The popup will display a list of your existing WordPress pages. Select the page where you want your reviews to appear, such as your homepage or a dedicated testimonials page. Then, click the Add button.
WordPress will automatically open that page inside the block editor with your reviews feed already placed on the page.
To make the feed visible to your visitors, click the Update button.
Adding Your Feed Anywhere Else With a Shortcode
If you want to show your reviews in a sidebar or footer, then you can use a shortcode instead.
To get your unique shortcode, click the Embed button in the top right corner of the feed editor, then click Copy next to the shortcode box. Your shortcode will look something like [reviews_feed feed=1].
With your shortcode copied, head to your WordPress site and paste it into any Shortcode block or widget area, such as your sidebar, footer, or individual blog posts. As soon as you save your changes, your TripAdvisor reviews will appear live for visitors to see.
And that’s it. You’ve now successfully embedded your TripAdvisor reviews in WordPress.
Bonus: Show Your Google, Facebook, and Yelp Reviews Too
Once your TripAdvisor feed is up and running, you might realize your best customer feedback is scattered across several different platforms. The great thing about Reviews Feed is that it can gather all those reviews into one single display.
To add another platform, simply create a new feed and select a different source, such as Google, Yelp, or Facebook. You can even combine multiple sources into a single feed, creating a wall of reviews that showcases feedback from everywhere at once.
Displaying customer reviews is just one effective way to prove your business is trustworthy. If you found this tutorial helpful, you might also enjoy our guides on how to build trust with testimonials and reviews, or how to add live social proof notifications to your site.
Frequently Asked Questions About TripAdvisor Reviews in WordPress
I get a lot of questions whenever I set up a review feed for a client, so I have gathered the ones that come up most often. Below, you will find clear, straightforward answers covering API keys, plugin costs, troubleshooting feed display issues, and platform rules.
Do I need the TripAdvisor API to show reviews?
This is easily the biggest worry I hear from website owners, but no, you don’t need an API key. You can simply skip the API setup screen entirely and paste your public TripAdvisor page URL instead.
Behind the scenes, Reviews Feed Pro handles the connection to your public page for you. That means you can embed TripAdvisor reviews without having to apply for a developer account or configure technical API keys.
Can I embed TripAdvisor reviews in WordPress for free?
No, to display TripAdvisor reviews specifically, you’ll need the Elite plan ($149) or higher.
If you’re on a tight budget, you still have some great options available. The free version of Reviews Feed lets you display your Google and Yelp reviews without spending a cent.
You can also check out our guide to the best WordPress testimonial plugins for simple, free ways to display customer reviews you collect directly on your website.
My reviews feed isn’t displaying on the page. How do I fix it?
If your feed looks blank on your live website, do not worry. This is usually very easy to fix.
The first thing to check is whether you updated the page after adding the Reviews Feed block, since unsaved changes are the most common cause.
Next, open your feed editor and make sure you clicked the Save button in the top right corner. If your feed is saved but still does not appear on your site, clear your cache. Clearing your cache refreshes your site, which should resolve the problem.
Does TripAdvisor have an API, and is embedding reviews allowed?
Yes, TripAdvisor offers an official Content API. However, it’s mainly designed for developers and requires a paid account. The good news is that you do not need an API key to display your TripAdvisor reviews using the method in this guide.
Embedding your TripAdvisor reviews on your website is completely allowed. As long as you display the reviews accurately and keep the TripAdvisor branding visible, you remain fully compliant with their guidelines. Because Reviews Feed Pro displays your customer feedback exactly as written, you can share your public reputation on your WordPress site with complete confidence.
Start Showing Off Your TripAdvisor Reviews
If you have been following along, you now have a TripAdvisor review feed running on your WordPress website. This simple addition is one of those quick upgrades that makes your business look much more professional and trustworthy.
Of course, displaying customer reviews is just one piece of building a high converting website. If you want to keep growing your digital skills, our comprehensive video library covers everything from core WordPress basics to advanced customizations, all explained using straightforward language:
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