Venue & Settings
Public Reviews on Your Storefront
Last updated 19 May 2026
Public Reviews on Your Storefront
Display verified client reviews and your Google rating badge on your public booking page to build trust and encourage new bookings.
TL;DR
- The reviews section shows only OpenChair verified reviews from clients who completed a booking.
- The section auto-hides when you have no published OpenChair reviews.
- Your Google rating badge displays separately in the storefront hero when connected.
- The most common mistake is having reviews stuck in an unpublished status, they don't appear until you publish them.
- Go to Reviews in the sidebar to find and publish any pending reviews.
Overview
The public reviews section on your storefront:
- Shows OpenChair verified reviews from clients who completed a booking
- Displays your Google Business rating badge in the storefront hero section
- Includes a trust summary with average rating and review count
- Shows owner responses beneath individual reviews
- Provides a dedicated full-page reviews view at
yourvenue.openchairpro.com/reviews
What customers see
Reviews section on the storefront
The Reviews section (heading: "What Clients Say", customisable) appears as a horizontally scrollable carousel of review cards on the main storefront page.
Trust summary at the top of the section shows a bold numeric rating (e.g. "4.8"), a filled star icon, and the count, e.g. "(42 OpenChair verified)".
A "See all reviews" link appears at the top right, linking to the full reviews page.
Individual review cards
Each review card on the storefront shows:
| Element | Details |
|---|---|
| Star rating | 1 to 5 filled stars (empty stars for the remainder) |
| Author name | Client's first name and last initial (e.g. "Sarah D."), single names shown in full, anonymous reviews show "Client" |
| Date | Formatted as "3 Mar 2026" (en-GB locale) |
| Verified visit badge | "Verified visit" with optional "with [Staff Name]", only shown for OpenChair-sourced reviews |
| Review text | Clamped to 4 lines on the storefront carousel; shown in full on the reviews page |
| Owner response | Labelled "Response from [Venue Name]" in a muted background box, preserving line breaks |
Full reviews page
Customers can view all reviews at yourvenue.openchairpro.com/reviews. This page shows:
- Header: "Client Reviews" with a back link to the storefront
- Trust summary: OpenChair rating and review count
- Review list: 20 reviews loaded initially, with a "Load more reviews" button for pagination
- Floating CTA: A "Book an appointment" button fixed at the bottom, linking to the booking wizard
Empty states
When no OpenChair reviews exist, the reviews section hides automatically on the storefront. If a customer navigates directly to the reviews page, they see: "[Venue Name] is new to OpenChair": "Client reviews will appear here after their first visits."
Which reviews appear
Only reviews with a published moderation status appear on the storefront. Reviews are sorted newest first.
Author names are automatically redacted for privacy:
| Original name | Displayed as |
|---|---|
| John Doe | John D. |
| Sarah | Sarah |
| (empty/null) | Client |
Google rating badge
Your Google rating badge displays in the storefront hero section when you connect your Google Business Profile. This is separate from the reviews section, the badge shows your Google rating and review count as a trust signal.
Connecting Google
- Go to Storefront in the sidebar.
- On the Content tab, select the Reviews section.
- In the Social Proof card, enter your business name in the search field and click "Search".
- Select your business from the results. The connection shows your Google business name, address, rating, and review count.
What Google adds to the storefront
| Feature | Description |
|---|---|
| Google rating badge | Shown in the storefront hero (e.g. "4.6" with star and count) |
| "Verified on Google" | Trust badge below the rating pill |
Disconnecting Google
Click "Disconnect" in the Social Proof card to remove the Google Business Profile connection. The Google rating badge will be removed from the storefront.
Refreshing the rating
The rating, review count, business name, and address are captured once at connect time — there's no automatic refresh. To pull updated numbers (e.g. after running a Google review campaign), disconnect and reconnect via the Social Proof card. The fresh snapshot replaces the previous one.
Behind the scenes
OpenChair uses the Google Places API v1 (searchText) to find your business. The search returns up to 5 candidates (most-relevant first); pick yours. On connect, we store: googlePlaceId, googleMapsUrl, googleRating, googleReviewCount, googlePlaceName, googleFormattedAddress. Connecting also flips showTrustBadge to true.
Customising the reviews section
In the storefront editor
- Go to Storefront in the sidebar.
- On the Content tab, select the Reviews section pill.
| Setting | Options | Default |
|---|---|---|
| Section title | Custom text, up to 120 characters | "What Clients Say" |
| Star Rating badge | Toggle on/off (shows Google trust badge) | On |
Section visibility
Toggle the Reviews section on or off from the Content tab's edit mode (eye icon). If the section is toggled on but no published OpenChair reviews exist, the section hides automatically on the live storefront.
How reviews get to the storefront
Reviews appear on the storefront through this flow:
- A client completes a booking and receives a post-visit feedback request (if enabled)
- The client leaves a rating and optional written review
- The review enters the Reviews dashboard
- The owner reviews and publishes the review (or it is auto-published based on review settings)
- Published reviews automatically appear on the public storefront
For full details on managing the review pipeline, see Reviews & Feedback Management.
Troubleshooting
| Issue | Solution |
|---|---|
| Reviews section not appearing on the storefront | The section hides automatically when no published OpenChair reviews exist. Ensure you have at least one published review and the Reviews section visibility is toggled on in Storefront. |
| Google rating badge not showing | Connect your Google Business Profile in the storefront editor under the Reviews section's Social Proof card. Ensure the Star Rating toggle is on. |
| A specific review is not showing publicly | Only reviews with published moderation status appear on the storefront. Go to Reviews in the sidebar, find the review, and check its status. |
| Owner response not appearing on a review card | Owner responses only display on reviews that have a published response. Write a response from the review detail view in the Reviews dashboard. |
| Reviews page shows "Load more" but nothing loads | This can happen if reviews were unpublished after the page loaded. Refresh the page to get the current count. |
FAQ
Why is my reviews section not appearing on the storefront?
The reviews section auto-hides when no published OpenChair reviews exist. You need at least one published review, and the section must be toggled on in Storefront > Content.
How do I connect my Google rating badge to my storefront?
Go to Storefront in the sidebar, open the Content tab, and select the Reviews section. In the Social Proof card, enter your business name in the search field and select your business from the results.
How do I make a review appear publicly?
Go to Reviews in the sidebar and find the review. Only reviews with published moderation status appear on the storefront. Use the three-dot menu (web) or the detail sheet (mobile) to change the status.