By default, we display the reviewer's full name (if available) in each review. However, you can change the name format to suit your preferences or branding needs.
Customize reviewer name format
Available on the Awesome plan
If you're using the new Review Widget, to change how reviewer names appear across all reviews in the Review Widget::
Go to the Review Widget review section settings:
From your Judge.me admin, go to Settings > Widgets.
Find the Review Widget card, click Customize.
Scroll down to the Reviews section section.
Open the Customize collapsible menu.
There, scroll down to find the Reviewer name format dropdown and choose from the following formats:
"Show full name (John Smith)"
"Shorten last name (John S.)"
"First name only (John)"
"Initials (J.S.)"
"Anonymous"
Click Save.
If you're using the legacy Review Widget, to change how reviewer names appear across all reviews in the Review Widget:
From your Judge.me admin, go to Settings > Widgets.
On the Review Widget card, click Customize.
Scroll to the Review card details section.
In the Reviewer name format field, choose one of the following options, then click Save.
Option | How names will appear |
Show full name | Default option, reviewer name will appear as "John Smith" |
Shorten last name | Reviewer name will appear as "John S" |
First name only | Reviewer name will appear as "J. Smith" |
Initials | Reviewer name will appear as "J. S" |
Anonymous | Reviewer name will appear as "Anonymous" |
If your store is in a non-Latin language (e.g. Japanese), we will only show 2 options: "Show full name" and "Anonymous".
How we decide which name to display
When a customer submits a review, here’s how we determine what name will be shown publicly:
Customer submits a review, including their name.
On the form, the customer can optionally choose to post the review anonymously.
We will compare:
The customer’s choice (anonymous or not), and
Your store’s name format setting (full name, first name, initials,...)
We then choose the most privacy-protective option between the two.
Example scenarios:
Customer choice | Store setting | Public Display |
Posts anonymously | Full name | Anonymous |
Posts with full name | First name only | First name only |
To see both the submitted name and the displayed name:
From your Judge.me admin, go to the Reviews section.
On the left of the review, you will see the submitted name (what the customer entered when writing the review).
When hovering above that name, you'll also see the displayed name (what is shown publicly on your store, based on your store’s reviewer name format setting, and whether the reviewer chose to post anonymously).
How your customers can update the name in their review
As a store owner, you cannot directly change a reviewer’s name or remove anonymity, but you can guide your customer to do it themselves.
Steps for the customer to update their name or name format:
The customer can first go to the Judge.me Reviews site and click Sign in on the top right.
They can then sign in using one of the following options:
Enter the email address they used to write the review and click Send Magic Link — we’ll email them a one-click sign-in link.
Or sign in instantly with their Google or Facebook account.
Once signed in, they can go to the My Reviews tab.
Find the review they want to update and click the Edit icon.
In the Update Review form, they can update their name or open the dropdown and select their preferred format.
Click Save to apply the changes.