I tested WP Social Ninja soon after it launched and in this WP Social Ninja Review I explain what it does, how to install and configure it, and the real use cases I found while walking through social feeds, social reviews and social chat.
If you want a fast, no-code way to embed social content and social proof into your WordPress website, read on — I’ll show exactly how it works and what to watch out for.
Table of Contents
- What is WP Social Ninja and what core features does it offer?
- How do I install WP Social Ninja?
- How do I set up Social Feeds in WP Social Ninja?
- How do Social Reviews work and which review sources are supported?
- How does Social Chat work and how is it different from a native live chat?
- What advanced settings and sync options should I know about?
- Is WP Social Ninja worth it? Pros and Cons from my testing
- Who should use WP Social Ninja?
- How quickly can you try it?
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Final thoughts
What is WP Social Ninja and what core features does it offer?
WP Social Ninja is a WordPress plugin built to bring social media content into your site. It focuses on three core functionalities: social feeds, social reviews and social chat. In short: it embeds content from platforms like Twitter, YouTube and Instagram (Facebook support coming) and displays reviews (Google, Facebook, Trustpilot, TripAdvisor, Amazon, and more) inside your site. It also creates a social chat bubble that links people to your social messaging channels such as Messenger, WhatsApp, Telegram or email.
How do I install WP Social Ninja?
Installation is straightforward. There are two routes:
- Free version: install from wordpress.org from your WordPress backend and activate the basic plugin.
- Pro version: upload the pro ZIP you receive after purchase. The pro installer will prompt you to install the free plugin automatically and ask for your license key so updates are handled for you.
After purchase you get documentation and a welcome email with a knowledge base link that explains authorization steps and platform-specific notes. Overall the setup is aimed at non-techie WordPress users — you can be up and running in about 10 minutes.
How do I set up Social Feeds in WP Social Ninja?
Social feeds let you embed posts from a profile, hashtag or home timeline. The workflow is:
- Authorize the platform (Twitter, YouTube, Instagram; Facebook is coming). Click the gear icon, sign in and select authorize app. No coding required.
- Create a template and give it a name so you can reuse it across pages.
- Choose the source (user timeline, home timeline, hashtag, mentions) and optionally fetch from other accounts after authorization.
- Pick a template layout (standard flow, masonry, carousel) and customize filters (number of posts, order, include/exclude by keyword or hashtag).
- Tweak feed settings: toggle author image, username, date, Twitter cards, and set pagination (load more or infinite scroll).
- Publish using the shortcode provided — it works with Gutenberg, Elementor, Brizy or any HTML editor.
When you edit a feed, the preview updates live so you see changes instantly. Templates are flexible — for example YouTube templates may show different layout options than Twitter — and filters let you exclude posts you don’t want displayed.
How do Social Reviews work and which review sources are supported?
Social reviews pull reviews you already have on social platforms and embed them into your site with a link back to the original source for verification. Supported sources include Google My Business, Facebook, Trustpilot, TripAdvisor, Amazon, AliExpress, Booking and more.
To add reviews:
- Authorize the platform (for example continue with Facebook).
- Select the page or business listing that contains the reviews.
- Create a template, choose a layout (slider, masonry, grid) and adjust columns and design elements.
- Use filters to show only reviews with a certain star rating, hide reviews without text, set ordering (random or date), and control pagination.
The review widgets include an option to show an aggregate rating (an adder) and a write-review button that links visitors to the original platform so they can verify and add reviews themselves.
How does Social Chat work and how is it different from a native live chat?
Social chat in WP Social Ninja is not a native live chat like Intercom or Drift. Instead it creates a chat widget that links visitors to your social messaging channels. You can add multiple channels (Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, Telegram, Instagram, Twitter, Slack, Skype, phone, email, and more) and configure how the chat bubble behaves.
Key points of the chat widget:
- Create multiple widgets for different pages (home, services, contact) or have one universal widget.
- Customize title, caption, profile picture, welcome message (HTML allowed) and channel button text.
- Choose bubble type (icon or chat box), alignment, and working hours to display online/offline messages (these are pre-configured times, not real presence detection).
- The widget opens or hyperlinks the visitor to the social messenger you set up — the conversation happens on the social platform.
Because the chat redirects users out to social platforms, it’s great if your team prefers to manage conversations in Messenger/WhatsApp rather than a native in-site inbox. If you need a true in-site live chat, this is not a direct replacement.
