Documentation

Everything you need to set up and get the most out of NativeProof for your Shopify store.

Getting Started

Installation

Installing NativeProof is quick and easy. Follow these steps to get reviews on your store in minutes.

  1. Install from Shopify App Store

    Visit the NativeProof app listing and click "Add app" to begin installation. Authorize the required permissions when prompted.

  2. Enable Theme App Extension

    After installation, go to Online Store > Themes > Customize. Click "App embeds" in the left sidebar and enable NativeProof. The extension will automatically add review capabilities to your theme.

  3. Add Review Blocks

    In the theme editor, navigate to your product page template. Click "Add block" and select NativeProof widgets like Product Reviews, Star Rating Badge, or Review Form.

  4. Configure Settings

    Return to the NativeProof app dashboard to configure Google Shopping feed settings, Cloudflare Stream credentials, and review moderation.

Theme Compatibility

NativeProof works with all Shopify themes including Dawn, Debut, Brooklyn, and custom themes. No theme code editing is required.

Configuration

After installation, configure NativeProof through the app dashboard and Shopify Theme Editor.

Review Moderation

All submitted reviews require manual approval before publishing:

  • Pending reviews: New submissions appear in the "Pending" tab in your dashboard
  • Approve/Reject: Review each submission and click "Approve" to publish or "Reject" to decline
  • Bulk actions: Select multiple reviews and approve or reject them at once
  • Verified buyer badge: Reviews from customers who purchased the product are automatically marked as verified

Google Shopping Feed

Configure your Google Product Review XML feed in Settings > Google Shopping:

  • Feed URL: Copy the generated feed URL to submit to Google Merchant Center
  • Exclude syndicated: Option to exclude imported reviews (e.g., AliExpress) from the feed
  • Feed statistics: View counts of total, verified, native, imported, and syndicated reviews

Video Reviews (Cloudflare Stream)

Enable video reviews by connecting your Cloudflare Stream account:

  • Account credentials: Enter your Cloudflare Account ID and Stream API Token
  • Test connection: Verify your credentials are working correctly
  • Video limits: Videos up to 5 minutes and 100MB are supported

Widget Settings (Theme Editor)

Each widget has customizable settings in the Shopify Theme Editor:

  • Cards Carousel: Title, max cards to show, navigation arrows, dot indicators
  • Star Rating Badge: Display format (full, compact, minimal), star colors, size
  • Video Carousel: Autoplay, thumbnail display, navigation controls
  • UGC Media Grid: Grid layout (square, masonry, featured), columns per row
  • All Reviews Page: Filtering options, sorting, pagination style
Theme Editor Access

To customize widget settings, go to Online Store > Themes > Customize, then click on any NativeProof block to see its available options.

Your First Review

Test the review system by submitting a test review:

  1. Visit a Product Page

    Go to any product page on your live store where you've added the Review Form block.

  2. Submit a Test Review

    Fill out the review form with a star rating, title, and content. Add a photo or video if enabled.

  3. Approve in Dashboard

    Return to the NativeProof app and find your test review in the "Pending" tab. Click "Approve" to publish it.

  4. Verify on Storefront

    Refresh the product page to see your review displayed. It syncs instantly to the storefront.

Zero Layout Shift

Notice how the review appears without any page jumping or layout shift. That's NativeProof's server-side rendering in action!

Widget Setup

Widgets Overview

NativeProof includes 15+ display widgets, all server-side rendered for zero layout shift. Add widgets through the Shopify Theme Editor.

Product Reviews

Full reviews list with pagination, filtering, and sorting. Best for product pages.

Review Form

Customer submission form with star rating, text, and media upload.

Star Rating Badge

Compact rating display with stars and count. Great for product cards.

Cards Carousel

Beautiful card-based carousel for showcasing top reviews.

Video Carousel

Dynamic video review carousel with lazy loading.

Testimonial Carousel

Quote-style carousel for customer testimonials.

UGC Media Grid

Instagram-style grid of customer photos and videos.

All Reviews Page

Dedicated page for all store reviews with advanced filtering.

Star Rating Badge

Add compact star ratings to product cards, collection pages, or anywhere you want to display review scores.

Display Formats

  • Full: Stars + average rating + review count (4.8 / 5 - 124 reviews)
  • Compact: Stars + review count only
  • Minimal: Stars only

Customization

The Star Rating Badge inherits your theme's typography and can be customized with:

  • Star color (filled and empty)
  • Star size
  • Text size and color
  • Alignment (left, center, right)

UGC Media Grid

Create an Instagram-style gallery of customer photos and videos. Perfect for showcasing user-generated content.

