Schema and Review Plugin for Word Press?

[Chris661]

Trying to find a plugin for a WP site that does eCommerce with physical products. I am hoping to get an "Amazon" type user review look. Also hoping the schema can help in the SERPs with rich snippets. It would be nice if there was a plugin that could handle both. I did find a review plugin that I though I could use with the Raven schema plugin to average the review ratings but it would be a manual process. That's OK although not sure if Google thinks it is spammy. I don't want to anger the Google animals.

I came across this one that looks amazing, but am concerned I see no mention of it here!   http://wpsocial.com/product/social-review-engine  
They also had this "SEO Booster" plugin that while the name sounds scary, it looks pretty well done and handles schema. http://wpsocial.com/product/wp-social-seo-booster-pro/
The nice thing about them is they tie the reviews to a social network via reviewer login and this "legitimizes" them. There are some very comprehensive videos on the site explaining both plugins.

Hoping someone here can advise if these are OK. Anyone heard of these?

[kwoolf]

The most popular e-commerce package for Wordpress now is WooCommerce, but there is a long list of plugins for WP to enable online shopping. And yes, there are plugins and themes that include structured mark up for products, reviews, blog posts, etc.

As for the Amazon experience, that's a custom theme you'll need to design or find out there. Or just use the Amazon e-commerce platform if you like that a lot.

By the way you've posted your question, it seems you're relatively new to e-commerce, so I'm going to save you a lot of money and time. Don't do this yourself--hire a reputable company to do this for you. Also consider that hosting your own platform like Wordpress may actually be more costly than running a Shopify or Amazon store, as you will need a server admin, software updates, security patches, systems integration, and training. You'll also need to manage software to print shipping labels, receipts, packing slips; you'll need fast order management, customer support, and a whole bunch of other stuff that some of these hosted platforms actually roll up into one. Shopify, Adobe Business Catalyst, Magento, Big Commerce, and the list goes on.

Before going all out on Wordrpess because is "looks amazing" and can easily add schema.org mark up, get a grip on the features that will help you run your business. You can make anything look great and mark up pretty much anything out there today.

[Chris661]

Hi Kevin,

I don't think you read my question as it does not address the answer in any way. But thanks for your response.

I have already decided on WP.

[kwoolf]

Oh, my bad. You want the review look. Seeing as how WP is a very mature product and that the plugins you mentioned have a relatively few number of reviews, it would be a question of whether or not a few dollars is worth the potential benefit if they work the way you expect. I'd venture to say not many people here will have tried these particular plugins. Sorry Chris!

As a developer myself, I'd add schema.org and build the theme myself. Adding social comments to your site is pretty simple and free if you can follow the instructions on the social media dev sites.

Kevin

[Chris661]

Well I've done a bit more research and while impressed with the social options in the "SEO Booster" plugin, I am somewhat put off by the fact that the schema mark up on the product pages is not visible. This seems to be a violation of what Google recommends.

I think I'll stick with the Raven Schema Creator for now.

Still would be interested in anyone's experiences.

Thanks

[Everett]

Hello Chris,

I had a look at the two products you mentioned and can't really say whether they would be good or bad choices without seeing some specific sites that are using them. Neither of the pages provided links to any demo or case study sites so I couldn't really make a determination. They "sound" good but you'd have to pay $77 and $47, respectively, to see them in action anywhere else outside of the site.

However, they do look to be using their own platform on their site and I had a quick look at the code, which looks fine to me. The text appears in the code and on the page, the markup appears to be correct, and it seems to be working in the SERPs.

[Chris661]

Yes they do sound good and I got excited by the hype. I am concerned that there is not more info available on them other than on their site as you state. I did purchase the SEO plugin and played with it a bit. Seemed to work quite well and very feature rich especially for the og stuff and all the social integration. Also got along with Yoast "WP SEO" from what I could see on my test site. The schema markup for "product" was not visible on the page and reading Google's guide line, that appears to be a bad idea. I asked the plugin developer why and got a note back assuring me it was OK to do and followed Google's own guidelines. I asked for a link to verify that citation (3 times) and never received a response again. The silence from support on this to a verified paid user is a deal breaker for me. Too bad , 'cause it does look cool.

Thanks for your response!

[Everett]

Thanks for following up Chris,

Yes it does sound a bit shady when they don't respond to questions about their product. Let that be a lesson to us all about customer service.

Cheers,

Everett