What advanced settings and sync options should I know about?
WP Social Ninja provides control over sync intervals and caching. You can set how often the plugin checks for new posts (hourly, daily) — more frequent syncs increase API usage and server load. There are also options to clear feed cache and refresh Twitter cards, plus additional settings per section to fine-tune performance.
Is WP Social Ninja worth it? Pros and Cons from my testing
Here are the strengths and trade-offs I observed during my initial hands-on testing.
Pros
- Created by respected developers with a history of performance-focused WordPress plugins.
- Easy to install and configure — non-techie friendly with live preview and a color/text picker; you can set up templates in about 10 minutes.
- Shortcode-based publishing means it works with any theme or page builder (Gutenberg, Elementor, Brizy, classic editor).
- Good mobile optimization across feed and review layouts.
- Lifetime deal (at launch) includes all features and priority support — no feature gating across plans.
- Flexible templates, filters and pagination give real control over what social content appears on your site.
Cons
- Price: initial packages start from $99 up to $499 and the current pricing is early-bird — it may increase later.
- Brand-new product: I encountered a few small bugs (preview not updating in places, icon not switching in chat bubble). Expect fixes over time.
- WordPress-only: It works only within WordPress sites (it’s part of the VP ecosystem), not on Shopify or static HTML without WordPress.
- Social Chat is not a native live chat. It hyperlinks users to social messengers rather than providing an in-site messaging inbox.
- Embedding only: WP Social Ninja embeds and displays social content; it does not auto-create posts or syndicate content into WordPress — there is no auto-publishing or content curation engine yet.
Who should use WP Social Ninja?
If you want to surface social proof and social content directly on your WordPress pages without coding, WP Social Ninja is a well thought-out plugin worth testing. It’s especially useful for agencies, local businesses and content sites that want to showcase reviews and social posts for SEO and trust signals. If you need a native live chat or content syndication (auto-publishing), look for additional tools — WP Social Ninja focuses on embedding and linking to social platforms.
How quickly can you try it?
You can install the free plugin from wordpress.org to test basic functionality. The pro features are straightforward to enable with the license key, and documentation walks through platform-specific authorization steps. In my experience you can evaluate the plugin fully in under 10 minutes.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does WP Social Ninja work with all page builders and themes?
Yes. WP Social Ninja publishes via shortcode, so it works with Gutenberg, Elementor, Brizy, Classic Editor and essentially any theme that supports standard WordPress content areas.
Which social platforms does WP Social Ninja support for feeds and reviews?
At launch it supports Twitter, YouTube, Instagram for feeds and a wide range of review sources including Google My Business, Facebook, Trustpilot, TripAdvisor, Amazon, AliExpress and Booking. Facebook feed support is coming soon based on the live demo notes.
Is the social chat a true native live chat?
No. The social chat opens or links visitors to your social messaging channels (Messenger, WhatsApp, Telegram, email, etc.). Conversations happen on those platforms rather than inside a native in-site chat inbox.
Can WP Social Ninja auto-publish social posts as WordPress posts?
Not at the moment. The plugin embeds social content on your site but does not auto-create WordPress posts or perform content syndication. It’s focused on display and social proof, not automated publishing.
How much does WP Social Ninja cost and is there a free version?
There is a free version available on wordpress.org. Pro plans were offered as an early-bird lifetime deal starting around $99 up to $499 depending on the license. Pricing may change after the launch period.
What should I expect in terms of performance?
The team behind WP Social Ninja is known for performance-optimised plugins. You can control sync intervals and caching to reduce load. In my brief tests the chat widget loaded quickly; for heavy usage tune the caching and sync settings.
How do I test it before committing to Pro?
Install the free plugin from wordpress.org and create a feed or review template. The free version exposes basic controls and you can authorize your accounts to preview the experience before purchasing Pro.
Final thoughts
This WP Social Ninja Review reflects my hands-on experience during the launch period. WP Social Ninja is a practical, non-technical way to bring social content and reviews into WordPress with good customization and mobile-ready templates. It’s not a native chat or an auto-publisher — but for embedding social proof and centralising social channels into your site, it does the job well. Try the free plugin, walk through the templates and filters, and decide if the lifetime deal and Pro features fit your use case.
