Today, users expect an ‘Amazon-like’ browsing experience. They want to narrow down thousands of products or posts to find the perfect result in seconds. If they can’t easily find what they need, they’ll likely leave your site – and head straight to your competitors.

That’s where a high-quality filtering plugin comes in. It helps your visitors find exactly what they’re looking for without clicking through dozens of pages.

One popular plugin gaining attention is WPFilters. It promises to add smart, professional filtering to WordPress without requiring any coding knowledge.

But is it really the best tool for your particular WordPress site? 

In this comprehensive WPFilters review, we’re putting it to the ultimate test. We’ll be looking at everything from its ‘no code’ setup to its ability to handle custom fields, so you can decide if WPFilters really is the right filtering solution for you. 

WPFilters Review: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

WPFilters aims to solve a problem many of us have struggled with for years: “How do I make sure visitors can find the content they want, without having to hire a developer?”

At WPBeginner, we’ve tested a lot of filtering tools over the years and most of them are difficult to use. They often force you to deal with complex custom code or create ugly sidebar widgets that are difficult to customize.

WPFilters does something completely different. It brings filtering directly into the WordPress block editor instead of forcing you to build complex queries.

When you want to add a filter to a page, post, or widget-ready area, you simply add it as a new block.

This is a game-changer because you can visually create advanced filters using the tools you already know. You don’t need to touch a single line of PHP or write custom code to get a professional result.

WPFilters also uses Ajax technology which means it shows the results straight away. 

When a user clicks a filter like ‘Red’ or ‘Under $50,’ they’ll see matching results without having to reload the page. This makes your site feel incredibly fast and modern, just like the experience you get on big sites like Amazon or Airbnb.

WPFilters Review: Is It the Right Filtering Plugin for Your WordPress Website?

If visitors can’t find exactly what they’re looking for within a few moments, they’ll almost certainly leave your site – and never return.

That’s why we always recommend adding content filtering, especially as your site grows.

A good filtering plugin can instantly transform a messy list of posts or products into a user-friendly catalog. It helps visitors avoid confusion and zero in on the content they actually care about. This ultimately means higher engagement and more sales.

With that in mind, we’re going to deep dive into WPFilters to see if it can help you add content filtering to your site. We’ll explore its features, pricing, and support to uncover all its strengths and weaknesses.

By the end of this hands-on WPFilters review, you’ll know whether it really is the best filtering plugin for your WordPress website.

1. Get Started in Minutes (No Tech Skills Needed)

It’s not uncommon for a plugin to promise easy setup, and then fail to deliver. Hours later, you may still be struggling with the initial configuration. 

Thankfully, WPFilters is incredibly easy to set up. It comes with a built-in onboarding wizard that launches as soon as you install and activate the plugin.

Each step is explained clearly with no technical jargon. You don’t need to know what a query loop or taxonomy is to get WPFilters working. If you can answer simple questions about your content, you can set up this plugin.

And the result? You should have your first filter live in just a few minutes.

2. Drag-and-Drop Simplicity (No Code Required)

Most advanced filtering plugins come with a steep learning curve. You may find yourself wrestling with shortcodes, trying to force widgets into incompatible theme areas, or editing PHP files just to get a filter to display correctly.

WPFilters takes a completely different approach by integrating seamlessly with the WordPress block editor.

With WPFilters, you can add filters to your pages in seconds. Simply open the standard WordPress editor, search for the WPFilters block, and drop it right into your layout.

After that, you can configure everything right there in the editor. You can even preview your filters to see exactly how everything looks before clicking ‘Publish.’

Overall, WPFilters feels like a core part of WordPress, rather than a clunky or complicated add-on.

3. Filter Any Type of Content

Most filtering plugins focus on just one thing, such as WooCommerce products or blog posts. However, WPFilters promises to help visitors find exactly what they’re looking for by filtering any type of WordPress content.

We tested this claim and it turned out to be accurate. WPFilters works seamlessly with standard blog posts, WooCommerce products, digital downloads, and even custom post types.

During testing, we added a filter to a blog section so visitors could browse articles by category. It was very easy to do, so we immediately added a second filter that allowed customers to sort by specific product attributes.

This flexibility is a huge advantage because you’re not restricted to a specific use case or type of content.

With WPFilters, you can create a wide range of filters using the exact same interface and tools. This means you don’t have to install multiple WordPress plugins or learn different workflows.

4. Multiple Interface Options

For the best results, a filtering plugin should adapt to your different layouts rather than forcing you to use the same look everywhere. After all, you might need a simple list for one page and a compact menu for another.

This isn’t an issue with WPFilters, as it supports a wide range of interface options. This includes checkboxes, radio buttons, dropdown lists, sliders, and keyword search boxes.

That said, WPFilters is a flexible plugin that supports a wide range of different scenarios. For example, checkboxes are great for online marketplaces where customers often want to select multiple attributes at the same time, such as size and color.

Meanwhile, dropdowns are ideal for long lists such as displaying all the categories on a large WordPress blog, without cluttering the page.

WPFilters’ dropdown layout also works well on smartphones because it keeps the interface clear and compact.

5. Create Hierarchical Filters

If you have a large site with hundreds of posts or products, chances are a simple list of checkboxes won’t help visitors find the content they want. Nothing scares away potential customers faster than seeing a long list of disorganized checkboxes. 

To solve this problem, WPFilters includes hierarchical filters. This lets you display nested categories and subcategories in a logical structure.

By grouping related items together, you make your filters much easier to scan and use. It turns a cluttered sidebar into a clean and organized navigation tool.

We tested this feature on a demo blog with several layers of categories and subcategories.