Grid Layouts

  • Square grid: Uniform squares like Instagram
  • Masonry: Pinterest-style varied heights
  • Featured: One large + multiple small tiles

Lightbox Feature

Clicking any image opens a full-screen lightbox with the complete review, navigation arrows, and the ability to play videos inline.

All Reviews Page

Create a dedicated page showcasing all reviews across your entire store.

Setup Steps

  1. Create a New Page

    In Shopify admin, go to Online Store > Pages and create a new page titled "Reviews" or similar.

  2. Assign Template

    Set the page template to "page.reviews" or add the NativeProof All Reviews block to your page template.

  3. Configure Filters

    In the theme editor, enable filtering by star rating, product, and verified buyer status.

Features

  • Filter by star rating (1-5 stars)
  • Filter by product or collection
  • Filter by media (photos/videos only)
  • Sort by newest, oldest, or most helpful
  • Search reviews by keyword
  • Infinite scroll or pagination

Import & Migration

CSV Import

Import reviews from any source using our flexible CSV import tool.

Supported Fields

Field Required Description
product_handle Yes Shopify product handle (URL slug)
rating Yes Star rating (1-5)
title No Review title/headline
body Yes Review content/text
author No Reviewer name
email No Reviewer email (for verification)
created_at No Review date (ISO 8601 format)
verified No Verified buyer status (true/false)
photo_urls No Comma-separated image URLs

Import Process

  1. Prepare Your CSV

    Ensure your CSV has the required columns. Download our template CSV for reference.

  2. Upload in Dashboard

    Go to NativeProof > Import and upload your CSV file.

  3. Map Fields

    Our auto-detection will map columns. Verify and adjust if needed.

  4. Review and Import

    Preview the first 10 reviews, then click "Import All" to complete.

Judge.me Import

Migrate your reviews from Judge.me in a few clicks.

Export from Judge.me

  1. Access Judge.me Dashboard

    Log into your Shopify admin and open the Judge.me app.

  2. Navigate to Export

    Go to Settings > Export Reviews.

  3. Download CSV

    Click "Export All Reviews" to download the CSV file.

Import to NativeProof

In NativeProof, go to Import > Judge.me and upload the exported CSV. Our system automatically maps Judge.me's schema to NativeProof fields.

Automatic Field Mapping

NativeProof automatically recognizes Judge.me's export format including photos, verified buyer status, and reply content.

Yotpo Import

Migrate reviews from Yotpo to NativeProof with full data preservation.

Export from Yotpo

  1. Access Yotpo Admin

    Log into your Yotpo dashboard at yotpo.com.

  2. Request Export

    Go to Reviews > Export and request a full CSV export. This may take a few hours for large review volumes.

  3. Download Export

    Once ready, download the CSV from your email or the Yotpo dashboard.

Import to NativeProof

Upload the Yotpo CSV in NativeProof under Import > Yotpo. The importer handles Yotpo's unique field structure automatically.

Loox Import

Bring your Loox photo reviews to NativeProof.

Export from Loox

  1. Open Loox App

    In Shopify admin, open the Loox app.

  2. Export Reviews

    Go to Reviews > Export and generate a CSV export.

  3. Include Photos

    Ensure the export includes photo URLs for full migration.

Photo URL Expiration

Some Loox photo URLs may expire. Import promptly after export, and NativeProof will re-upload images to permanent storage.

AliExpress Import

Import AliExpress product reviews for dropshipping stores.

How It Works

Provide the AliExpress product URL, and NativeProof will fetch reviews directly. Reviews are labeled as "syndicated" for Google Shopping compliance.

Import Steps

  1. Find Product URL

    Copy the AliExpress product page URL.

  2. Link to Shopify Product

    In NativeProof, go to Import > AliExpress and paste the URL. Select the corresponding Shopify product.

  3. Configure Options

    Choose minimum star rating, maximum reviews to import, and whether to include photos.

  4. Import Reviews

    Click "Import" to fetch and add reviews to your product.

Syndicated Review Labeling

AliExpress reviews are marked with the "ZZ" country code in the Google Shopping feed as required by Google's syndicated content policy.

Advanced Features

Google Shopping Feed

NativeProof generates a Google Product Review XML feed that meets all Google Merchant Center requirements.

Enable the Feed

  1. Access Feed Settings

    In NativeProof, go to Settings > Google Shopping.

  2. Enable XML Feed

    Toggle "Enable Google Product Review Feed" to on.

  3. Copy Feed URL

    Copy the generated feed URL (e.g., yourstore.com/reviews-feed.xml).

