Modules
Modules are Real Testimonials's plugin-wide feature switches. Flip one off and its feature goes away everywhere at once — the block editor, the block front end, the classic shortcode/View front end, and the testimonial edit screen. Turning off what you don't need keeps the plugin lean.
Opening the Modules section
- Open the dashboard from Real Testimonials → Getting Started.
- Click Modules in the navigation. The page is headed Manage Modules — "Enable only the modules you need to keep your site fast and optimized."
- Toggle any module on or off. There's no save button — each flip saves on the spot, and a small confirmation message pops up so you know it took.
Each module card also has quick Docs and Demo (or Video) links so you can see what a module does before switching it on. Everything starts enabled on a fresh install, so in practice this page is for switching off what you don't need.
Disabling a module never deletes data
When a module is off, its feature stops showing up and stops collecting input — everywhere. But anything you already saved (social links, custom field values, and so on) is preserved and reappears the moment you re-enable the module.
Available modules
| Module | What it adds |
|---|---|
| Ready Patterns Library | The 100+ ready-made testimonial layouts you can insert and adapt instead of designing from scratch. |
| Saved Templates | Save block layouts as reusable templates. Toggling this also shows or hides the Saved Templates section in the dashboard nav and the matching WordPress submenu — the change happens instantly, no reload needed. |
| Custom Information Fields | Your own extra fields on testimonials and cards. |
| Reviewer Social Profiles | Social links for each reviewer. |
| Motion Effects | Entrance animations and scroll effects on blocks. |
| Spam Protection (reCAPTCHA) | reCAPTCHA on submission forms. |
| SEO Schema Markup | Lets your star ratings show up in Google search results. |
Upcoming modules
Four modules carry an Upcoming badge — they're listed so you can see what's on the way, but you can't toggle them on yet:
- Skeleton Loader — a loading placeholder while AJAX content fetches.
- White Label Branding — replace plugin branding with your own.
- Mailchimp — connect submissions to a Mailchimp audience.
- Role Management — control which user roles can manage testimonials.
Ready Patterns Library
The Ready Patterns Library is your shortcut to beautifully designed testimonial sections. Instead of building from scratch, choose from 100+ professionally designed patterns — from simple grids to creative masonry layouts, from minimal polaroid cards to bold marquee displays.
Each pattern is a complete, editable layout you can drop into any page or post and customize to match your brand. Change colors, fonts, spacing, and content — everything stays flexible.
What happens when you disable it
With the module off, the pattern picker vanishes from the block inserter. Existing blocks built from patterns keep working — they're just regular blocks now. You can edit and re-style them, but you can't insert new patterns until you re-enable the module.
When to disable it
You typically won't need to — patterns only load when you explicitly open the inserter, so there's no performance cost on the front end. Consider disabling only if you're sure you'll never use patterns (for example, if you always build from scratch or rely exclusively on saved templates).
Saved Templates
The Saved Templates module powers the entire template system: saving layouts as reusable snippets, managing them in the dashboard, and re-inserting them anywhere on your site.
What it controls
- The Save as Template option in block menus
- The Saved Templates dashboard section (and its WordPress admin submenu)
- Template listing, editing, deletion, and shortcodes
- Template reuse across page builders (via integrations)
What happens when you disable it
- The Saved Templates link disappears from the dashboard navigation
- The WordPress submenu under Real Testimonials vanishes
- The "Save as Template" option is removed from block menus
- Existing template-based blocks continue rendering on the front end — they're saved as regular block content
Your templates themselves are not deleted. Re-enable the module and everything reappears exactly as you left it.
When to disable it
Disable if you never use templates and want a cleaner dashboard. If you rely on templates for consistent layouts across your site, keep this enabled.
Custom Information Fields
Custom Information Fields lets you extend testimonials beyond the built-in details. Add whatever extra information matters to your use case: position, company, location, purchase date, custom credentials — anything at all.
Each field can display with an icon (from the included icon set) and render as plain text, a clickable link, an email address, or a phone number.
Where fields appear
With this module on, custom fields show up in three places:
- Testimonial edit screen — add and configure fields for each testimonial
- Submission forms — collect custom information from reviewers
- Block card parts — choose which fields to display and style them (labels, icons, colors)
Field types
- Text — plain text with optional icon
- Link — clickable URL (opens in new tab)
- Email — mailto link that opens the user's email client
- Phone/Number — clickable tel link for mobile dialing
- Date — date display with optional icon
What happens when you disable it
- Custom fields vanish from the testimonial edit screen
- The custom-fields section disappears from submission forms
- Blocks lose the Custom Information card part option
- Saved values stay in the database — re-enable and all your custom data returns
When to disable it
Disable if you never need fields beyond the built-in reviewer details (name, rating, image, company, position). If you collect specialized information — industry-specific credentials, location data, purchase details — keep this enabled.
Reviewer Social Profiles
The Reviewer Social Profiles module adds social-media links to each testimonial. Let reviewers link to their LinkedIn, Twitter, website, or any other profile — useful for B2B testimonials where credibility matters.