Instead of showing every single option in one long list, WPFilters automatically indented the subcategories below their parent category. This visual separation makes it instantly clear how your content is organized.

Typically, it’s a good idea to use this feature if your categories go more than two levels deep, since it improves the user experience significantly.

6. Collapsible Filter Options

Once you start adding detailed filters to your site, your filter section can quickly become bigger than your actual content. This looks messy and forces users to scroll through too many options.

To help you manage this, WPFilters lets you make the filter section collapsible. Another option is adding a ‘See More’ link when the list of filters gets too long. 

To get more information, we tested the See More feature on a blog that had many different categories and subcategories.

You simply activate a slider and then type in the maximum number of options you want to show.

With that done, WPFilters instantly hid the extra options behind a clickable link. This immediately cleaned up the layout and made the filter area look professional and compact, while keeping all the options easily accessible.

7. Fine-Tuning the Details (Item Counts & Empty States)

WPFilters lets you customize exactly how your filter results appear. You can choose to display item counts, show hierarchical relationships, or hide empty categories automatically.

We strongly recommend enabling the item counts feature, particularly if you’re running an eCommerce site such as a digital product marketplace. Instead of just seeing a category labelled ‘Hoodies,’ shoppers will see Hoodies (12).’

This adds immediate context for your visitors. It tells them it’s worth clicking this category because there’s multiple products to see.

It’s also a good idea to hide empty categories. This helps visitors avoid a situation where they select a ‘Green’ filter only to find zero results. WPFilters helps you avoid this frustration by hiding the option completely if no items exist.

8. Flexible Layouts (That Actually Match Your Theme)

How many times have you installed a plugin only to find that it looks completely different from the rest of your WordPress website? Even worse, fixing this styling issue often requires writing custom CSS or hiring a developer.

The good news is that WPFilters is built using native WordPress blocks so it inherits your theme’s styling automatically.

To test how flexible these layouts really were, we created a traditional vertical sidebar with filters stacked on top of each other. 

Then, we created something completely different for a landing page, and used WPFilters to arrange filters in a compact dropdown menu. 

Both layouts looked clean and professional right away. Since WPFilters uses your WordPress theme’s fonts and colors, you won’t have to write a single line of code to make the filters fit your brand. It just works.

9. Deep Linking for Marketing (And Convenience!) 

Many instant filtering plugins change the content on the page without updating the URL in the browser bar. This makes it impossible for users to bookmark a specific search or share it with others.

WPFilters solves this by generating a unique URL for every single filtered view.

This feature is incredibly convenient, but it’s also a powerful marketing tool. For example, you could send an email newsletter with a link like ‘Check out our Summer Sale items under $20,’ and send customers directly to that pre-filtered view.

Without this feature, you’d have to send subscribers to a generic shop page and hope they figure out how to use the filters themselves.

10. Unlock the Power of Custom Fields (Dates, Prices, & More)

Sometimes your most important data is hidden inside custom fields. For example, if you’re running a real estate directory with fields such as ‘Number of Bedrooms’ and ‘Square Footage,’ then visitors will want to filter your content based on that information. 

WPFilters lets you tap into this data so visitors can filter by dates, number ranges, ratings, boolean values, locations, and any other custom fields you’re using. 

This feature is incredibly versatile. Whether you’re building a car dealership site or a food blog, being able to filter by custom metadata opens up a ton of possibilities.

11. Seamless Integration with Advanced Custom Fields (ACF)

If you’re using the Advanced Custom Fields (ACF) plugin to manage your site’s data, you’ll be happy to know that WPFilters integrates with it right out-of-the-box. You don’t need to write complex queries to make your custom data searchable.

We tested this integration on a demo online store that had specific ACF fields for technical details like Screen Size, Weight, and Battery Life.

Connecting these to WPFilters was incredibly straightforward. Shoppers were then able to filter laptops on the test site by specific technical needs like 16GB RAM or Under 2kg.

This gives you a level of control that standard WordPress searches just can’t match.

12. Supports Shortcodes and PHP

While WPFilters is designed for the WordPress block editor, the developers clearly understand that WordPress sites are built in many different ways. 

That said, you can also add filters using shortcodes or PHP code. 

For 90% of our testing, we stuck to the block editor because it was the fastest and most visual way to create filters. However, shortcodes could be helpful if you’re using a page builder like Elementor or SeedProd.

The ability to display filters using custom code is also ideal if you develop custom theme templates. 

WPFilters Review: Support and Documentation 

Even user-friendly plugins can cause headaches. You might struggle to configure a specific setting or simply want to learn about the plugin’s more advanced features. That’s why it’s important to have good support available when you need it. 

WPFilters is built by the same team behind SearchWP, which is the best plugin for improving WordPress search. This means you aren’t relying on a hobbyist developer who might abandon their project next month. You’re dealing with an established company with a track record of reliability.

To start, WPFilters has detailed online documentation including a clear setup guide. This shows you how to configure the plugin and use every major feature.

There’s also an active blog where the team posts WPFilters and SearchWP tutorials.

If you get stuck, then all the WPFilters licenses come with professional support. If you upgrade to the Pro plan, you’ll even get access to priority support.

WPFilters Review: Pricing and Plans

Often, one of the biggest problems with advanced filtering solutions is the cost.

Many enterprise-grade search and filter tools are sold as Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) platforms. This means the pricing changes based on the number of searches, or ‘queries,’ your visitors make. Your bill can skyrocket if your site gets a traffic spike.

By contrast, WPFilters follows the traditional WordPress plugin model. You pay an annual fee and get unlimited queries.