Submit to Google Merchant Center

  1. Log into Merchant Center

    Go to merchants.google.com and access your account.

  2. Navigate to Product Reviews

    Go to Growth > Product Reviews.

  3. Add Feed

    Click "Add feed" and paste your NativeProof feed URL.

  4. Validate Feed

    Google will validate the feed. Fix any errors shown and resubmit.

Feed Specifications

Feature Supported
Review text and title Yes
Star ratings (1-5) Yes
Reviewer name Yes
Review timestamp Yes
Product GTIN/SKU linking Yes
Syndicated content labeling Yes (ZZ code)
Pros and cons Yes (if collected)

Verified Buyer Detection

NativeProof automatically detects and badges verified buyers to build customer trust.

How Verification Works

  1. Order Webhook Processing

    When orders are placed, NativeProof receives webhooks from Shopify containing order and customer data.

  2. Secure Email Hashing

    Customer emails are hashed using SHA-256 with a per-shop salt. No plaintext emails are stored.

  3. Review Submission Matching

    When a review is submitted, the email is hashed and compared against order records.

  4. Badge Assignment

    Matching reviews receive the "Verified Buyer" badge automatically.

Privacy Compliance

  • No plaintext customer emails are stored
  • Hashing uses industry-standard SHA-256
  • Per-shop salt prevents rainbow table attacks
  • GDPR and CCPA compliant data handling

Theme App Extension

NativeProof uses Shopify's Theme App Extension for clean integration without modifying your theme code.

Benefits

  • No theme code changes: Widgets are added through the theme editor
  • Clean uninstall: Removing the app leaves no residual code
  • Theme updates safe: Extensions persist through theme updates
  • Multi-theme support: Enable on any theme in your store

App Blocks vs App Embeds

Type Use Case
App Blocks Add to specific sections (product page, homepage)
App Embeds Site-wide features (popup reviews, floating sidebar)

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

Solutions to frequently encountered problems.

Check these solutions:

  1. Ensure the NativeProof app embed is enabled in Theme Editor > App embeds
  2. Verify the Product Reviews block is added to your product template
  3. Check that reviews are approved (not pending) in the NativeProof dashboard
  4. Clear your browser cache and Shopify's CDN cache

This can happen when:

  1. The product has no approved reviews yet
  2. The widget filter (e.g., "minimum 4 stars") excludes all reviews
  3. Reviews haven't synced to Metaobjects yet - wait a few minutes
  4. The product handle doesn't match - check product URL in Shopify admin

Common import issues:

  1. Invalid product handle: Ensure product handles match your Shopify products exactly
  2. Missing required fields: Check that rating and body columns have values
  3. Encoding issues: Save CSV as UTF-8 encoding
  4. Date format: Use ISO 8601 format (YYYY-MM-DD)

Troubleshooting steps:

  1. Check browser console for JavaScript errors
  2. Ensure no ad blockers or privacy extensions are blocking the form
  3. Verify the form has all required fields (rating, email, content)
  4. Check if CAPTCHA (if enabled) is loading correctly

Common feed errors:

  1. Missing GTIN: Add GTINs to products in Shopify admin
  2. Empty reviews: Ensure reviews have content, not just ratings
  3. Invalid dates: Check review timestamps are valid
  4. Feed timeout: For large catalogs, wait for full generation

Performance Optimization

NativeProof is built for performance. Here's what makes it fast and how to ensure optimal results.

0.00
CLS Score

Zero Cumulative Layout Shift from server-side rendering

<10kb
JavaScript Bundle

Minimal JS for interactivity only

<50ms
LCP Impact

Negligible impact on page load time

Performance Best Practices

  • Limit reviews per page: Show 5-10 reviews initially with pagination
  • Lazy load images: All review images use native lazy loading
  • Use video thumbnails: Videos show thumbnails until clicked
  • Avoid too many widgets: Use 2-3 widgets per page maximum
  • Enable CDN caching: Shopify's CDN caches Metaobject data

Measuring Performance

Use these tools to verify NativeProof's performance impact:

  • Google PageSpeed Insights: Check Core Web Vitals scores
  • Chrome DevTools: Use Lighthouse for detailed analysis
  • WebPageTest: Get waterfall charts and filmstrips
  • Shopify Speed Report: Monitor your store's speed over time
Why Server-Side Rendering Matters

Traditional review apps fetch data via JavaScript after page load, causing layout shift and delayed content. NativeProof stores reviews in Shopify Metaobjects, rendering them with Liquid at the server level. This means reviews are part of the initial HTML response - no JavaScript needed, no layout shift, no performance penalty.