Testimonial Fader 9.0 helps you collect customer reviews and show them beautifully on a Joomla site. Think of it as one shared inbox of testimonials that you can display in many places: a homepage slider, a reviews page with a submit form, a sidebar badge, or inside any article.

Live demo: demo.joomlax.com/TestimonialFader

What you can do

• Collect reviews with an Ajax form (fixed, toggle button, or popup modal)
• Show a slider, grid, masonry wall, or star rating badge
• Design everything in Theme Studio with live preview (no CSS coding required)
• Add photos, star ratings, company details, categories, and featured quotes
• Approve new reviews from email with one click
• Block bots with three captcha choices: customizable built-in image captcha, Google reCAPTCHA v2, or invisible reCAPTCHA v3
• Insert testimonials into articles with shortcodes or the editor button

Built for modern Joomla

• Joomla 4, 5, and 6
• PHP 8.1 or later
• Native JavaScript (no jQuery)
• Upgrade safe from version 8.x (your existing quotes stay)

Before you install

• Joomla: 4.x, 5.x, or 6.x
• PHP: 8.1 or newer
• Database: MySQL or MariaDB
• Access: a Super User account so you can install extensions and open Components

Optional but useful

• Google reCAPTCHA keys: only if you want Google bot protection on public forms
• Mail sending: Joomla must be able to send email if you want admin alerts and approve-by-email links

Not required

• jQuery
• Custom template coding
• A separate database table (the package creates what it needs)

Student tip

If you are testing on your laptop, install the package on a local Joomla site first. Use the built-in sample data (explained in First-time setup) so you can see results in minutes.

Step 1: Download

Email: After you buy from the JoomlaX store, you get an email with the download link.

Store: You can also open the Downloads section and use the same email you used when buying.

File name: TestimonialFader_UNZIP.zip

Step 2: Unzip on your computer

1. Right-click TestimonialFader_UNZIP.zip and choose Extract (or Unzip).
2. Inside you should see:
   • pkg_testimonial_fader_9.0.0.zip (install this one)
   • ReadMe.txt

For a normal new install, always use pkg_testimonial_fader_9.0.0.zip.

Step 3: Install in Joomla

1. Log in to the Joomla administrator.
2. Go to System > Install > Extensions.
3. Click Upload Package File.
4. Choose pkg_testimonial_fader_9.0.0.zip and wait for the success message.
5. Open Components > Testimonial Fader to confirm the Testimonials list loads.
6. Clear Joomla cache: System > Maintenance > Clear Cache.

What the package installs (6 extensions)

• com_testimonial_fader: component (admin + archive page)
• mod_testimonial_fader: showcase slider/grid/masonry/badge module
• mod_testimonial_fader_form: standalone Ajax form module
• mod_testimonial_fader_badge: standalone rating badge module
• plg_content_testimonialfader: article shortcodes
• plg_editors-xtd_testimonialfader: editor insert button

Upgrades from 8.x

Install a newer pkg_testimonial_fader zip the same way. Your existing testimonials stay in the database. New columns are added automatically.

Follow these steps in order the first time. Most people finish in about 15 minutes.

1. Load sample data (fastest path)

1. Go to Components > Testimonial Fader > Import and Export.
2. Click Install sample data.
3. Confirm. You now have 50 testimonials and 6 categories to play with.

2. Open Theme Studio

1. Go to Components > Testimonial Fader > Design.
2. Click the Default theme (or click New from Default to make your own copy).
3. Try a color preset such as Trust or Sunset. Click Save & Close.

3. Publish a showcase module

1. Go to Content > Site Modules.
2. Click New, choose Testimonial Fader Showcase.
3. Pick a module position (for example sidebar-right or your template hero position).
4. Set Theme to your saved design.
5. Set Status to Published and click Save & Close.

4. Create a reviews page (optional but common)

1. Go to Menus > [your main menu] > New.
2. Menu Item Type: Testimonial Fader > Testimonials.
3. Pick the same Theme as your module.
4. Publish the menu item.

5. Turn on the content plugin

1. Go to System > Plugins.
2. Search for Testimonial Fader.
3. Confirm Content - Testimonial Fader is Enabled.

6. Clear cache and test

1. Clear Joomla cache.
2. Open your site home page and the new reviews menu item.
3. Hard-refresh once (Ctrl+F5) if styles look stale.

Student tip

Start with sample data and the Default theme. After you see it working, create your own theme copy so you never edit the locked Default design by accident.

All six extensions share one testimonials table. You manage quotes once and display them anywhere.