Both of the WPFilters plans include the full range of features, but there’s a few key differences you need to know about: 

• Standard. For $49/year, you can use WPFilters on a single website. You’ll also get access to their standard support. 
• Pro. Priced at $99/year, this plan lets you use WPFilters on up to 3 sites. It’s ideal for businesses that have multiple sites like a store, a separate blog, and an employee portal. This tier also includes priority support so your tickets get routed to the front of the queue.

Alternatively, you can purchase WPFilters and SearchWP as part of an All Access Bundle, for $349/year. This package also includes Premium Support so you’ll get your questions answered as quickly as possible. 

You can use both plugins on up to 100 websites with the bundle. This makes it a great option for WordPress development agencies or anyone who manages a portfolio of sites.

Final Verdict: Is WPFilters the Right Plugin for You?

So, after exploring WPFilters’ features, performance, pricing, and support, what’s the verdict? 

WPFilters is easily one of the most accessible and powerful filtering solutions we’ve tested for the WordPress block editor. The fact that it integrates seamlessly with WooCommerce, ACF, and custom post types right out-of-the-box makes it a must-have for any content heavy site.

We particularly recommend WPForms if you run an online store or a directory site where visitors need to filter by custom fields. However, due to its flexibility WPFilters is a fantastic choice for pretty much anyone who wants to help visitors find exactly what they’re looking for.

We hope this WPFilters review helped you decide whether it’s the right smart filtering plugin for your WordPress website. You can also check out our guide on how the default WordPress search works, or see our expert pick of the best search plugins.

If you liked this article, then please subscribe to our YouTube Channel for WordPress video tutorials. You can also find us on Twitter and Facebook.

The post WPFilters first appeared on WPBeginner.

From our experience working with WPBeginner and countless other business owners, we’ve learned that people expect an answer right now. If they don’t get it, then they’re gone – often straight to a competitor who is ready to talk.

This is where a good chat plugin can be a game-changer. It lets you connect with visitors in real-time and answer their questions on the spot.

The best chat solutions can even handle those repetitive questions automatically, so you’re not stuck answering “What are your business hours?” for the hundredth time.

WPChat promises to deliver exactly this kind of instant communication for WordPress sites. But is it right for you? 

In this hands-on WPChat review, we’re testing everything from its mobile responsiveness to its automation capabilities so you can make an informed, confident choice for your WordPress website. 

WPChat Review: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly (Our Experience)

WPChat is a WordPress plugin that solves a problem many of us have struggled with: ‘What’s the best way to add live chat that people will actually use?’

We’ve tested a lot of live chat tools over the years, and many of them can be a bit clunky. They often make visitors fill out a form just to ask a simple question, or they use a slow chat window that feels really impersonal.

WPChat does something completely different, and it’s a brilliant approach. Instead of adding a new, unfamiliar chat system to your site, it connects directly to WhatsApp.

When a visitor clicks the chat button on your site, it opens a new conversation in their WhatsApp app (if they’re on their phone) or on WhatsApp Web (if they’re on their computer). 

This is a huge deal, since your customers don’t have to learn a new tool or wait around on your website for a reply. They can just send a message using an app they already know and trust. 

As a site owner, these messages come straight to your phone so you can answer them from anywhere. It’s all about making customer support feel less like a formal ticket and more like a real, personal conversation.

Even better, you can download a lite version of WPChat directly from WordPress.org. 

This is actually what we recommend when you’re just starting out. WPChat lite is completely free to use, so you can get a feel for how everything works without a big upfront investment. 

With this free version, you’ll get many essential features. You can connect to your WhatsApp number, add the chat button to your site, and get everything looking professional in just a couple of minutes.

However, if you want to add multiple agents to your WPChat account, then you’ll need to upgrade to a premium plan. 

The premium upgrade also unlocks advanced features like the analytics dashboard. This lets you track things like chat conversion rates, see when your busiest times are, and monitor your team’s performance.

WPChat Review: Is It the Right WordPress Chat Plugin for You?

A two-minute delay in response time is all it takes to lose a high-value customer or potential lead. 

That’s why so many top businesses and websites invest in live chat. 

A good real-time chat solution instantly bridges the gap between you and your audience. You can engage with visitors right then and there, where their interest is highest – rather than hours later via email.

That said, in this WPChat review we’re exploring all its features, strengths, and weaknesses, to see how it stands up to the competition. By the end of this hands-on review, you’ll know whether WPChat really is the best WhatsApp chat plugin for your WordPress website.

1. Solving the ‘Closed Tab, Lost Chat’ Problem

We’ve all been there: you start a live chat on a website, get distracted, and close the browser tab. Just like that, the conversation is gone forever. This is a huge problem for many website owners.

WPChat is designed to solve this exact problem. It moves the conversation from your website to a place where customers spend a lot of time: their WhatsApp. 

With WPChat, visitors can click a chat bubble on your site and open a new conversation in their actual WhatsApp mobile app. There’s no clunky web-based window, just the familiar interface they use every day.

This is a huge deal because the conversation doesn’t have to end when the person leaves your site. They can ask you a question, go about their day, and your reply will pop up as a regular WhatsApp notification on their phone. It keeps the connection alive.

Even better, your business is now a contact in their phone, which makes follow-up so much easier. 

2. A Truly ‘Live’ Chat Solution

What’s really great about WPChat is how it brings instant conversation right to your WordPress site.

During testing, we were really impressed by its speed. Many live chat tools can feel a bit sluggish, but WPChat was completely different.

There’s no awkward loading time, and no waiting for a connection. This is because the plugin is built to be super lightweight. 

