Hello,

you may have come here from our other post, which now redirects to this one. With this plugin, we had the goal, to create a simple, yet powerful plugin to showcase Reviews. Free, reliable, and safely.

We were deeply annoyed by all the Freemium-Versions of Review Plugins for WordPress, and especially their old coding, when we basically just needed a small, simple Plugin structure. So we made it ourself with the Help of Perplexity Pro.

Great News! We’re currently working on auto-updates for this plugin. Until then, please check back regularly to see if new versions have been released. Currently, everything is set-up in Version 4.0.3. You should be able to get updates with this Version automatically. Please check regularly to see, if you’ve got updates, until this notice is removed.

You can download Version 4.0.3 Enhanced (November 28th 2025) here for free.

Changelog – gooloo.de Review Bar Plugin Enhanced

[4.0.3] – 2025-11-28

Added

• Schema.org JSON-LD Output: Full Product + Review + AggregateRating structured data now generated automatically for all review posts
• Schema includes: Product name, description, URL, image, brand, SKU, price, currency, availability (InStock default), and review rating
• Automatic schema generation on single post pages via wp_head hook at priority 99

Fixed

• Schema.org markup was completely missing in v4.0.0-4.0.2, now fully restored and validated
• Structured data now includes proper currency handling with support for 100+ currencies

Technical Details

• Schema output uses JSON_UNESCAPED_UNICODE | JSON_PRETTY_PRINT flags for clean, readable JSON-LD
• Schema generation checks for post thumbnail and includes image URL if available
• Validates brand name, SKU, price, and currency before schema assembly

[4.0.2] – 2025-11-28

Fixed

• Unicode Encoding Issue: Umlauts and special characters (ä, ö, ü, é, etc.) now display correctly in frontend output
• Applied JSON_UNESCAPED_UNICODE flag to all json_encode() calls throughout the plugin
• Criteria labels like “Preis-Leistungs-Verhältnis” now render correctly instead of escaped sequences like “Preis-Leistungs-Verhu00e4ltnis”

Affected Areas

• Criteria metadata saving in classic editor
• Default criteria configuration in settings
• REST API POST synchronization
• Frontend criteria display

[4.0.1] – 2025-11-28

Fixed

• Frontend Review Bar Missing for Old Posts: Posts created with v3.0.4 without explicit shortcode now display review bar correctly
• Fixed overly strict condition that prevented display of ratings without criteria
• New auto-append logic in the_content filter detects existing data from wp_review_bar_data table and adds shortcode automatically

Improved

• Backward compatibility with v3.0.4 posts
• No database migrations needed – existing data recognized and displayed immediately after update

[4.0.0] – 2025-11-28

Added

• Complete Plugin Rewrite: Full migration from WordPress options API to WordPress post meta system
• Block Editor (Gutenberg) native support with dedicated Review Bar sidebar panel
• REST API full support for all meta fields
• Multi-currency system with 100+ supported currencies (EUR, USD, GBP, JPY, INR, etc.)
• Currency symbol management and localization
• Customizable criteria system with percentage weighting
• Auto-calculated average rating from criteria
• Improved UI/UX for meta box in classic editor with live calculation

Changed

• Database Structure: Posts now use wp_postmeta with _gooloo_reviewbar_* keys instead of custom tables
• Legacy wp_review_bar_data table retained for backward compatibility and quick lookups
• All metadata fields registered with WordPress standards via register_post_meta()
• Admin interface completely redesigned with better accessibility

Fixed

• Plugin now fully compatible with REST API endpoints
• Block Editor integration no longer requires custom endpoints
• Currency handling properly integrated into all save operations
• Criteria data properly escaped and sanitized on all input

Removed

• Dependency on old custom meta box rendering (replaced by WordPress standards)
• Outdated JavaScript libraries
• Legacy admin CSS

Technical

• Minimum PHP version: 5.6+ (recommended: 7.4+)
• Minimum WordPress version: 5.0+
• All code follows WordPress Coding Standards
• Proper use of sanitize_callback and auth_callback for post meta

[3.0.4] – (Previous Version)

• Last version before complete rewrite
• Used legacy options-based storage
• Limited Block Editor support
• No REST API support
• Single currency (EUR) hardcoded

Bugfix 2.4 > 2.5

• Fixed an Error where Google would show “incorrect value in value.aggregateRating”.

Bugfixes 2.6, 2.7 > 2.8

• Fixed multiple math translation issues. Sets value in % now also as Value in Schema Output (instead of translating to x/5 since this can cause these issues again.)

Bugfixes 2.8 > 3.0

• Fixed an Issue where updated post meta wasn’t saved
• Added compability with Gutenberg Editor
• Code Enhancements
• Security Optimizations
• Code Cleanup

Bugfixes 3.0 > 3.0.4 (as 3.1)

• Added currency option to both single posts and global settings
• Code Improvements
• NEW: Add Currency globally or by single posts (standard is set to EUR). The chosen currency is reflected in the Schema Output

To use this plugin, just download and install on your WordPress Installation. What this Plugin does:

1. Adds four meta boxes in the Post Editing Screen
2. Fills the data into a shortcode, that appends the review to the end of the post
3. Uses an intelligent filter to detect the SKUs structur (ISBN, ISBN-13, etc.)
4. The Review Bar is colored, based on your rating. From 0 to 30 red, 31 to 50 orange, 51 to 75 yellow, 76 to 100 green.
5. Create a Rich Snippet Schema
6. Uses the featured image as the display image
7. Uses the post excerpt as the description
8. Adds additional user information for Google

This is new:

• Settings Page in Settings > Review Bar
• Set Color for the Line
• Adds better Schema Output
• Allows overwriting existing entries

To use on posts:

Fill the following fields on your Post Edit Screen:

Value: Rating in % (0-100)
Price: in Euro, accepts , and .
Brand: Add the Name of the Brand
SKU/EAN/IBAN: Enter the barcode

You will need to change the code according to your needs, f.ex. the Link, the Link Text below the review bar, the colors, the Author etc. Also, to your currency, as it currently uses Euro exclusively.

