Judge.me offers the best free reviews solution for Shopify. This guide covers setup and optimization for collecting and displaying product reviews.
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TOP PICK
Judge.me Reviews
Marketing Integration for Shopify
5 ★
33102 reviews
Price
Free plan available
Last Updated
2025-12-21
Why Judge.me?
Related: Fera integration, the Yotpo connector, discover link opportunities.
Best value for reviews:
| Feature | Free Plan | Awesome Plan |
|---|---|---|
| Reviews | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Requests | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Photo reviews | ✓ | ✓ |
| Video reviews | ✗ | ✓ |
| Rich Snippets | ✓ | ✓ |
| Q&A | ✗ | ✓ |
| Coupons | ✗ | ✓ |
| Price | Free | $15/mo |
Why most popular free app:
- Truly unlimited features
- No hidden costs
- Great support
- Regular updates
Pricing
| Plan | Price | Best For |
|---|---|---|
| Forever Free | $0 | Startups, small stores |
| Awesome | $15/mo | Growing brands |
Awesome plan adds:
- Video reviews
- Q&A section
- Custom forms
- Coupon incentives
- Google Shopping syndication
- Full customization
- Product grouping
- Site reviews
- Cross-store syndication
Getting Started
Related: Shopify Seguno Integration: Email Marketing Guide (2025), Shopify Postscript Integration: SMS Marketing Guide (2025), Shopify Attentive Integration: Enterprise SMS Marketing Guide (2025).
Step 1: Install Judge.me
- Go to Shopify App Store
- Search “Judge.me”
- Click Add app
- Authorize access
- Choose Free or Awesome plan
Step 2: Configure Requests
Request settings:
├── Send timing: After delivery
├── Wait days: 14 (adjust for shipping)
├── Reminder: 7 days later
├── Photo request: Enabled
└── In-email review: Enabled
Data Flow
%%{init: {'theme': 'base', 'themeVariables': { 'primaryColor': '#e0f2fe', 'primaryTextColor': '#0369a1', 'primaryBorderColor': '#0369a1', 'lineColor': '#64748b', 'secondaryColor': '#f0fdf4', 'tertiaryColor': '#fef3c7'}}}%%
graph LR
A[Shopify Store] -->|Customer Data| B[Shopify]
A -->|Order History| B
B -->|Segments & Tags| C[Judge.me]
C -->|Campaigns| D[Email/SMS]
D -->|Engagement| A
Real-time sync
Scheduled sync
Step 3: Install Widget
One-click installation:
- Go to Widgets
- Click Install Widgets
- Select theme
- Widgets auto-added
Step 4: Customize
Match your store:
- Colors
- Font
- Layout
- Text strings
Review Collection
Request Emails
Customize templates:
- Subject line
- Header text
- Body content
- Button text
- Footer
Effective subject lines:
- “How do you like your [Product]?”
- “[Name], rate your purchase!”
- “Share your experience with [Product]”
In-Email Reviews
Customers can review without leaving email:
- One-click star rating
- Write review inline
- Higher completion rate
- Frictionless experience
Photo Requests
Encourage photos:
- Ask in email
- Show examples
- Explain value
- Optional incentive
Reminder Strategy
| Reminder | Timing | Subject |
|---|---|---|
| First | 7 days | “Still time to review!” |
| Second | 14 days (Awesome) | “Last chance!” |
Display Widgets
Review Widget
Main product page widget:
- Star summary
- Review list
- Photo gallery
- Filter/sort options
- Helpful votes
All Reviews Page
Create dedicated page:
- All store reviews
- Searchable
- Filterable
- SEO benefits
Preview Badge
Show on collection pages:
- Star rating
- Review count
- Hover preview
- Quick trust signal
Carousel Widget
For homepage:
- Recent reviews
- Best reviews
- Auto-rotating
- Photo focus
Floating Widget
Subtle notification:
- New review alert
- Social proof nudge
- Configurable display
Free vs Awesome Features
Free Plan Includes
Everything you need to start:
- Unlimited reviews
- Unlimited requests
- Photo reviews
- Review widget
- Preview badge
- Carousel
- Rich Snippets
- Manual import
- Email templates
- Basic customization
Awesome Upgrades
| Feature | Benefit |
|---|---|
| Video reviews | Richer content |
| Q&A | Answer questions |
| Coupons | Incentivize reviews |
| Custom forms | Collect more data |
| Google Shopping | Syndicate reviews |
| Full customization | Complete control |