The conversation itself feels just as fast and natural as chatting with a friend over WhatsApp. When a customer asks a question, WPChat lets you respond quickly, making them feel valued and heard.

It’s this immediate, reliable connection that really sets WPChat apart and makes it feel like a truly ‘live’ chat solution.

3. Lightweight Code for Minimal Performance Impact

A question we always ask before installing any new plugin is: ‘Will this slow down my website?’ 

Speed and performance is a huge concern for all website owners, because a slow site can frustrate visitors. This was one of the first things we looked at with WPChat.

The team behind it says they use ‘lightweight code’, which basically means they’ve built WPChat to be as fast and efficient as possible. To test this, we ran a few speed tests before installing the plugin, and then ran them again after getting everything set up.

The results were pretty good. We didn’t find a significant, noticeable impact on page load times, which is always a relief. 

However, it’s worth remembering why WPChat is so light. This plugin isn’t a heavy, all-in-one chat system that runs on your server. Instead, it connects your site to the WhatsApp app, which keeps your WordPress website running smoothly. 

The trade-off is that all your chat history is managed inside WhatsApp, and not inside your WordPress dashboard. For some, this is a fair exchange for the speed and convenience, but it’s definitely something to keep in mind.

4. Easy Setup Wizard: Get Started in Minutes

WPChat helps you set up a ‘chat assistant’ without needing any specialist technical skills. During testing, the setup wizard walked us through everything in just a few clicks.

First, you enter your WhatsApp number.

This is the main step that connects your WordPress blog or site to your phone, so messages come right to you. 

Next, you choose how your chat button and window looks. WPChat gives you three pre-built styles to choose from. That said, you should have no problems finding one that suits your WordPress theme.

Finally, you decide where the chat bubble appears. For example, you can display it across your entire site, or limit it to specific pages or categories.

We completed the whole process in less than two minutes. There’s no code involved, and you don’t need to dig through complex menus, making it easy for anyone to get started. 

5. Preset Themes and Live Preview

Don’t you just hate it when a plugin adds a button to your site that looks out of place or just plain ugly? That’s why we made sure to look at WPChat’s design options.

WPChat comes with three preset ‘themes’, which change how the chat widget looks with just a few clicks. To put it to the test, we clicked through the options, and the preview updated straight away.

If you’re not a designer and just want to add a professional-looking button to your site quickly, these themes are a decent starting point. However, it’s still a good idea to spend some time fine-tuning these presets, in order to create something that properly reflects your branding. 

6. Beyond the Presets: Detailed Customization

As we already mentioned, you’ll want to customize the preset themes if you’re serious about matching your brand. The good news is that WPChat includes a visual customizer, so it’s easy to fine-tune how the chat bubble and window look.

The visual customizer displays a live preview of your chat widget and has simple controls so you can change all the little details, including the colors, icon, and header messaging. 

Even better, the live preview updates to show these changes. This means you don’t need to waste time saving and refreshing to see what you’ve done. 

This makes the process much more efficient and removes a lot of the guesswork. It’s this level of control that makes the chat widget feel like a professional, custom part of your website, blog, or online store. 

7. Customizing Your Greeting and Brand Voice

You’ll want your chat tool to speak in your brand’s unique voice, so it doesn’t sound like a generic bot.

By default, WPChat displays a ‘Send us a message’ header, with a subheading that says ‘on a platform of your choice.’ 

If this feels a little clunky, then you can easily change the main text to a friendlier greeting that matches your site’s tone.

WPChat gives you a few other simple options, like showing or hiding the WhatsApp icon in the header.

These are small changes, but they’re important. It’s this first impression that helps the chat assistant feel less like a third-party plugin and more like a natural part of your website.

8. Adding a Human Touch with Multiple Agent Profiles

If you’re just starting out, then the free version of WPChat may be all you need. However, as your business grows you’ll almost certainly need multiple team members to handle customer questions. 

This is where the ‘multiple agents’ feature comes in, and it’s one of the main reasons to upgrade to the premium version of WPChat. 

After upgrading, you can add as many agent profiles as you want.

For each person, just add their name, a photo, and their WhatsApp number. This shows your visitors that they’re talking to real people, which immediately makes your business feel more human and approachable. 

But the smartest part is the ‘availability schedules.’

For each agent, you can set their specific working hours.

This is a huge practical benefit for your team. It means your support staff won’t get customer messages on their personal WhatsApp at 2 AM. When an agent is ‘offline’, WPChat knows not to route chats to them.

When all your agents are unavailable, the plugin has a sensible fallback. You can set it to automatically show your business hours, or even redirect visitors to a single off-hours contact. 

It’s a really professional way to manage customer expectations.

9. Save Time with Multi-Step Conversations

Now, let’s look at one of the more advanced features, which is called ‘chat funnels’. 

This basically lets you create a guided, multi-step conversation for your visitors. Think of it like a smart assistant that asks a few questions to understand what the customer needs before connecting them to a real person.

We tested this out by building a simple funnel for a fictional help desk. First, the chat asks if the visitor wants to create a new ticket or ask about an existing ticket.

If the customer selects ‘existing ticket’, then it asks them to enter their ticket number. Only after getting these details does WPChat connect them to a live agent.

This is a huge time-saver for any business. It means your support team gets all the essential information upfront, so they can get straight to helping instead of asking the same basic questions over and over again. 

In this way, WPChat makes your whole support process more efficient and professional.

10. Offer Instant Answers, 24/7

WPChat lets you create an automated FAQ system so visitors can get instant answers to their questions, even when you’re not online. 

Inside the dashboard, there’s a straightforward interface where you can add your common questions and their answers.