Component (Components > Testimonial Fader)

• Admin: testimonials, categories, designs, import/export, configuration
• Front-end menu item: submit form + browsable list on one page

Showcase module (Testimonial Fader Showcase)

• Best for homepages and heroes
• Modes: slider, grid, masonry, or rating badge

Form module (Testimonial Fader Form)

• Best when you only need a submit box in a sidebar or footer
• Uses the same Ajax engine as the component form

Badge module (Testimonial Fader Badge)

• Small pill or card showing average stars from real published reviews

Content plugin + editor button

• Render {tf display ...} and {tf form ...} inside articles
• Editor button builds the shortcode for you

Simple rule

• Collect reviews: component menu item, form module, or form shortcode
• Show reviews: showcase module, component list, or display shortcode
• Make it look good: Theme Studio design, then attach that design to each surface

Open Components > Testimonial Fader > Testimonials.

What you see

• Toolbar: New, Duplicate, Edit, Publish, Unpublish, Featured, Archive, Trash, Configuration
• Filters: search box, status, category, rating
• Columns: featured star, status, author photo and name, rating, category, date, quote preview, ID
• Drag handle: change manual display order

Common tasks

1. Approve a pending review: tick the row, click Publish.
2. Feature a quote: tick the row, click Featured.
3. Find one person: type their name in Search.
4. Reorder the homepage slider: drag rows, then check the front end (when manual ordering is selected).

Student tip

New public submissions usually arrive as Unpublished. Filter by Unpublished so you can approve them quickly.

Click a name in the list or click New to open the edit screen.

Main fields

• Name and Email: who wrote the review
• Testimonial: the quote text visitors will read
• Rating: 0 to 5 stars (0 hides stars on the card)
• Photo: paste a URL or click Select to pick from Media Manager
• Job title, Company, Website, Location: optional profile details shown on cards
• Item reviewed: used for structured data (for example Starter plan)
• Video URL: adds a Watch video link on the card

Sidebar settings

• Status: Published, Unpublished, Archived, or Trashed
• Featured: Yes shows a featured badge when the theme allows it
• Category: required; pick Homepage, Product, Support, or your own category
• Publish consent: record whether the person agreed to show their name and photo
• Admin note: private note for your team (never shown on the site)

Student tip

Leave empty optional fields blank. Theme Studio hides empty fields automatically so cards stay tidy.

Open Components > Testimonial Fader > Categories.

Why categories matter

Categories let you group reviews (for example Homepage, Product, Support). You can then show only one group on a module, menu item, or shortcode.

How to add one

1. Click New.
2. Enter a Title (for example Sales).
3. Leave Alias blank unless you need a fixed URL-safe name.
4. Status = Published.
5. Click Save & Close.

Sample install includes

Homepage, Product, Support, Sales, Onboarding, Agency, plus Uncategorised (default fallback).

Student tip

When a visitor picks a category on the public form, assign testimonials to matching categories in admin so filters work the way you expect.

Open Components > Testimonial Fader > Design.

Each row is a saved Theme Studio design you can attach to modules, menu items, and shortcodes.

Toolbar actions

• New from Default: safest way to start your own design copy
• Duplicate: clone an existing design
• Publish / Unpublish: control whether a design can be selected
• Delete: remove custom designs (the locked Default theme cannot be deleted)

Badges you may see

• Default: fallback design used when nothing else is picked
• Custom: your own saved design
• Lock icon: system theme protected from deletion

Student tip

Make one design called Brand Main. Attach it everywhere first. Clone it later for seasonal variants (for example Brand Holiday).

Click a design name in the Design list to open Theme Studio. This is the visual control room for colors, layouts, forms, and card content.

Four tabs

• Design: color presets, card skin, hover effect, colors, typography, quote icons
• Layout: grid/masonry/list style, columns, gaps, which fields show on cards
• Behavior: read-more mode, pagination, form mode (fixed/toggle/modal), submit rules
• Code: optional extra CSS for advanced users

Try this 5-minute walkthrough

1. Click a preset such as Trust or Sunset.
2. Change Skin to Bubble or Ticket.
3. Open Layout and set desktop columns to 3.
4. Switch preview to Phone to check mobile.
5. Click Save & Close, then clear cache on the site.

Helpful tools

• Contrast meter: checks text readability
• Undo / Redo: step back through changes
• Copy look JSON: move a look to another design

Student tip

The preview uses sample cards, not necessarily your live testimonials. That is normal. Live pages pull real published rows using the same design.

Open Components > Testimonial Fader > Import and Export.

Install sample data

Loads 50 demo testimonials and 6 categories. Great for learning or client previews. Warning: this replaces current testimonials and categories.

Export CSV

1. Click Export all.
2. Open the file in Excel or Google Sheets.
3. Edit quotes, ratings, or categories offline.

Import CSV

1. Click Download sample CSV if you need the correct column headers.
2. Choose your file and click Import.
3. Duplicate rows (same email + same quote) are skipped automatically.

Reset data and settings

Permanently clears testimonials and/or categories and can reset component options. Export first if you might need a backup.