Where social profiles appear
With this module on:
- Testimonial edit screen — add social profile URLs
- Submission forms — reviewers can add their own profiles (if enabled)
- Block card parts — the Social Profiles part with icon, style, and layout controls
Supported platforms
The module includes icons for the major platforms:
- Twitter/X
- YouTube
- GitHub
- Website (generic globe icon)
- And more
What happens when you disable it
- Social profile fields vanish from the edit screen
- The social profiles section disappears from submission forms
- Blocks lose the Social Profiles card part
- Saved links stay preserved — re-enable and they reappear
When to disable it
Disable if you don't need social proof through reviewer profiles. For most business-to-business sites, portfolio sites, or agency pages, social links add credibility — consider keeping it on.
Motion Effects
Motion Effects brings blocks to life with entrance animations, hover effects, and scroll-triggered animations. Cards slide in, fade up, or zoom as they enter the viewport — subtle movement that guides attention and makes the page feel polished.
What it powers
With this module on, every display block gets a Motion Effects panel in the inspector with:
- Entrance Animation — how cards appear when scrolling into view (fade, slide, zoom, bounce, etc.)
- Animation Delay — stagger animations for a cascading effect
- Animation Duration — control how fast animations play
- Hover Effects — what happens when users hover over cards (scale, lift, shadow)
Animation types
Common entrance animations include:
- Fade Up — cards fade in and slide upward (classic, clean)
- Slide In — from left, right, bottom, or top
- Zoom In — cards scale up from smaller to full size
- Bounce — playful entrance with a subtle bounce
- Flip — 3D flip effect
- And more
What happens when you disable it
- The Motion Effects panel disappears from all block inspectors
- Existing blocks keep their saved motion settings — they just don't render
- No animation scripts load on the front end (slight performance gain)
When to disable it
Disable if you prefer a static design or want to minimize JavaScript on the front end. Modern browsers handle animations well, but if performance is your top priority and every kilobyte matters, this is one of the few modules that affects front-end script loading.
Spam Protection (reCAPTCHA)
The Spam Protection module adds Google reCAPTCHA to submission forms — both the block Submission Form and the classic testimonial form. It filters out bots while letting real people submit reviews.
How it works
When a visitor submits a testimonial, reCAPTCHA runs a quick check behind the scenes:
- reCAPTCHA v2 — the classic "I'm not a robot" checkbox (or an invisible challenge)
- reCAPTCHA v3 — runs silently in the background, scores the submission without user interaction
Suspicious submissions get blocked before they hit your database.
Configuration
After enabling the module, click the settings icon on the module card to configure:
- reCAPTCHA Version — Choose v2 (checkbox, visible to users) or v3 (invisible, score-based)
- Site Key v2 / Secret Key v2 — Enter your v2 keys if using v2
- Site Key v3 / Secret Key v3 — Enter your v3 keys if using v3
Get your keys free at www.google.com/recaptcha/admin/create:
- Add your site label and domain(s)
- Choose the reCAPTCHA type (v2 or v3)
- Accept the terms and submit
- Copy the Site Key and Secret Key into the module settings
What happens when you disable it
- The reCAPTCHA field disappears from all submission forms
- No reCAPTCHA scripts load on pages with forms
- Submissions bypass the spam check entirely
When to disable it
Disable if:
- Your forms are password-protected or only available to logged-in trusted users
- You use a different spam protection method (like a honeypot field or another plugin)
- You're on an intranet or internal site where bots aren't a concern
For public-facing forms, keep it enabled — spam submissions can clutter your database quickly.
SEO Schema Markup
The SEO Schema Markup module adds structured data (JSON-LD) to your pages so search engines like Google can understand your testimonials and display star ratings in search results.
What it does
When enabled, the module injects invisible schema markup into the page footer:
- AggregateRating — your overall rating and review count
- Review items — individual testimonials with author, rating, and text
Google may use this data to show rich snippets — your page title with ★★★★★ stars attached — which can significantly improve click-through rates from search results.
What's included
For each testimonial displayed on the page:
- Author name — the reviewer's name (or "Anonymous" if omitted)
- Rating — the star rating (1–5)
- Review body — the testimonial text
- Date published — when the testimonial was submitted
These get rolled into an Organization node with your site's aggregate rating.
What happens when you disable it
- No schema markup is added to pages
- Existing search results may keep showing stars for a while (Google caches this data)
- New pages and re-crawls won't pick up rating markup
When to disable it
Disable if:
- You're on an intranet or private site (not indexed by search engines)
- You're using a different structured data solution
- You want full control over your schema markup and prefer to add it manually
For public sites that care about search visibility, keep this enabled — rich snippets are one of the highest-impact SEO features available.
Related pages
- Dashboard overview
- Integrations — where AI and page-builder integrations are configured.
- Add New Testimonial — where social profiles and custom fields appear on the edit screen.