We spent about ten minutes adding a few standard FAQs, like ‘What is your return policy?’ and ‘Do you ship internationally?’

With that done, they appeared in the chat widget on our test site. Visitors could then click a question from the list to see the answer pop up automatically, without needing to type anything.

This feature allows you to build a long-term resource for your visitors. Every time you get asked something new, you can add it to the system. Over time, this creates a knowledge base that can handle many routine questions automatically.

It’s a neat way to offer instant help, as long as you invest the time into writing clear and helpful answers for your most common queries.

Just be aware that the free version of WPChat limits you to 10 FAQs, so you’ll likely need to upgrade to a premium plan at some point in order to get more entries. 

11. Cut Down on Repetitive Questions with ‘Smart Search AI’

We’ve all been there: answering the same customer questions over and over again. WPChat aims to help with this through its ‘Smart Search AI.’ 

The idea is simple: you build a knowledge base of your most frequently asked questions, as we’ve already discussed. Then, when a visitor starts typing a question into the chat window, WPChat tries to find a match within your FAQ content.

We tested this out by adding an FAQ entry about a fictional shipping policy. The chat widget immediately suggested the relevant FAQ article we’d just created.

In this way, your customers will get an instant answer, even outside of business hours. At the same time, it reduces those simple, repetitive questions your team has to handle manually.

However, the quality of WPChat’s AI depends entirely on your FAQ library, since it’s essentially searching your pre-written content.

If you don’t create a robust, helpful FAQ library, then WPChat likely won’t find a good match, and you’ll still need to respond to your visitors manually. 

While this feature has the potential to be great, it relies heavily on the effort you put into creating the underlying knowledge base.

12. Beyond Guesswork: Actionable Insights for Your Team

One of the big challenges with customer support is knowing how well you’re doing. Are people getting the help they need? And what exactly are they asking? WPChat aims to answer this with its analytics dashboard.

It presents the key information in a pretty simple, clear way. This includes important numbers like how many chat conversations were started, what the conversion rate was, and the total interactions, which includes things like clicks on FAQs.

The dashboard also breaks down stats per agent, so you can see which members are handling the most conversations. This would be useful for managing workload and identifying who might need more support.

However, the most useful part is identifying your busiest times. 

It’s these kinds of actionable insights that help you move away from guesswork and start making informed decisions to improve your customer service.

WPChat Review: Community and Professional Support

Even with an easy-to-use plugin, it’s important there’s help available when you need it. That’s why it’s good to see that WPChat offers a solid range of support options for both free and paid users.

To start, WPChat has a smart AI support assistant that can instantly answer common questions. We tried it out by asking a few complex questions about the plugin’s setup process and pricing, and it gave us accurate, helpful answers right away.

If you invest in the premium version of WPChat, then you can access professional support by submitting a ticket or reaching out via email. 

All the WPChat plans include professional support, but if you upgrade to Plus or higher then you can skip the queue with priority support.

If you prefer to solve problems yourself, then you’ll also find comprehensive support on the WPChat website.

You can access this documentation no matter whether you paid for a premium plan or you’re using the free WPChat plugin. It’s nice to see that this valuable resource is available to all users.

WPChat Review: Pricing and Plans 

WPChat offers a few different pricing tiers, so it’s accessible for everyone from small bloggers to large online stores.

To start, you can download the lite version of WPChat for free from WordPress.org. This is fantastic because you can install the plugin on your site and test it out without any financial commitment.

You can even create a small number of FAQs, so you can handle some common questions automatically.

However, the free plan is quite limited, as you’d expect. It’s really designed for a single user like a solo blogger or freelancer, so any serious business will likely need to upgrade pretty quickly. 

In that case, there’s three paid plans to choose from:

• Basic. For $49 per year, you can add up to 5 agents to your WPChat account. You can also create up to 30 FAQs. This is a good starting point for a small team that needs multiple people to handle WhatsApp chats but doesn’t require deep analytics.
• Plus. Priced at $99 annually, this plan lets you add up to 10 agents and create 100 FAQs. It also unlocks advanced analytics so you can better understand your audience and your agents’ performance. You can also remove the WPChat branding, which is essential for a professional look. For most growing businesses, this plan likely hits the sweet spot between features and price.
• Elite. For $199 per year, Elite lets you create unlimited agents and unlimited FAQs. You can also use WPChat on up to 25 sites. This plan is clearly designed for larger teams, agencies managing multiple client sites, or businesses with a very high chat volume and complex FAQ needs.

In summary, WPChat’s pricing is straightforward and refreshingly affordable compared to many Software as a Service (SaaS) platforms that often charge per agent, per month.

The free plan is genuinely useful, and the inclusion of multi-agent support in the mid-tier ‘Plus’ plan makes it a practical option for small businesses working with a tight budget.

WPChat Review: Is It the Right WordPress Chat Plugin for You?

So, after trying WPChat on my test site, what’s the final verdict?

Based on its features, ease of use, and smart integration with WhatsApp, WPChat is an excellent and straightforward solution for many WordPress website owners. 

It cleverly taps into an app that billions of people already use, making it incredibly convenient for customers and visitors to reach out.

We were particularly impressed with how well WPChat caters to a range of business needs.

For WooCommerce stores, the ability to answer product questions instantly via WhatsApp can directly impact sales. For bloggers and service-based businesses, the automated FAQ feature provides instant answers to common questions. 

Meanwhile, if you’re a small team or solo worker, then WPChat is a huge time-saver that also adds a layer of professionalism.

Ultimately, if you’re looking for a simple, affordable way to improve your customer communication, reduce your support burden with automated FAQs, and improve engagement, then WPChat is definitely worth trying out. 