| Site reviews | Overall store reviews |
| Product grouping | Combine variants |
Import Reviews
Supported Platforms
| Source | Method |
|---|---|
| AliExpress | Direct import |
| Amazon | Product matching |
| Loox | Migration |
| Yotpo | Export/import |
| Stamped | Migration |
| CSV | Manual upload |
Import Process
- Go to Import Reviews
- Select source
- Match products
- Review imports
- Publish
Import Best Practices
- Clean duplicates
- Match products correctly
- Review before publishing
- Keep authentic content
SEO Features
Google Rich Snippets
Automatic markup:
- Star ratings in search
- Review count
- Improved CTR
- Schema.org compliant
Google Shopping (Awesome)
Syndicate to:
- Google Merchant Center
- Shopping ads
- Product listings
- Higher conversions
SEO Benefits
Reviews provide:
- Fresh content
- User keywords
- Engagement signals
- Trust factors
Moderation
Auto-Moderation
Set rules for:
- Auto-publish threshold
- Profanity filter
- Spam detection
- Blacklist words
Manual Queue
Review manually:
- Low ratings
- Flagged content
- First-time reviewers
- Photo submissions
Responding
Reply to reviews:
- Public responses
- Private messages
- Thank positive reviewers
- Address complaints
Q&A Feature (Awesome)
Setup
Enable questions:
- Go to Q&A Settings
- Enable on products
- Configure moderation
- Install widget
Benefits
- Answer pre-sale questions
- Reduce support tickets
- SEO from Q&A content
- Customer confidence
Analytics
Dashboard Metrics
| Metric | Definition |
|---|---|
| Collection rate | Requests → Reviews |
| Photo rate | Reviews with photos |
| Average rating | Overall satisfaction |
| Response rate | Engagement |
Reports
Track over time:
- Review volume
- Rating trends
- Photo submissions
- Email performance
Integrations
Marketing
| Platform | Integration |
|---|---|
| Klaviyo | Sync review data |
| Omnisend | Marketing triggers |
| Shopping/Rich Snippets |
Page Builders
| Platform | Support |
|---|---|
| PageFly | Widget blocks |
| Shogun | Easy embed |
| GemPages | Compatible |
Troubleshooting
Reviews Not Sending
Causes:
- Wrong timing
- Order not fulfilled
- Email issues
Solutions:
- Check order status
- Verify delivery date
- Test email delivery
Widget Issues
Causes:
- Theme conflict
- Cache
- JavaScript errors
Solutions:
- Re-install widget
- Clear cache
- Check theme compatibility
Judge.me vs Alternatives
| Feature | Judge.me | Loox | Yotpo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free plan | Unlimited | None | Limited |
| Paid price | $15/mo | $9.99/mo | $15/mo+ |
| Photo reviews | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Video reviews | Paid | Paid | Paid |
| Q&A | Paid | ✓ | Paid |
| Best for | Budget | Visual | Enterprise |
Best Practices
Collection
- Time after delivery
- Use in-email reviews
- Send reminders
- Keep emails short
Display
- Install all widgets
- Use preview badge
- Add All Reviews page
- Feature best reviews
Engagement
- Respond to all reviews
- Thank customers
- Address issues
- Share positive reviews
Next Steps
After setup:
- Install widgets - Product, collection, home
- Configure emails - Timing and templates
- Import existing - From previous app
- Set moderation - Auto-publish rules
- Monitor & optimize - Track metrics
Shopify + Judge.me implementation checklist (2025)
This section adds practical “make it stable” steps you can use after you install the app/connector. It’s intentionally lightweight: the goal is fewer sync surprises, cleaner reporting, and easier troubleshooting.
1) Quick setup checklist
- Permissions first: grant only the scopes you need (orders/customers/products as required) and document who owns the admin credentials.
- Data mapping: confirm how email, phone, currency, and SKU are mapped between Shopify and Judge.me.
- Historical import: decide how far back to import orders/customers (avoid importing years of data if you don’t need it).
- Deduplication rules: pick one unique identifier per object (usually email for customers, order ID for orders) to prevent doubles.
- Alerts: set a lightweight alert path (email/Slack) for failed syncs, auth expiry, and API rate limits.
