Developing review and rating components in Vue.js for 1C-Bitrix

Development of Reviews and Ratings Components on Vue.js for 1C-Bitrix

The standard approach to reviews on Bitrix — a PHP component with full page reload when a review is added. User fills out the form, clicks "Submit", page refreshes. This was normal in 2014, but for modern e-commerce it's outdated. A Vue.js component solves it differently: form, review list, pagination, sorting — everything works without reload, with instant feedback.

Integration architecture

Bitrix remains the backend and source of truth. Vue works in the browser on top of a PHP page. Integration happens through:

1. PHP passes initial data to Vue — first N reviews render server-side (or pass as JSON), Vue hydrates them and takes control
2. REST API — all subsequent actions (load more, add review, vote helpful) go through AJAX to a PHP controller

Server-side: PHP controller

Controller class based on \Bitrix\Main\Engine\Controller:

// /local/components/custom/reviews/controller.php
namespace Custom\Reviews;

class ReviewController extends \Bitrix\Main\Engine\Controller {

    public function getListAction(int $productId, int $page = 1, string $sort = 'date'): array {
        $limit  = 10;
        $offset = ($page - 1) * $limit;

        $reviews = ReviewTable::getList([
            'filter' => ['=PRODUCT_ID' => $productId, '=STATUS' => 'approved'],
            'order'  => $sort === 'rating' ? ['RATING' => 'DESC'] : ['DATE_CREATE' => 'DESC'],
            'limit'  => $limit,
            'offset' => $offset,
            'select' => ['ID', 'AUTHOR_NAME', 'RATING', 'TITLE', 'BODY', 'DATE_CREATE', 'HELPFUL_YES'],
        ])->fetchAll();

        $total = ReviewTable::getCount(['=PRODUCT_ID' => $productId, '=STATUS' => 'approved']);

        return ['reviews' => $reviews, 'total' => $total, 'page' => $page];
    }

    public function addAction(int $productId, int $rating, string $title, string $body): array {
        global $USER;
        // Check: user purchased this product
        if (!$this->hasPurchased($USER->GetID(), $productId)) {
            return $this->addError(new \Bitrix\Main\Error('Review available to buyers only'));
        }
        // ...save review with 'pending' status
        return ['success' => true, 'message' => 'Review submitted for moderation'];
    }

    public function voteHelpfulAction(int $reviewId, string $type): array {
        // type: 'yes' | 'no'
        // ...
    }
}

Controller registers in init.php:

\Bitrix\Main\EventManager::getInstance()->addEventHandler(
    'main', 'OnProlog',
    fn() => \Custom\Reviews\ReviewController::register()
);

Vue component: Reviews.vue

<template>
  <div class="reviews-widget">
    <!-- Rating summary -->
    <div class="rating-summary">
      <StarRating :value="summary.avg" :readonly="true" />
      <span>{{ summary.avg.toFixed(1) }} of 5 ({{ summary.total }} reviews)</span>
      <RatingBars :distribution="summary.distribution" />
    </div>

    <!-- New review form -->
    <ReviewForm v-if="canReview" @submitted="onReviewSubmitted" />

    <!-- Sorting -->
    <select v-model="sort" @change="loadReviews(1)">
      <option value="date">By date</option>
      <option value="rating">By rating</option>
      <option value="helpful">By helpfulness</option>
    </select>

    <!-- Review list -->
    <ReviewCard
      v-for="review in reviews"
      :key="review.ID"
      :review="review"
      @helpful-vote="voteHelpful"
    />

    <!-- Pagination -->
    <button v-if="hasMore" @click="loadMore" :disabled="loading">
      {{ loading ? 'Loading...' : 'Show more' }}
    </button>
  </div>
</template>

<script setup lang="ts">
import { ref, onMounted } from 'vue'
import type { Review, ReviewSummary } from './types'

const props = defineProps<{ productId: number; initialReviews: Review[] }>()

const reviews  = ref<Review[]>(props.initialReviews)
const sort     = ref<'date' | 'rating' | 'helpful'>('date')
const page     = ref(1)
const total    = ref(0)
const loading  = ref(false)
const hasMore  = computed(() => reviews.value.length < total.value)

async function loadReviews(resetPage = 1) {
    loading.value = true
    const res = await fetch(`/local/api/reviews/?product=${props.productId}&page=${resetPage}&sort=${sort.value}`)
    const data = await res.json()
    reviews.value = resetPage === 1 ? data.reviews : [...reviews.value, ...data.reviews]
    total.value   = data.total
    page.value    = resetPage
    loading.value = false
}

async function loadMore() {
    await loadReviews(page.value + 1)
}

async function voteHelpful(reviewId: number, type: 'yes' | 'no') {
    await fetch('/local/api/reviews/vote/', { method: 'POST', body: JSON.stringify({ id: reviewId, type }) })
    // optimistic update of counter
    const review = reviews.value.find(r => r.ID === reviewId)
    if (review) review.HELPFUL_YES += type === 'yes' ? 1 : 0
}

onMounted(() => { if (!props.initialReviews.length) loadReviews() })
</script>

StarRating.vue: star rating component

<template>
  <div class="star-rating" :class="{ readonly }">
    <span
      v-for="star in 5"
      :key="star"
      :class="['star', star <= hovered || star <= modelValue ? 'filled' : 'empty']"
      @mouseenter="!readonly && (hovered = star)"
      @mouseleave="!readonly && (hovered = 0)"
      @click="!readonly && $emit('update:modelValue', star)"
    >★</span>
  </div>
</template>

<script setup lang="ts">
const props = defineProps<{ modelValue: number; readonly?: boolean }>()
const hovered = ref(0)
</script>

Integration with PHP template

Component mounts in the product detail page template:

// template.php
$initialReviews = json_encode($arResult['REVIEWS'] ?? [], JSON_UNESCAPED_UNICODE);
?>
<div id="reviews-app"
     data-product-id="<?= (int)$arResult['ID'] ?>"
     data-initial-reviews="<?= htmlspecialchars($initialReviews) ?>">
</div>
<script>
// Initialize Vue app
import { createApp } from 'vue'
import ReviewsWidget from './Reviews.vue'

const el = document.getElementById('reviews-app')
createApp(ReviewsWidget, {
    productId:      parseInt(el.dataset.productId),
    initialReviews: JSON.parse(el.dataset.initialReviews),
}).mount(el)
</script>

Initial reviews (first 10) render server-side and pass in data attribute — user sees them instantly without additional request.

Moderation in interface

For moderators — additional Vue component in administration section. Queue of reviews awaiting approval with "Approve" / "Reject" buttons and rejection reason field. Status change goes through the same API controller with rights check ($USER->IsAdmin()).

Timeline

A Vue reviews component is a UX investment. The ability to add a review without page reload reduces bounce rate after submission and increases the number of reviews left.