We hope this WPChat review helped you decide whether it’s the right live chat plugin for you. You may also want to learn how to use AI for customer service or see our expert pick of the best communication tools for small businesses.

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That’s why I’m such a big fan of refer-a-friend programs. They turn your existing customers into enthusiastic brand advocates who can bring in new sales more effectively than any paid ad ever could.

The only barrier is finding the right refer-a-friend plugin, which is why I’m excited to test out RewardsWP.

This user-friendly plugin is designed specifically for WooCommerce and Easy Digital Downloads, and promises to save you a ton of time while also growing your business. 

After weeks of hands-on testing across multiple sites, I’m excited to walk you through my real experience with RewardsWP. By the end of this review, you’ll know whether RewardsWP is the right refer-a-friend plugin for you. 

RewardsWP Review: My Honest Experience 

A refer-a-friend program is a type of word-of-mouth marketing where you reward your existing customers for bringing new business your way. 

In my experience, this is one of the most cost-effective ways to grow a business. You’re leveraging the trust you’ve already built with your existing customers by offering them discounts and perks, instead of spending money on paid ads.

RewardsWP is a beginner-friendly plugin that helps you quickly and easily add this kind of referral program to your online store.

RewardsWP is built to directly integrate with popular platforms like WooCommerce and Easy Digital Downloads. This means your referral program feels like a natural part of your store, rather than a clunky third-party tool.

RewardsWP is also packed with powerful features that make it easy to get started and scale. 

You can create compelling double-sided incentives, benefit from automated fraud prevention, and track everything with a clean, clear analytics dashboard. 

Even better, RewardsWP can automate the most time-consuming tasks, like enrolling new customers and issuing rewards. This means you can focus on what really matters: promoting your new refer-a-friend program and growing your online business. 

RewardsWP Review: Is It the Right Refer-A-Friend Plugin for You?

In my experience, word-of-mouth is one of the best ways to market your business. However,  you also need a solid system to convert all that extra attention into new customers.

In this detailed RewardsWP review, I’m putting this popular referral plugin to the test. I’ll be diving into every feature, testing its ease of use, and exploring the cost to see if RewardsWP really is good value for money.

By the end of this review, you’ll have all the information you need to decide whether RewardsWP is the perfect fit for your WooCommerce or Easy Digital Downloads store. Let’s get started!

1. From Installation to Active Program in Minutes

When I install a new plugin, the first thing I look for is a smooth setup process. 

I’ve installed countless plugins on my own sites and for clients, and RewardsWP is one of the simplest setups I’ve ever experienced. I managed to get a complete refer-a-friend program up and running in minutes. 

For my test, I installed RewardsWP on a demo site with Easy Digital Downloads already installed. Upon activation, RewardsWP automatically detected Easy Digital Downloads and handled the integration for me. Straight away, that was a huge time saver.

From there, I headed to the RewardsWP settings and quickly configured my rewards. I created a ‘percentage off’ discount for the referrer and a ‘fixed amount’ discount for their friend. 

The options were all clearly laid out, so I didn’t even need to check the plugin’s documentation.

There are more settings to configure, but that’s all you need to create a straightforward refer-a-friend program.

With that done, I simply clicked a slider in the plugin’s settings and my program was live. It couldn’t have been any easier!

2. Creating a ‘Win-Win’ Referral Offer

In my experience, a referral program with a single-sided incentive isn’t nearly as effective as a double-sided one. After all, the friend is much more likely to use a referral link when they get something out of it too!

RewardsWP makes it easy to create this kind of ‘win-win’ situation. To do this, I just headed over to the ‘Referrals’ area in the plugin’s settings.

Here, I saw two clear sections: one for the ‘Advocate Reward’ (the referrer) and one for the ‘Friend Reward’ (the new customer). 

I simply clicked each option and then chose whether to offer an Amount Discount, Percentage Off, or Free Gift.

You can offer completely different perks for the Advocate compared to their Friend. 

This lets you select the reward that’s most valuable to that person. For example, the Friend might prefer a Free Gift so they can try out your company without spending a cent. 

3. From Discounts to Free Gifts

As I already mentioned, RewardsWP supports three types of rewards: Amount Discount, Percentage Off, and Free Gift. This gives you the flexibility to tailor your referral program to your specific products and customers. 

In my experience, a Percentage Off reward works well for higher-priced items.

Meanwhile, an Amount Discount is often more effective for lower-priced items. Offering a fixed $10 discount can sometimes feel like a bigger saving, especially since many people prefer a clean number they can easily understand.

However, in my opinion RewardsWP’s Free Product is the most creative and powerful incentive. You can offer customers anything from a small accessory to a sample of a new item.

I even saw a friend use free gifts to clear out some overstocked sticker packs. 

Every new customer who used a referral link automatically received the stickers as a free gift. This was a great way to move inventory without a traditional sale, and it was a powerful incentive for the new customer. 

As you can see, RewardsWP gives you plenty of room to experiment and find the reward type that works best for your audience.

4. Turning Customers into Advocates

One of the most effective ways to grow an online store is by turning happy customers into brand advocates. 

RewardsWP makes this easy by automatically adding every customer to your referral program when they make their first purchase. This saves you a ton of time since you don’t have to contact each person individually. 

Even better, these customers get instant access to the RewardsWP widget. This means they can start promoting your WordPress website and products straight away. 

When I tested it out, I was impressed by how RewardsWP automated my referral program, allowing it to run in the background without any daily input from me.

5. A Branded and Non-Intrusive Panel

In my experience, many referral plugins fall short when it comes to the customer experience. 

Too often, they bury the referral link deep inside a ‘My Account’ page where most customers don’t even notice it.

