Site Widgets

Build a widget once in JReviews administration and deploy it through Joomla module positions, WordPress sidebars, the Gutenberg editor, or shortcodes.

#Overview

Site Widgets is where you build and manage every widget your site uses. You configure each widget once in JReviews administration — choose its content sources, ordering, layout and any other settings — and JReviews assigns it an ID. From then on you can drop the same widget into multiple places by selecting it from a dropdown:

• A Joomla module position
• A WordPress sidebar
• A WordPress block editor placement
• A shortcode in any Joomla article, WordPress post, banner custom field, or template override

This is a parallel surface to the legacy Modules & Widgets approach. Both work, and you can mix them on the same site:

• Site Widgets is the recommended path for any widget type that has been ported. Configure once, deploy anywhere, edit in one place.
• Legacy modules and widgets continue to work for unported widget types and for any existing module positions or sidebar widgets you have already set up.

#Building a Widget

Open Setup → Site Widgets in JReviews administration. This is the home of every widget you have built. From here you can:

• Create a new widget — pick the widget type and either start from a blank configuration, copy settings from another widget you have already built, or import settings from a legacy Joomla module instance or WordPress sidebar widget.
• Filter the list by add-on or by widget type.
• See a CMS Usage column with how many module positions, sidebars or block instances are currently using each widget.
• Publish, unpublish, edit, or delete widgets.

When you open a widget for editing, the form gives you everything specific to that widget type. Common to every widget:

• Title — used as the heading on the front-end. You can override the title per placement, or hide it entirely.
• Notes — a free-form field for your own reference.
• Where Used — an expandable section that lists every Joomla module, WordPress sidebar, block instance and shortcode placement currently referencing the widget. Check this before unpublishing or deleting.

#Listings Widget Card Layouts

The Listings widget supports custom card layouts. Manage these under Layout Customizer → Listings Widget. Layouts you create here become available as a "Card Layout" choice in any Listings widget you build.

#Previewing a Widget

Widget Preview is a standalone page under Support → Site Widgets Preview. Open it in a separate tab to see how a widget will render before you deploy it to a Joomla module position, a sidebar, or a block.

The preview page lets you pick any published widget and walks through several preview scenarios specific to its widget type — for example, the Listings widget previews on a directory page, a category page, and a search results page. There is also a dark-mode toggle so you can verify both themes.

#Available Widget Types

The Listings, Media, Totals and Comments widgets each include a Content Source setting so a single widget can be limited to a specific add-on extension's content (for example, only Everywhere-integrated profiles or events). The Listing Search and the two filter widgets each include a Default Sort Order setting that controls the result order on the destination list page.

The next sections cover the new search and filter widget types in more detail.

#Listing Search

The Listing Search widget renders a search form with cascading directory → listing type → category dropdowns, optional keyword input, and any other custom field elements you add through the Search Builder.

Notable settings:

• Orientation — Vertical (sidebar) or Horizontal (header bar / homepage hero).
• Auto-detect Context — when on, the widget reads the current page's directory, listing type and category to pre-filter dropdown options. When off, restrict the widget to specific directories, listing types and categories.
• Default Sort Order — the sort order applied to results when the user submits the search.
• Target URL — override the search results URL. Leave empty to use the search menu item.
• Live Results — show matching listings in a dropdown panel as the user types or selects options. Sub-options control thumbnail, summary, ratings, result limit, and auto-hide on outside click.
• Search Builder — visual builder for the form layout. Drag in elements like keywords, categories, date and numeric ranges, custom fields, and a content block. Multi-option fields support an Any/All match toggle and an optional clear-all link.

#Listing Filters

The Listing Filters widget renders the sidebar (or, on smaller viewports, a dialog) of filter controls that narrow a list of listings. Use it on category pages, search results pages, and any other listing list page.

• Desktop Breakpoint — the viewport width below which the sidebar collapses into a toolbar trigger button.
• Auto-detect from Page — read the directory, listing type and category from the current page. Turn off for a fixed pre-filter context.
• Filter Builder — visual builder for filter elements. Includes element types for keywords, categories, dates, numeric ranges, ratings, related listings, custom fields, and a content block. Multi-option fields support an Any/All match toggle, configurable display modes (autosuggest, dropdown, checkboxes), and dependency cascading where one filter narrows another.
• Active filter chips — every active filter is shown as a removable chip above the result list, with a single clear-all action.

When the widget is placed on a V6 list page, filters apply live and the URL updates as the visitor refines their selection. On legacy list pages the form submits as a normal search instead. Either way the filter UI is the same.

#Comment Filters

The Comments and reviews counterpart to Listing Filters. Use it on dedicated review list pages and on any place that renders a V6 reviews list.

• Pre-filter options match Listing Filters (directories, listing types, categories) plus a Content Source dropdown that limits to reviews for a specific add-on extension.
• The Filter Builder includes elements for keyword search (with a scope toggle for review text vs owner replies), date ranges, ratings, listing custom fields, and dedicated Category and Listing Type filter elements scoped to the comment context.

#Deploying a Widget

Once a widget is built and published, you reference it from any of four surfaces. In every case you simply pick the widget by name from a dropdown.

#Joomla Universal Module

Create a Joomla module of type JReviews Universal Module (mod_jreviews). It exposes one main setting:

• JReviews Widget — a dropdown of every published widget, grouped by add-on. Select the one you want to render in this module position.

The module respects the standard Joomla Module Class Suffix and module caching settings. Create one Joomla module instance per placement (per module position, per menu assignment) and pick the widget for each.

The legacy per-type Joomla modules (mod_jreviews_listings, mod_jreviews_advsearch, etc.) remain available for widget types that have not been ported.

#WordPress Universal Classic Widget

Under Appearance → Widgets in the classic widgets screen, drag (JReviews) Universal Widget into a sidebar. Its form has three fields:

• Title — optional title override for this placement.
• Show Title — toggle the title on or off for this placement.
• JReviews Widget — dropdown of every published widget, grouped by add-on.

In the sidebar admin view, each instance is labelled JReviews · {instance title} · {widget type} so multiple JReviews widgets in the same sidebar are easy to tell apart.

#WordPress Gutenberg Block

In the WordPress block editor, look under the Widgets category for a block called JReviews Widget. Insert it where you want the widget to appear. The block sidebar shows two settings:

• Select Widget — dropdown of every published widget.
• Show Title — toggle the title on or off.

The block renders server-side, so the editor preview matches the front-end output. A note in the preview reminds editors that interactive features (live results, filter chips, etc.) only run on the published page.

The sidebar also includes an Edit widget in JReviews link that jumps directly to the configuration for the currently selected widget, and a Manage widgets in JReviews link to Site Widgets.

#Shortcode

The widget shortcode renders any published widget by ID:

[jreviews type="widget" id="abc123"]

Optional attributes:

• show_title="0" — suppress the widget title for this placement.

You can find a widget's ID at the top of its edit form. Use this shortcode anywhere shortcodes are processed: WordPress posts and pages, Joomla articles, banner custom fields, and template overrides.

When a Listing Filters or Comment Filters widget is placed via shortcode, it switches to dialog mode — a trigger button that opens the filters in a modal panel. The widget also suppresses its auto-inject behaviour on the same page so two filter surfaces don't compete for the same content area.

#Legacy Modules & Widgets

For widget types that have not yet been ported to Site Widgets, continue to use the per-type Joomla modules and WordPress widgets documented in the legacy Modules & Widgets article. Both surfaces coexist on the same site.