Title: Simple Testimonials
Author: Kim
Published: May 6, 2013
Last modified: March 22, 2023
---
Search plugins
This plugin **hasn’t been tested with the latest 3 major releases of WordPress**.
It may no longer be maintained or supported and may have compatibility issues when
used with more recent versions of WordPress.
# Simple Testimonials
By [Kim](https://profiles.wordpress.org/pixelovely/)
[Download](https://downloads.wordpress.org/plugin/simple-testimonials.1.0.7.zip)
* [Details](https://twd.wordpress.org/plugins/simple-testimonials/#description)
* [Reviews](https://twd.wordpress.org/plugins/simple-testimonials/#reviews)
* [Installation](https://twd.wordpress.org/plugins/simple-testimonials/#installation)
* [Development](https://twd.wordpress.org/plugins/simple-testimonials/#developers)
[Support](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/simple-testimonials/)
## Description
I created this plugin to make it easy peasy for my clients to manage all the nice
things that _their_ customers and clients said about them. They’ve loved it so much,
I’ve decided to make it available to the world.
When you install it, you will gain a new section in your wordpress admin where you
can easily create and manage all your testimonials. It’s extremely similar to creating
a new post or page. Just go to the testimonial section, click “Add new”, and follow
the on-screen prompts. That’s it. When you’re done, you can get a random testimonial
to display each time a page loads with the handy included widget, or the shortcode[
testimonial]. Phew, easy peasy!
This plugin is perfect for you if:
* You want to establish credibility on every page, not just a single testimonials
page.
* You want to manage everything in one place, instead of having to update a separate
testimonials page and various text widgets in your sidebars.
* You want a testimonial page that is auto-formatted, so everything looks uniform
and clean, without you having to futz around with copy-pasting code.
### Creating Testimonials
Create and customize your testimonials as you would a post or a page. Just click“
Testimonials” in the left hand admin menu, and then click “Add New”.
Enter the testimonial into the larger text area. Then in the slot labeled Attribution
place the name, initials, or other more anonymous identifier (such as “happy customer
from Atlanta”). You can also leave the attribution blank, if you prefer.
Remember to save, and you’ve created your first testimonial!
### Categorizing Testimonials
You can add your testimonials to categories of your choosing. While creating or
editing a testimonial, find the box labelled “Testimonial Categories”. If this is
your first time categorizing your testimonials, you’ll need to create some categories!
Click the link “+Add New Category”, name your new category, and click the button“
Add New Category”.
Put a check next to any categories you want this testimonial to be included in.
Save your changes!
### Widgets
If you are using a [“widgetized”](https://codex.wordpress.org/Widgetizing_Themes)
theme – that is, one that allows you to drag widgets to a sidebar, footer, or other
location – you can display any number of testimonials in the sidebar.
Just find the widget named “Random Testimonial,” and drag it to your widget area
of choice. By default, this widget will show one testimonial. You may open its panel
and select another number from the dropdown.
When using a widget, you may also enter a number of characters to limit how much
of a testimonial to display. This will prevent extra-long testimonials from breaking
your beautiful site design.
Want to give people a link to view the rest of a shortened testimonial, or just
to see more of the nice things people have said about you? Just paste the URL to
your testimonial page into the last slot on the widget, labeled “Add a read more
link”. A “read more” link will automatically appear at the bottom of the widget.
Remember to save!
### Shortcode
To add a testimonial anywhere at all, simply place this shortcode into a page or
post: [testimonial]
When the page displays, that little tag will be transformed into a beautiful testimonial,
randomly chosen from your collection!
By default, this tag will display a single random testimonial, but you can choose
any number like this: [testimonial number=3] Just substitute your number for my
3 in this example.
If you want to only show testimonials from a particular category of testimonials,
add the name of the category like this: [testimonial category=featured] Just substitute
the name of your testimonial category for the word “featured” in this example.
You can even have your testimonials be picked out of more than one category! Use
quotes around the list, and use commas to separate the names of all the categories
you want to use. For example: [testimonial category=”Best of 2016, Best of 2015″]
To create a page where all of your testimonials display at once, simply use the
above shortcode, with the number set to 0. This will cause all of your testimonials
to display at once. Their order will be random.
