Adding the review widget to your website
The widget puts your published reviews on your own website — your shop, your booking page, your landing page. You build the code in Kudo and paste it in once. It is available on every plan, including Free.
The widget shows the same reviews as your Kudo page, presented the same way: first name and last initial, a relative date, and long reviews shortened with a "Read more".
Adding the widget to your website
- Go to
Dashboard → Widgets. - Pick a layout and a theme. The preview beside it uses your real reviews, so you are choosing on what it will actually look like.
- Copy the embed code. It is two lines:
<div data-kudo-widget data-slug="your-business" data-layout="grid" data-theme="light"></div>
<script src="https://getkudo.co/widget.js" async></script>
- Paste both lines into your website where you want the reviews to appear.
- Save and open the page. The reviews load a moment after the page does.
The code carries no password and no key, so it is safe to paste into a public page, hand to a web designer, or keep in a theme file.
Which layouts can I use?
Kudo has 13 layouts. The Free plan draws five of them — grid, masonry, carousel and compact, plus the single-line star rating badge that sits beside a price. Pro and AI Pro draw all thirteen, including the floating corner badge and the photo gallery.
If the code asks for a layout your plan does not include, the widget draws the grid layout instead. Your visitors see reviews rather than an error message. The floating corner badge is the exception: off its plan it draws nothing, rather than dropping a block of reviews into the middle of your page.
On a product page, a product with no reviews of its own yet shows your store's reviews instead of an empty box, under a line saying this product has none yet. That works on every plan, including Free.
Adding the widget to Shopify
Kudo is a Shopify app, so you do not paste code into a Shopify theme by hand.
- Go to
Dashboard → Widgets. - Use the one-click install link. It opens your theme editor with the Kudo block already selected.
- Choose where the block sits, then save the theme.
On a product page, the widget also writes the review information Google reads for star ratings in search results. You can turn that off in the theme block if another app on your store already does it.
Adding the widget to Wix
Wix does not accept a raw script in most sections, so Kudo ships a Wix element.
- Install Kudo from the Wix App Market.
- Add the Kudo Reviews element to a page.
- Open its settings panel and choose the layout and theme.
The panel already knows which Kudo page your site is connected to, so there is nothing to copy or paste.
Can I change how the widget looks?
You can change two things beyond layout and theme: the font and the corner rounding. Setting the font to inherit makes the widget use your site's own typeface, which is usually the version that looks like it belongs there.
The widget does not download a font of its own, and it cannot be styled with your own CSS. That is deliberate: the widget renders in its own isolated box, so your site's styling cannot rearrange it and its styling cannot leak onto your site.
Do hidden reviews show up in the widget?
No. The widget shows exactly what your Kudo page shows.
A review that is waiting for approval does not appear. A published review you later hide disappears from the widget too, on the next page load. Your display settings — dates, star ratings, the source of each review — carry over as well.
How do I remove "Powered by Kudo"?
The Pro plan can remove it, with a switch in Dashboard → Widgets. AI Pro removes it too. Free widgets carry the line.
⚠️ Removing the line is checked every time the widget loads, not once when you switch it. If a paid plan ends, widgets already on your site start showing the line again without you touching the code.
Does the widget slow my site down?
The script is small and loads with async, which means your page finishes drawing without waiting for it. The reviews then appear in the box you placed.
The widget does not load a font, does not load a framework, and does not load anything from a third party. On a product page it draws only the reviews you asked for — set the number in Dashboard → Widgets.
Troubleshooting
| Symptom | Cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| The widget box is empty | Your Kudo page has no published reviews yet | Publish reviews in Dashboard → Kudos |
| Reviews appear, but not the layout you chose | That layout is not on your plan, so the widget fell back to grid | Upgrade, or pick one of the Free layouts |
| Nothing appears at all | Only one of the two lines was pasted | Paste both the <div> and the <script> line |
| It works on your desktop but not for a customer | The page is cached by your site or your host | Clear your site's cache and reload |
| The widget shows a different business | The code carries the wrong page address | Copy the code again from Dashboard → Widgets |
| Reviews are there but the Shopify block is empty | The block was added to a page but the theme was not saved | Reopen the theme editor and save |
Frequently asked questions
Is the widget included in the Free plan?
Yes. Free draws your real reviews on four layouts, plus the star rating badge beside a price, with the "Powered by Kudo" line. Your page publishes 5 reviews on Free, so the widget shows those 5.
Can I put the widget on more than one page?
Yes. Paste the same two lines wherever you want reviews, as many times as you like.
Can I show reviews for a single product?
Yes, on a product page in a connected shop. The widget shows the reviews left for that product.
Do I need to update the code when I get new reviews?
No. The widget reads your reviews live. Publish a review and it appears — nothing to re-copy.
Does the widget work on WordPress, Squarespace or a plain HTML site?
Yes. Anywhere you can paste HTML into a page, the widget runs.
Will the widget show a customer's full name?
No. The widget shows a first name and a last initial, the same as your Kudo page.
Still need help?
Email support@getkudo.co with the address of the page you pasted the code into, and we will look at it with you.