Filling out these fields, automatically appends the following Schema Output (see example post). See in the Google Validator. NOTE: This contains additionally content added by RankMath.

<script type="application/ld+json" class="rank-math-schema-pro">{"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://www.gooloo.de/#organization","name":"gooloo.de Redaktion","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/gooloode","https://www.pinterest.com/gooloo","https://www.t.me/goolooDE","https://www.paypal.me/goolooDE","https://www.buymeacoffee.com/goolooDE","https://www.amazon.de/shop/goolooDE","https://www.instagram.com/gooloode","https://news.google.com/publications/CAAqBwgKMPPCqwsw8M3DAw"],"logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https://www.gooloo.de/#logo","url":"https://www.gooloo.de/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/head_new_gooloo.webp","contentUrl":"https://www.gooloo.de/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/head_new_gooloo.webp","caption":"gooloo.de \u2022 your beauty ambassador","inLanguage":"de-DE","width":"1200","height":"630"}},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https://www.gooloo.de/#website","url":"https://www.gooloo.de","name":"gooloo.de \u2022 your beauty ambassador","alternateName":"gooloo.de","publisher":{"@id":"https://www.gooloo.de/#organization"},"inLanguage":"de-DE"},{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https://www.gooloo.de/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/actionhairboosters.webp","url":"https://www.gooloo.de/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/actionhairboosters.webp","width":"1200","height":"630","inLanguage":"de-DE"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https://www.gooloo.de/2024/09/action-hair-boosters-banana-pomegranate-mango.html#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":"1","item":{"@id":"https://www.gooloo.de","name":"gooloo.de"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":"2","item":{"@id":"https://www.gooloo.de/category/blondes-haar","name":"Blondes Haar"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":"3","item":{"@id":"https://www.gooloo.de/2024/09/action-hair-boosters-banana-pomegranate-mango.html","name":"ACTION Hair Boosters Banana, Pomegranate, Mango"}}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://www.gooloo.de/2024/09/action-hair-boosters-banana-pomegranate-mango.html#webpage","url":"https://www.gooloo.de/2024/09/action-hair-boosters-banana-pomegranate-mango.html","name":"ACTION Hair Boosters Banana, Pomegranate, Mango &bull; gooloo.de","datePublished":"2024-09-20T12:00:21+02:00","dateModified":"2024-09-20T12:00:21+02:00","isPartOf":{"@id":"https://www.gooloo.de/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https://www.gooloo.de/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/actionhairboosters.webp"},"inLanguage":"de-DE","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https://www.gooloo.de/2024/09/action-hair-boosters-banana-pomegranate-mango.html#breadcrumb"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https://www.gooloo.de/2024/09/action-hair-boosters-banana-pomegranate-mango.html#author","name":"Eileen Pahl","description":"1","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/72b7f587d33135a98be2f2524e63ee4a?s=96&amp;d=mm&amp;r=g","url":"https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/72b7f587d33135a98be2f2524e63ee4a?s=96&amp;d=mm&amp;r=g","caption":"Eileen Pahl","inLanguage":"de-DE"},"sameAs":["https://www.gooloo.de","https://www.facebook.com/gooloode","https://twitter.com/gooloode"],"worksFor":{"@id":"https://www.gooloo.de/#organization"}},{"@type":"NewsArticle","headline":"ACTION Hair Boosters Banana, Pomegranate, Mango &bull; gooloo.de &bull; gooloo.de","keywords":"action,hair boosters","datePublished":"2024-09-20T12:00:21+02:00","dateModified":"2024-09-20T12:00:21+02:00","articleSection":"ACTION, Blondes Haar, Gef\u00e4rbtes Haar, Gesch\u00e4digtes Haar, Glanzloses Haar, Haarkur, Haar\u00f6l, Haarpflege, Trockenes Haar","author":{"@id":"https://www.gooloo.de/2024/09/action-hair-boosters-banana-pomegranate-mango.html#author","name":"Eileen Pahl"},"publisher":{"@id":"https://www.gooloo.de/#organization"},"description":"Feuchtigkeitsspendende, silikonbasierte Haarpflege-Seren zum Verbleib im Haar in den Varianten Banane, Granatapfel und Mango.","copyrightYear":"2024","copyrightHolder":{"@id":"https://www.gooloo.de/#organization"},"name":"ACTION Hair Boosters Banana, Pomegranate, Mango &bull; gooloo.de &bull; gooloo.de","@id":"https://www.gooloo.de/2024/09/action-hair-boosters-banana-pomegranate-mango.html#richSnippet","isPartOf":{"@id":"https://www.gooloo.de/2024/09/action-hair-boosters-banana-pomegranate-mango.html#webpage"},"image":{"@id":"https://www.gooloo.de/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/actionhairboosters.webp"},"inLanguage":"de-DE","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https://www.gooloo.de/2024/09/action-hair-boosters-banana-pomegranate-mango.html#webpage"}}]}</script>