2) Data you should verify after connecting
Most integration issues show up in the first hour if you test the right things. Use the table below as a QA checklist (create a test order if needed).
| Data object | What to check | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Customers | Email/phone format, marketing consent fields, duplicates | Prevents double messaging and broken segmentation |
| Orders | Order total, tax, discount, shipping, currency | Keeps revenue reporting and automation triggers accurate |
| Line items | SKU, variant ID, quantity, refunds/returns behavior | Avoids inventory and attribution mismatches |
| Fulfillment | Status changes + timestamps, tracking numbers, carrier fields | Drives customer notifications and post-purchase flows |
| Catalog | Product titles, handles, images, collections/tags | Ensures personalization and reporting match your storefront |
3) Automation ideas for Marketing
- Welcome series: new subscriber → educational sequence + first-purchase offer in Judge.me.
- Abandoned cart: cart started but not purchased → reminder email/SMS from Judge.me (timing based on your AOV).
- Post-purchase: order created → delivery/usage tips + cross-sell for complementary products in Judge.me.
- Win-back: no purchase in 60–90 days → reactivation campaign using Judge.me segments.
- VIP: customer hits LTV threshold → move into VIP tier and trigger perks via Judge.me.
API sanity check (Shopify Admin API)
If your integration UI says “connected” but data isn’t flowing, a quick API call helps confirm whether the store is accessible and returning the objects you expect.
# List the 5 most recent orders (GraphQL)
curl -X POST "https://your-store.myshopify.com/admin/api/2025-01/graphql.json" \
-H "X-Shopify-Access-Token: $SHOPIFY_ADMIN_TOKEN" \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d "{\"query\":\"{ orders(first: 5, sortKey: CREATED_AT, reverse: true) { edges { node { id name createdAt totalPriceSet { shopMoney { amount currencyCode } } customer { email } } } } }\"}"Tip: keep tokens/keys in environment variables, and test in a staging store/site before rolling changes to production.
4) KPIs to monitor (so you catch problems early)
- Sync freshness: how long it takes for a new order/customer event to appear in Judge.me.
- Error rate: failed syncs per day (and which object types fail most).
- Duplicates: number of merged/duplicate contacts or orders created by mapping mistakes.
- Revenue parity: weekly spot-check that Shopify totals match downstream reporting (especially after refunds).
- Attribution sanity: confirm that key events (purchase, refund, subscription) are tracked consistently.
5) A simple 30-day optimization plan
- Week 1: connect + map fields, then validate with 5–10 real orders/customers.
- Week 2: enable 1–2 automations and measure baseline KPIs (conversion, AOV, repeat rate).
- Week 3: tighten segmentation/rules (exclude recent buyers, add VIP thresholds, handle edge cases).
- Week 4: document the setup, create an “owner” checklist, and set a recurring monthly audit.
Related integration guides
More marketing tools: the Klaviyo guide, the Mailchimp guide, the HubSpot guide.
Common issues (and fast fixes)
Even “simple” integrations fail in predictable ways. Use this as a quick troubleshooting playbook for Shopify + Judge.me.
- Duplicate customers/orders: usually caused by running two connectors at once. Pick one source of truth and dedupe by email (customers) and order ID (orders).
- Currency/timezone drift: confirm store timezone and reporting currency match what Judge.me expects, especially if you sell internationally.
- Missing permissions: if data is partially syncing, re-check API scopes (orders vs customers vs products) and re-authorize the app.
- Webhooks not firing: look for blocked callbacks, disabled webhooks, or a stale token. If possible, test with a fresh order and watch for events.
- Rate limits & delays: large imports or high order volume can queue syncs. Stagger imports, reduce lookback windows, and monitor retry queues.
- Refund/return mismatch: clarify whether refunds create separate objects or adjust the original order record (finance teams should agree on the model).
Privacy & compliance notes (2025)
Integrations often touch personal data (email, phone, address). Keep this lightweight checklist in mind:
- Least privilege: only grant the data scopes you actively use; remove unused apps quarterly.
- Consent fields: treat marketing consent separately from transactional messaging (especially for SMS).
- Data retention: define how long you keep customer event data, and who can export it.
- Access review: restrict admin accounts and rotate keys/tokens if staff changes.
Suggested rollout plan
- Connect in staging (if possible): validate mapping on a small dataset.
- Import a short history window: start with 30–90 days unless you have a clear reason to import more.
- Run side-by-side QA: compare a handful of orders across systems (totals, taxes, shipping, refunds).
- Go live gradually: enable 1–2 automations first, then expand once you trust the data.
Change control (keep it maintainable)
- One owner: assign a single owner for the integration (who approves mapping and workflow changes).
- Log changes: track what you changed (fields, filters, timing) and why, so you can roll back quickly.
- Monthly audit: re-check scopes, API tokens, and error logs—especially after major store/theme/app changes.
For photo-focused reviews, see Loox integration. For enterprise features, check Yotpo integration.