### Styling
This plugin deliberately employs extremely minimal default styling, to make it fit
in with any theme.
If you are an advanced user and wish to apply your own CSS styles to the testimonials
this plugin outputs, the plugin follows this structure:
```
Testimonial
- Attribution
Read more
```
Apply your CSS to div.pixelovely_testimonial, span.pixelovely_testimonial_attribution
and span.pixelovely_readmore
## Blocks
This plugin provides 1 block.
* Simple Testimonials
## Installation
1. Download the zip file, and unzip it.
2. Upload the entire folder (simple-testimonials) to the `/wp-content/plugins/` directory
3. Activate the plugin through the ‘Plugins’ menu in WordPress
Now, to start using it, just:
1. Add some testimonials in the new testimonial section.
2. To display the testimonials in a sidebar or other widgetized location, simply drag
the widget named “Random Testimonial” to your widget area. You may open the widget
panel and choose a number of testimonials to display.
3. To display the testimonials in a post or page, type the shortcode **[testimonial]**
into any post or page that you like. You can display more than one testimonial
at a time by specifying a number, like this: **[testimonial number=3]** Just substitute
your number for my 3.
4. To create a testimonials page, where all your testimonials are shown at once, use
the shortcode above, but set the number to 0. When you use 0, no limit will be
used, and all of your testimonials will be shown at once.
5. If you forgot how to use the testimonial plugin at any time, I’ve placed a 1 page
user manual directly into the testimonial section of your admin area. You’re welcome!
🙂
## Reviews
### [Just what we needed – no more, no less](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/just-what-we-needed-no-more-no-less/)
[SNelson](https://profiles.wordpress.org/snelson/) July 16, 2023
It’s 2023 and I’m on WP v. 6.2.2 Most of the reviews for this plugin appeared to
be from several years ago so I was skeptical, but I had to come up with a simple,
text-only, random testimonial widget to replace a more elaborate plugin which, to
put it kindly, was no working. To my relief, Simple Testimonial appears to work
fine in WP 6.2.2 and it’s exactly the solution we sought for an unobtrusive sidebar
widget that serves up random testimonials. Thank you!
### [Great for random Quotations or Testimonials](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/great-for-random-quotations-or-testimonials/)
[Rick Hampton](https://profiles.wordpress.org/rickhampton/) October 13, 2020
I wanted to display one random testimonial picked out of a particular category.
This took me through a process of adding & activating 5 different plugins before
finding this one that worked great, exactly as I wanted. I’m using Oxygen with Word
Press and adding the shortcode was easy.
### [If only all Plugins were this good!](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/if-only-all-plugins-were-this-good-2/)
[mounsey](https://profiles.wordpress.org/mounsey/) March 12, 2017
I’ll keep this review (very) short, as this is a classic case of “It does exactly
what it says on the tin”! I was personally looking for a simple plugin that would
enable me to setup a list of short “soundbites” / testimonials – and then have them
randomly displayed via a widget on (in my case) the right-hand-side of all pages
on the Website I’m working on. I found this Plugin high on Google – so thought I’d
give it a try. BOY am I glad I did. Installation was a breeze – and within a matter
of minutes I’d achieved precisely what I wanted! All that remained was for me to
do some CSS work to present the content how I wanted it (i.e. to match the Website)–
and bingo! I was done. Highly recommended if you’re looking for something like this
too. Big thanks to the authors. John.
### [Functional and Lightweight](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/functional-and-lightweight/)
[emileey](https://profiles.wordpress.org/emileey/) September 3, 2016
Super lightweight plugin, clean code, and best of all: no bloated styling! This
plugin is exactly the simple testimonials plugin I’ve wanted without any of the
extra fluff to get in the way.
[ Read all 14 reviews ](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/simple-testimonials/reviews/)
## Contributors & Developers
“Simple Testimonials” is open source software. The following people have contributed
to this plugin.
