Easy Social Proof adds a trust widget to your WordPress site — a row of overlapping avatars with a star rating and a line like “Trusted by 2,347 marketers.” It is the kind of social proof element you see on high-converting landing pages, pricing pages, and hero sections across the web.
The free version gives you everything you need to create a professional trust widget. Setup takes about two minutes.
Installation
In your WordPress admin, go to Plugins → Add New and search for Easy Social Proof Lite. Click Install Now, then Activate.
There are no settings pages to configure. Everything is done directly in the block editor, which means you build your trust widget exactly where it will appear on the page.
Minimum requirements:
- WordPress 6.0 or higher
- PHP 7.4 or higher
- Tested up to WordPress 6.9
Adding Your First Trust Widget
Open any page or post in the block editor and click the + button to add a new block. Search for Social Proof and insert the Easy Social Proof block. A preview appears immediately with default settings — you will customise it from the sidebar panel on the right.
If you do not see the settings sidebar, click the block first, then click the Settings icon (the gear) in the top-right corner of the editor.
The best place to start is your homepage hero section, directly below your main headline or next to your call to action. This is where trust widgets have the highest impact — research from Trustpilot found that social proof on the homepage influenced 86% of consumers.
Setting Up Avatars
Click Add Avatar to upload images or choose from your media library. You can add up to 10 avatars, and they automatically overlap to create the stacked crowd effect.
Recommended image size: 200px by 200px. Square images work best — they are cropped to circles automatically.
Avatar settings you can adjust:
- Avatar Size — slider from 24px to 64px. For hero sections, 40-48px works well. For smaller placements like sidebar widgets, 32-36px keeps things compact.
- Overlap — controls how much each avatar sits on top of the previous one. More overlap creates a tighter crowd effect. Less overlap shows more of each face.
- Border Width — adds a border around each avatar. A 2-3px border in white (or your background colour) creates clean separation between overlapping images.
- Border Color — match this to your page background so the borders blend seamlessly.
How many avatars to use: Four to six is the sweet spot. Fewer than four looks sparse and does not create the crowd impression. More than eight creates visual clutter without adding proportionally more trust.
What images to use: Real customer photos are the gold standard — they create the strongest trust signal because visitors can see actual people who use your product. If you do not have customer photos, AI-generated avatars that look natural are more effective than generic stock photos that visitors recognise from other websites.
For more on sourcing avatar images, including AI-generated options and when to use them, read How to Add Customer Avatars to Your Website.
Writing Your Trust Text
The default message is “Join 1,000+ happy subscribers” — change this in the Content section of the block settings to match your actual numbers and audience.
What works:
- “Trusted by 2,347 marketers” — specific number, relevant audience descriptor
- “Used by 500+ WooCommerce stores” — helps visitors self-identify
- “Rated 4.8/5 by 312 customers” — combines trust text with a rating claim
What does not work:
- “Join our community” — vague, no concrete evidence
- “Thousands of happy users” — unspecific, sounds inflated
- “The best plugin for…” — a claim, not social proof
The most effective trust text follows a simple formula: [action verb] + [specific number] + [audience descriptor]. “Trusted by” is the strongest verb because it explicitly frames the relationship as one of trust. “Used by” is neutral and factual. “Join” is the weakest because it frames the visitor as joining something rather than making a confident decision.
You can adjust the Text Color and Font Size under the Style panel to match your site’s typography. The text should be legible but not dominant — it supports your headline, it does not compete with it.
For a detailed guide on writing trust text, including formulas for different page types, read How to Write Trust Text That Converts.
Star Ratings
Turn on the Show Stars toggle to display a star rating alongside your trust text. You can set the number of filled stars (1 to 5, including half-star increments) and choose a colour for them.
What rating to display: Show your actual average rating from your review platform. Research from the Spiegel Research Center found that conversion peaks between 4.2 and 4.7 stars — not at a perfect 5.0. A 4.7 looks authentic. A 5.0 can look curated.
Star colour: Gold or amber (#F5A623 or similar) is the most universally recognised colour for star ratings. Visitors process gold stars faster than custom-coloured stars because it matches their existing mental model from Google, Amazon, and every other review platform.
For the research behind star ratings and their impact on conversions, read Do Star Ratings Really Increase Conversions? What the Research Says.
Layout Options
Horizontal places the avatars on the left with the trust text and stars on the right. This is the most common layout for hero sections, pricing page headers, and anywhere with enough horizontal space. It reads naturally left-to-right: faces → stars → text.
Vertical stacks the avatars on top with the trust text centred below. This works well in narrower spaces — sidebar areas, centred landing page designs, or below a call-to-action button.
You can also set the alignment to left, centre, or right depending on where the block sits relative to other content on your page.
Mobile behaviour: On screens under 480px, the horizontal layout automatically switches to vertical so the widget remains readable without horizontal scrolling. You do not need to configure this separately.
Where to Place Your Trust Widget
The widget works anywhere in the block editor, but some placements are significantly more effective than others.
Homepage hero section — directly below your main headline or beside your primary call to action. This is the highest-impact placement. It establishes credibility before the visitor makes any decision about whether to explore further.
Pricing page — near the pricing table or subscribe button. At this point, the visitor is weighing a financial commitment. A trust widget with a customer count and star rating directly addresses “Is this worth it?”
Landing pages — above or below the signup form. The closer the social proof is to the action you want the visitor to take, the more influence it has on that decision.
Above the fold — wherever you place it, the trust widget should ideally be visible without scrolling. Social proof that requires scrolling to find has already failed at its primary job: creating instant credibility.
For a complete guide to social proof placement, read Where to Place Social Proof on Your Website.
Free vs Pro
The free version includes the core trust widget with avatars, star ratings, trust text, and layout options — everything covered in this guide.
The free version displays a small “Powered by Easy Social Proof” link below the widget. The Pro version removes this branding and adds several additional features:
- Trust Badges — security icons, payment logos, and guarantee badges you can place near checkout and calls to action
- Review Cards — individual review displays with customer photo, star rating, and quote that automatically stack into a grid
- Sales Popups — WooCommerce-connected toast notifications showing real recent purchases
- AI Avatars — generated profile images for your avatar stack when you do not have customer photos
For a full breakdown of what is included in each version, read Easy Social Proof Free vs Pro: What’s the Difference?
Next Steps
Once your trust widget is live, the most important thing is to keep the numbers honest and up to date. If your trust text says “Trusted by 500+ customers,” update it as your customer count grows. Static social proof that never changes eventually feels stale.
If you are starting from zero and wondering what to display before you have reviews or a large customer base, read How to Get Social Proof When You Have No Customers Yet.
For the research behind why trust widgets work and how they influence buying decisions, read The Psychology of Social Proof: Why We Follow the Crowd.