ElPlan Kuchikomi Wall

Description

IMPORTANT: A Google Places API key is required to display Google Reviews. Google provides a free tier (1,000 requests/month), which is sufficient for most sites. Step-by-step setup guide is available at el-plan.com/kuchikomi-wall/api-guide/. Manual testimonials and X (Twitter) embeds work without any API key.

Kuchikomi Wall helps local businesses manage and display Google Business Profile reviews and customer testimonials on their WordPress site. Turn your best reviews into social proof on your website.

Key Features

• Google Reviews Integration – Connect your Google Business Profile and display customer reviews automatically (cached for performance, Google API compliant)
• X (Twitter) Embeds – Add tweet URLs and display them as testimonial cards (no API key required)
• Manual Testimonials – Add any testimonial manually from emails, Coconala, direct feedback, or any other source
• 5 Display Templates – Card Grid, Slider/Carousel, Simple List, Badge, and Floating layouts
• 3 Color Schemes – Light, Dark, and Auto
• Unified Dashboard – Manage all review sources from a single admin interface
• Setup Wizard – Initial setup flow for API key, Place ID, and display style
• Live Preview – Preview display settings before embedding the widget
• Gutenberg Block – Native block included; search “Kuchikomi Wall” in the block inserter
• Shortcode Support – Embed anywhere with [tmnl_kuchikomi_wall]

Free vs Pro

Feature
Free
Pro

Google Reviews (1 location)
Yes
Yes

X (Twitter) embeds
Yes
Yes

Manual testimonials
Yes
Yes

5 display templates
Yes
Yes

Gutenberg block
Yes
Yes

Multiple locations (multi-store)
No
Yes

Schema.org structured data (JSON-LD)
No
Yes

Review request QR code
No
Yes

Pro is available at el-plan.com/kuchikomi-wall – $3.50/month (billed $35/year).

Perfect For

• Local businesses wanting to show Google Reviews on their website
• Freelancers and consultants showcasing client testimonials
• Salons, clinics, restaurants, and anyone who collects Google Reviews
• Web creators building client sites

Shortcode Usage

Basic:
[tmnl_kuchikomi_wall]

With options:
[tmnl_kuchikomi_wall limit=”6″ template=”slider” color=”dark” min_rating=”4″]

Parameters:
* limit – Number of reviews to display (default: 6)
* source – all, manual, google, or x_embed (default: all)
* template – card, slider, list, badge, or floating (default: card)
* color – light, dark, or auto (default: light)
* min_rating – Minimum star rating to display, 1-5 (default: 1)

Google Reviews Setup

1. Get a Google Places API key (free tier: 1,000 requests/month)
2. Find your Google Place ID
3. Enter both in Kuchikomi Wall > Google Reviews > Settings
4. Reviews are cached for 30 days (Google API compliant)

Privacy & API Compliance

• Google review text is not stored in your database (compliant with Google’s Terms of Service)
• Only Place ID is saved permanently; review data is cached temporarily via WordPress Transients
• X (Twitter) embeds use the free oEmbed API; no authentication or API key required

Multilingual Ready

Kuchikomi Wall is translation-ready. A Japanese translation (ja) is included. Contributions for other languages are welcome.

Support

• Plugin homepage: https://www.el-plan.com/kuchikomi-wall/
• Google API key setup guide (English): https://www.el-plan.com/kuchikomi-wall/api-guide-en/
• Google API key setup guide (Japanese): https://www.el-plan.com/kuchikomi-wall/api-guide/
• Support forum: Use the WordPress.org support tab

External Services

This plugin connects to the following third-party services:

Google Places API

• What it does: Retrieves customer reviews and business information from Google Business Profile.
• When data is sent: Only when you manually trigger a review fetch in the admin dashboard, or automatically via WP-Cron if you enable the scheduled refresh option.
• What data is sent: Your Google Place ID and API key (stored locally on your server; sent to Google’s API endpoint).
• Service provider: Google LLC
• Google Maps Platform Terms of Service
• Google Privacy Policy

X (Twitter) oEmbed API

• What it does: Converts tweet URLs into embeddable HTML cards for display on your site.
• When data is sent: When a visitor views a page containing an X embed (the browser contacts Twitter’s oEmbed endpoint to render the tweet).
• What data is sent: The tweet URL only. No personal user data is transmitted by this plugin.
• Service provider: X Corp.
• X Terms of Service
• X Privacy Policy