Contributors
* [ Kim ](https://profiles.wordpress.org/pixelovely/)
[Translate “Simple Testimonials” into your language.](https://translate.wordpress.org/projects/wp-plugins/simple-testimonials)
### Interested in development?
[Browse the code](https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/simple-testimonials/),
check out the [SVN repository](https://plugins.svn.wordpress.org/simple-testimonials/),
or subscribe to the [development log](https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/log/simple-testimonials/)
by [RSS](https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/log/simple-testimonials/?limit=100&mode=stop_on_copy&format=rss).
## Changelog
#### 1.0.7
Tested up to 6.1.1
#### 1.0.6
* Minor compliance changes
#### 1.0.5
* Tested up to 5.8
#### 1.0.3
* Tested up to 5.7.1
#### 1.0.2
* Tested up to 5.5
#### 1.0.1
* Renamed some functions for better compliance with WP plugin guidelines
* Removed/replaced some deprecated code
* Added a block for the new WP Blocks editor
* Moved manual to readme, removed manual page from plugin
#### 1.0.0
* Added the ability to categorize your testimonials
* Added a dropdown to the widget options, for choosing a specific category to pick
testimonials from
* Added a “category” attribute to testimonial shortcodes
* Updated manual page to describe the new options
#### 0.0.9
* Re-uploading files from 0.0.8
#### 0.0.8
* Updating to reflect that the plugin works in 4.2
* Fixing a broken span tag
* Added the basics of internationalization
#### 0.0.7
* Updating to reflect that the plugin works in 4.0
#### 0.0.6
* Changing interface from meta inputs to be their own inputs. This prevents the
meta info from plugins from appearing above the main post-type inputs, such as
SEO plugins.
* Updating admin icon to utilize new icon-fonts
#### 0.0.5
* Minor fix to div structures when an attribution is not supplied.
#### 0.0.4
* Added an optional character limit to testimonials outputted with a widget
* Added an optional “read more” link to the testimonial widget
* Made some changes to try to prevent SEO plugins from appearing on the testimonial
composition page, as testimonials are not themselves intended to be stand-alone
pages.
* Fixed broken image in the manual
* Updated manual to reflect new options
* Gave the testimonials section a custom icon in the admin backend
#### 0.0.3
* Fixed an error in the shortcodes that could cause testimonials to appear in unexpected
places in layouts with lots of floats.
#### 0.0.2
* Excluded individual testimonials from search results, as they are not intended
to be stand-alone pages.
#### 0.0.1
* Plugin first released! I would very much appreciate it if you remembered to rate
the plugin after trying it.
## Meta
* Version **1.0.7**
* Last updated **3 years ago**
* Active installations **300+**
* WordPress version ** 3.0.1 or higher **
* Tested up to **6.1.10**
* Language
* [English (US)](https://wordpress.org/plugins/simple-testimonials/)
* Tags
* [random quote](https://twd.wordpress.org/plugins/tags/random-quote/)[random testimonial](https://twd.wordpress.org/plugins/tags/random-testimonial/)
[random testimonials](https://twd.wordpress.org/plugins/tags/random-testimonials/)
[testimonials](https://twd.wordpress.org/plugins/tags/testimonials/)
* [Advanced View](https://twd.wordpress.org/plugins/simple-testimonials/advanced/)
## Ratings
5 out of 5 stars.
* [ 14 5-star reviews ](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/simple-testimonials/reviews/?filter=5)
* [ 0 4-star reviews ](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/simple-testimonials/reviews/?filter=4)
* [ 0 3-star reviews ](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/simple-testimonials/reviews/?filter=3)
* [ 0 2-star reviews ](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/simple-testimonials/reviews/?filter=2)
* [ 0 1-star reviews ](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/simple-testimonials/reviews/?filter=1)
[Add my review](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/simple-testimonials/reviews/#new-post)
[See all reviews](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/simple-testimonials/reviews/)
## Contributors
* [ Kim ](https://profiles.wordpress.org/pixelovely/)
## Support
Got something to say? Need help?
[View support forum](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/simple-testimonials/)
## Donate
Would you like to support the advancement of this plugin?
[ Donate to this plugin ](https://ko-fi.com/U6U31XPQI)