Student tip

Use sample data on a staging site, not on a live shop with real customer reviews.

Open Components > Testimonial Fader > Configuration (gear icon on any Testimonial Fader screen).

Email settings

• Email Address: where new submission alerts are sent
• Email Subject: subject line for those alerts
• Expire approve links: when Yes, the one-click publish link in email stops working after X days

Photos

• Thumbnail size: pixel width/height for stored photos
• Image format: keep original, or convert to WebP or AVIF
• Quality: compression level for converted images

Search markup (schema)

• Organisation name and URL: defaults for JSON-LD Review data

Captcha settings

• Three captcha options: built-in image captcha, Google reCAPTCHA v2 (checkbox), or Google reCAPTCHA v3 (invisible)
• Built-in captcha: no Google account needed. Customize code length, character set, image size, corner radius, background, text, noise, and line colours. Live preview in admin shows exactly how it will look.
• Google reCAPTCHA: paste site key and secret key pairs that match v2 or v3. An inline setup guide walks you through Google registration.
• Same captcha stack on the component form, Ajax form module, and article shortcodes

Permissions

Use the Permissions tab if non-Super Users should manage testimonials.

Student tip

Set the notification email first, then submit a test review on the front end to confirm mail arrives before you launch.

The component menu item type creates a full reviews page: intro text, submit form, and browsable list together.

Create the menu item

1. Go to Menus > [pick a menu] > New.
2. Menu Item Type: Testimonial Fader > Testimonials.
3. Title: for example Customer Reviews.
4. Open the component parameters and set Theme to your saved design.
5. Publish and save.

Key options to know

• Theme: controls the entire look (same Theme Studio design as modules)
• Categories: limit which reviews appear in the list
• Form categories: limit which category new submissions use
• Pagination: how many reviews per page; AJAX on/off
• Intro content: HTML block above the form (great for instructions)

Student tip

This page is for collecting and browsing. For a homepage slider, use the Showcase module instead. Many sites use both.

The Showcase module rotates or grids testimonials without needing a full menu page.

Create the module

1. Go to Content > Site Modules > New.
2. Select Testimonial Fader Showcase.
3. Pick a Position your template actually renders.
4. Set Theme to your design.
5. Choose Display mode: Slider, Grid, Masonry, or Badge.
6. Status = Published. Save.

Slider tips

• Try Fade or Slide transitions first
• Turn on auto-play for homepages; turn it off for long quotes
• Use Featured only = Yes to show your hand-picked quotes

Grid and masonry tips

• Set desktop columns to 2 or 3 for testimonial walls
• Use Load more when you have many reviews

Student tip

If the module is empty, check that testimonials are Published and that category filters match.

Shortcodes let you drop testimonials or a form inside any article.

Enable the plugins first

1. System > Plugins
2. Enable Content - Testimonial Fader
3. Enable Button - Testimonial Fader (for the editor button)

Display testimonials in an article

{tf display theme="1" cat="homepage,product" layout="grid"}

Embed a submit form

{tf form theme="1" mode="toggle"}

Modes: fixed, toggle, modal

Editor button (easiest)

1. Edit an article.
2. Click the Testimonial Fader toolbar button.
3. Choose Form or Display, pick a theme, set categories, click Insert.

Student tip

The theme number is the design ID from Components > Testimonial Fader > Design (check the ID column).

• Nothing shows on the front end

  • Confirm testimonials are Published. Clear cache. Hard-refresh (Ctrl+F5). Check category filters on the module or menu item.

• Form submits but no email arrives

  • Check Configuration > Email Address. Test Joomla mail (System > Global Configuration > Mail). Check spam folder.

• Shortcode shows as plain text

  • Enable Content - Testimonial Fader plugin. Clear cache.

• Captcha always fails

  • Confirm site key and secret key match the selected reCAPTCHA version. Add your domain in Google reCAPTCHA admin, including localhost for local tests.

• Design changes do not appear

  • Save the Theme Studio design, confirm the module/menu/shortcode uses that theme ID, then clear cache.

• Slider shows zero slides

  • Check module source (Component vs Manual slides). Confirm Published testimonials exist for the selected categories.

• Photos look blurry or huge

  • Lower thumbnail size or raise quality in Configuration > Photos.

• Upgraded from 8.x and old forms still work but look plain

  • Expected. Attach a Theme Studio design and add new fields gradually. Old rows keep working with empty new columns.

Need help beyond these tabs? Open a ticket at support.joomlax.com.

What to include in your ticket

• Joomla version (for example 5.4)
• PHP version
• Testimonial Fader version (9.0.0)
• The page URL where the problem happens
• What you expected vs what you saw
• Screenshot of the module/menu/Theme Studio settings if layout related

Demo: demo.joomlax.com/TestimonialFader