This is where the RewardsWP Widget truly stands out. It’s a brilliantly designed solution that ensures your referral program and links are easy to access, without being intrusive or annoying.

Here’s how it works: after a customer is enrolled, a small, expandable panel appears in the corner of your site when they’re logged in. The widget is positioned so it doesn’t get in the way while they’re browsing.

Inside this panel, your customers can:

• Easily find and copy their unique referral link.
• Click to share that link to social media sites like X and Facebook.
• See their real-time referral statistics and any rewards they’ve already earned.

This means your customers never have to search for their referral link or log into a separate program. 

Even better, this widget is fully customizable. You can change the color and text to perfectly match your brand.

In this way, you can make the widget feel like a seamless extension of your WordPress blog or website, rather than a pop-up added by a third-party plugin.

6. All-in-One Sharing Tools

If customers have trouble sharing their referral link, your program will almost certainly fail. RewardsWP solves this by providing customers with several easy ways to share.

To start, every advocate can access their personalized referral link directly from the RewardsWP widget.

The customer can copy this short, memorable link and then paste it anywhere they want with just a few clicks.

The RewardsWP widget also has social media buttons and an email button, so customers can share their link via these platforms, too. 

RewardsWP even has pre-defined templates so the customer doesn’t need to type their own message when sharing these URLs, making the process even easier.

If you want to, you can customize these default messages in RewardsWP’s settings. This is a fantastic way to make the referral message feel more authentic and personalized.

7. Building Trust with Accurate Tracking

I’ve seen businesses lose valuable advocates because of tracking errors. 

That’s why I was so happy to see how RewardsWP handles referral attribution. The system is designed to automatically track referrals and successful purchases, meaning it just works out-of-the-box.

This kind of reliable, automatic tracking builds trust with your advocates. They know they’ll get credited for their efforts, which gives them a reason to keep sharing your brand.

This means you can focus on growing your business, confident that your referral program is running smoothly and accurately in the background.

8. Customizing Your Tracking Window

It’s incredibly frustrating when a referral link is clicked, but the sale doesn’t get counted properly. 

For example, the person might click their friend’s referral link, get distracted, and then make a purchase days later. If your refer-a-friend plugin doesn’t track this action, then the advocate won’t get credited for their sale. 

RewardsWP avoids this problem completely. It uses reliable, cookie-based tracking to remember who referred each customer, even if they don’t buy right away. 

The default tracking window is 30 days, which works well for many online marketplaces and stores. However, you can change this to suit your specific sales cycle.

For example, if you sell higher-priced items then customers might typically take a few weeks to consider their purchase. In those cases, I’d recommend extending the tracking window to 60 or even 90 days.

This small change helps to ensure your advocates get the credit they deserve, which motives them to keep referring. 

9. Built-in eCommerce Integrations 

When I add a new feature to my store, I worry about whether it’ll actually work with my existing setup. Tools often claim to integrate with all the essential WordPress plugins, but the connections can be clunky or require a lot of manual configuration.

This is where RewardsWP truly sets itself apart. The plugin is built from the ground up to integrate directly with WooCommerce and Easy Digital Downloads. 

This means your referral program knows exactly what’s happening across the rest of your store.

I tested this by installing RewardsWP on my personal site, which runs on WooCommerce. I was impressed that I didn’t even have to visit a separate settings page to connect the two. Everything just worked straight away! 

This direct integration completely removes the headaches I’ve experienced with other refer-a-friend plugins. Ultimately, this means I can focus on promoting my refer-a-friend program, rather than troubleshooting it.

10. Nurturing Your Advocates with Automation

Keeping everyone informed is the key to a successful referral program. RewardsWP handles this for you through automated emails, so you don’t have to do any manual work to keep people engaged.

RewardsWP sends several types of these automated messages: 

• A welcome email to the advocate after their first purchase, introducing your program and sharing their unique referral link.
• An email to the advocate when they earn a reward, which keeps them motivated. 
• An email to the referred friend with their incentive.

This level of automation is essential for busy business owners. Once the program is set up, it can largely run itself, leaving you free to focus on other areas of your online business.

11. Smart and Automatic Fraud Protection

When I first thought about creating a refer-a-friend program, my top concern was that people might try to manipulate it for their own gain.

I’ve seen it before, where people try to refer themselves or use fake email addresses to get a discount. This can quickly waste your budget and ruin your program’s integrity.

This is where RewardsWP provides great peace of mind with its robust, built-in fraud prevention that works automatically.

To start, RewardsWP uses email validation to stop people from creating accounts using disposable or temporary email addresses. 

The plugin also uses Duplicate Detection to prevent customers from referring themselves. I tested this by using my own referral link in a different browser, and RewardsWP immediately caught the self-referral attempt.

Additionally, RewardsWP uses IP Filtering, which helps block suspicious referral patterns from the same IP address. 

If you’re worried about missing out on genuine referrals, don’t worry. 

RewardsWP is smart enough to tell the difference between actual fraud and a real referral from a shared network like an office or coffee shop. RewardsWP won’t accidentally block a legitimate referral just because two friends are using the same public Wi-Fi!

12. Actionable Insights at a Glance

A referral program is only as good as its data. 

You can create a program that has great incentives and seamless integration, but if you can’t measure its performance then you can’t make improvements.

That’s why I was so happy to see that RewardsWP provides a clean, clear analytics dashboard right inside the WordPress admin area. 

I could immediately see key metrics without having to dig through a spreadsheet or export any data. In this way, RewardsWP turns your referral program from a good idea into a data-driven growth strategy.

