README

Production-ready Laravel package for displaying Google Reviews using multiple drivers, including Google Business Profile OAuth as the default integration method.

Unlike traditional Google Places integrations, the default driver does not require:

Google Maps Platform billing
A Google Maps API key
A Google Place ID
Credit card setup

The package is designed for:

Laravel Blade
Livewire
Vue
React
Alpine.js
Web Components
Headless/API usage

Features
Requirements
Installation
Configuration
Drivers
Blade Usage
Livewire Usage
JSON API Endpoint
Vue Integration
React Integration
Web Component Integration
Styling
Caching
Error Handling
Security Notes
Production Recommendations
Publishing Assets
Troubleshooting
License

Features

Google Business Profile OAuth integration
No Google Maps billing required by default
Automatic caching and stale fallback support
Blade component support
Livewire component support
Vue starter component
React starter component
Web Component support
JSON API endpoint
Scoped CSS styling
Graceful error handling
Multi-location support
Laravel 10, 11, 12, and 13 compatibility

Requirements

PHP 8.2+
Laravel 10+
A Google account with access to a Google Business Profile
OAuth credentials for Google Business Profile APIs

Official Google documentation:

Installation

Install the package:

composer require nicxonsolutions/google-reviews

Publish configuration:

php artisan vendor:publish --tag=google-reviews-config

Optional asset publishing:

php artisan vendor:publish --tag=google-reviews-assets

For local/path repository installation and OAuth walkthroughs, see:

docs/MANUAL_INSTALL_BUSINESS_PROFILE.md

Configuration

Add the following variables to your .env file.

Drivers

Business Profile Driver (Default)

Recommended for most websites.

GOOGLE_REVIEWS_DRIVER=business_profile

GOOGLE_BUSINESS_PROFILE_CLIENT_ID=
GOOGLE_BUSINESS_PROFILE_CLIENT_SECRET=
GOOGLE_BUSINESS_PROFILE_REFRESH_TOKEN=

GOOGLE_BUSINESS_PROFILE_LOCATION=

GOOGLE_REVIEWS_CACHE_TTL=1800
GOOGLE_REVIEWS_STALE_TTL=86400

GOOGLE_REVIEWS_SHOW_ERRORS=false

Notes

GOOGLE_BUSINESS_PROFILE_LOCATION is optional.

If omitted, the package automatically uses the first accessible Business Profile location.

For multi-location accounts:

GOOGLE_BUSINESS_PROFILE_LOCATION=accounts/123456789/locations/987654321

This value is a Google Business Profile location identifier, not a Google Maps Place ID.

Places API Driver

Optional official Google Places API integration.

GOOGLE_REVIEWS_DRIVER=places

GOOGLE_MAPS_API_KEY=
GOOGLE_REVIEWS_PLACE_ID=

Important

This driver requires:

Google Cloud Platform
Places API enabled
Billing enabled on the Google Cloud account

Nicxon Connector Driver (Future)

Reserved for future hosted integrations.

GOOGLE_REVIEWS_DRIVER=nicxon_connector

NICXON_GOOGLE_REVIEWS_CONNECTOR_ENDPOINT=https://reviews.nicxonsolutions.com
NICXON_GOOGLE_REVIEWS_SITE_TOKEN=

Currently this driver returns a friendly setup message until the hosted service becomes available.

Blade Usage

Render the default widget:

<x-google-reviews-widget />

Specify a Business Profile location:

<x-google-reviews-widget
    location="accounts/123456789/locations/987654321"
/>

Livewire Usage

If livewire/livewire is installed, the package automatically registers:

<livewire:google-reviews-widget />

JSON API Endpoint

The package exposes a resilient frontend endpoint.

Endpoints:

/nicxon-google-reviews/data
/nicxon-google-reviews/data?source=accounts/123456789/locations/987654321

Example response:

{
    "ok": true,
    "message": null,
    "status": 200,
    "place": {
        "name": "Business Name",
        "rating": 4.9
    },
    "reviews": []
}

Failure response example:

{
    "ok": false,
    "message": "Connect a Google Business Profile account to show Google Reviews.",
    "status": null,
    "place": [],
    "reviews": []
}

The endpoint never exposes raw Google API exceptions directly to frontend users.

Vue Integration

Publish assets:

php artisan vendor:publish --tag=google-reviews-assets

Published Vue component:

resources/js/vendor/nicxon-google-reviews/vue/GoogleReviewsWidget.vue

Usage example:

<GoogleReviewsWidget />

React Integration

Published React component:

resources/js/vendor/nicxon-google-reviews/react/GoogleReviewsWidget.jsx

Usage example:

<GoogleReviewsWidget />

Web Component Integration

Published web component:

resources/js/vendor/nicxon-google-reviews/web-component/nicxon-google-reviews.js

Usage:

<nicxon-google-reviews></nicxon-google-reviews>

With a specific location:

<nicxon-google-reviews
    location="accounts/123456789/locations/987654321">
</nicxon-google-reviews>

Styling

The package automatically serves scoped widget CSS:

/nicxon-google-reviews/assets/widget.css

Benefits

No Tailwind dependency required on host applications
Styles are scoped under .nxgr
Prevents style leakage into the host website

Source CSS entry:

resources/css/widget.css

Caching

The package caches successful review responses automatically.

Environment variables:

GOOGLE_REVIEWS_CACHE_TTL=1800
GOOGLE_REVIEWS_STALE_TTL=86400

Cache Strategy

Fresh cache reduces Google API requests
Stale fallback improves uptime during outages
Improves performance and page speed

Error Handling

The package gracefully handles:

Missing OAuth credentials
Invalid refresh tokens
Unauthorized Google accounts
Missing Business Profile locations
Google API outages
Timeouts
Rate limits
Empty review responses

By default, production pages fail quietly.

Enable visible diagnostics during development:

GOOGLE_REVIEWS_SHOW_ERRORS=true

Security Notes

Never commit sensitive credentials into source control.

Recommended:

Store OAuth credentials in .env
Rotate refresh tokens periodically
Restrict Google OAuth applications properly
Use HTTPS in production environments

Production Recommendations

Recommended production setup:

Enable Laravel cache
Use Redis or Memcached
Cache reviews aggressively
Serve widgets via CDN if needed
Enable stale fallback support
Queue review refreshes for high-traffic websites

Recommended cache drivers:

CACHE_STORE=redis

Publishing Assets

Publish package assets:

php artisan vendor:publish --tag=google-reviews-assets

Publish configuration:

php artisan vendor:publish --tag=google-reviews-config

Troubleshooting

Route Not Defined

If you encounter:

Route [google-reviews.assets.css] not defined

Ensure package routes are loaded before route generation.

Run:

php artisan optimize:clear
composer dump-autoload

Widget Not Showing Reviews

Verify:

OAuth credentials are valid
Refresh token is active
Business Profile access exists
Location identifier is correct

Livewire Component Missing

Install Livewire:

composer require livewire/livewire

License

Licensed under GPL-2.0-or-later.

nicxonsolutions / google-reviews

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