In particular, the Referrals admin screen shows:

• Referred friend
• Referring advocate 
• The order associated with the referral
• The referral status, such as completed or pending 
• The date of the referral

There’s also a Rewards dashboard, which shows all the rewards that have been issued. Here, you can see:

• The recipient 
• The type of reward 
• The status of the reward, such as issued or redeemed 
• The date created, and the date redeemed 

While the analytics dashboard isn’t as comprehensive as a dedicated analytics solution, it does provide all the key information store owners need to make smart decisions. 

I used this information to identify my biggest advocates, so I could send them a thank-you email with a personalized coupon. This simple act of recognition cost me very little but helped to build stronger, lasting relationships with my most valuable customers. 

You can also see how many people actually use their rewards. A low conversion rate suggests your current offer isn’t as appealing as you first thought. In that case, I’d suggest testing some different incentives.

As you can see, these analytics take all the guesswork out of running a referral program and provide the clarity you need to succeed.

13. Scaling Your Referral Program

Many businesses start with a customer referral program. However, as your business grows you may want to offer a professional affiliate program too, so people can promote your products for a commission. 

Running two separate programs can be a headache, resulting in clashes and confusion. 

This isn’t a problem for RewardsWP. It’s designed to integrate seamlessly with AffiliateWP, which is one of the most popular affiliate management plugins for WordPress.

This powerful combination means you can run a customer-facing refer-a-friend program and a professional affiliate program at the same time, without any problems. 

RewardsWP Review: Community and Professional Support

Even with the most user-friendly tools, at some point you’ll probably have a question or need a helping hand. 

That’s why I always check whether a plugin has a reliable support system in place. Thankfully, RewardsWP really shines in this area, offering a few ways to get help.

If you prefer to find answers on your own, then there’s online documentation that you can access 24/7. 

When I was writing this RewardsWP review, this documentation was my go-to. It’s an excellent resource that has all the information I needed. 

If you prefer one-on-one help, then all the RewardsWP plans come with professional support. You can simply submit a ticket via their support portal and get help directly from the experts. 

RewardsWP Review: Plans and Pricing

RewardsWP uses a simple tiered pricing structure that scales with your business needs.

While there’s no free version available, there’s a 14-day money-back guarantee so you can test the plugin risk-free.

Each RewardsWP plan includes unlimited rewards and members, so they’re all great value. However, there’s some important differences between each plan:

• Basic: This plan costs $79.60 per year and is designed for a single WordPress blog or website. It’s the perfect choice if you’re a small business owner, a solopreneur, or a blogger who wants to launch a powerful refer-a-friend program. 
• Plus: For $99.60 per year, you can use RewardsWP on up to three sites. This makes the Plus plan ideal for entrepreneurs who manage multiple online stores or a growing business that needs to add a refer-a-friend program to multiple sites. 
• Pro: This plan costs $159.60 per year and lets you use RewardsWP on up to 10 sites. In my opinion, this makes Pro a great choice for smaller WordPress agencies and freelancers who want to use RewardsWP across several client projects.
• RewardsWP + AffiliateWP Bundle: For $219 per year, this bundle lets you run a professional affiliate program alongside your customer referral program. It includes a single-site license for both RewardsWP and AffiliateWP, at a discounted price. This makes it the ideal choice for businesses that are serious about scaling their word-of-mouth marketing.

RewardsWP Review: My Honest Experience

While there’s no shortage of referral plugins out there, I’m really impressed with RewardsWP. 

To me, the thing that immediately stood out was how easy it was to get started. RewardsWP’s effortless setup and seamless integration with WooCommerce and Easy Digital Downloads let me add a refer-a-friend program to my site in minutes.

But it’s not just about ease of use. I was also impressed by RewardsWP’s range of features, particularly its double-sided incentives and built-in fraud prevention. 

RewardsWP also handles a lot of things automatically, so it’s a huge time-saver for any busy store owner. 

The bottom line? I’d recommend RewardsWP to anyone who’s looking for a powerful and easy-to-use refer-a-friend plugin. 

RewardsWP Review: Frequently Asked Questions 

Choosing a new plugin can bring up a lot of questions, especially when it plays a big role in your marketing strategy. 

To help you find the right refer-a-friend plugin, I’ve answered some of the most common questions I hear from business owners just like you.

What is RewardsWP?

RewardsWP is a WordPress plugin that’s designed to help you create and manage a refer-a-friend program for your online store. 

This plugin automatically rewards your existing customers when they refer new ones, which encourages them to promote your products to their friends, family, and followers.

Does RewardsWP work with WooCommerce?

Yes, RewardsWP integrates seamlessly with both WooCommerce and Easy Digital Downloads. The plugin automatically detects your eCommerce platform and connects with it upon activation, making the whole process straightforward. 

What kinds of rewards can I offer?

With RewardsWP, you can offer several types of incentives: a fixed amount, a percentage-off discount, or a free gift. 

The plugin also gives you the flexibility to offer different rewards to the person referring (the advocate) and the new customer (the friend).

Does RewardsWP prevent referral fraud?

Yes, RewardsWP includes smart, automatic fraud protection. The plugin blocks self-referrals, validates emails to stop temporary accounts, and uses IP filtering to prevent other suspicious activity.

Can I run a referral program and an affiliate program at the same time?

Absolutely. RewardsWP works perfectly with AffiliateWP so you can run a customer-facing referral program and a professional affiliate program side-by-side without any conflicts.

I hope this RewardsWP review helped you decide whether it’s the right refer-a-friend plugin for you. You can also check out our expert pick of the best email marketing services for small businesses, or see our ultimate affiliate marketing guide for beginners. 

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