Custom Review & Rating Module for 1C-Bitrix

We often encounter clients trying to collect reviews using standard components like bitrix:catalog.element.vote and bitrix:forum. The result is poor: an unmoderated forum, ratings without purchase verification, and no structured data for Schema.org. A proper review module is a different story: verified reviews, multi-criteria rating, moderation, seller responses, and aggregated star microdata. Our team, with over 10 years of experience in 1C-Bitrix development and 40+ successful projects, offers a custom module that covers all these gaps.

Why Standard Solutions Don't Cut It

Bitrix has a bitrix:catalog.element.vote component for voting and bitrix:forum linked to elements — these are the building blocks typically used for reviews. They lack built-in verification of paid orders, no moderation, no multi-criteria ratings. Microdata isn't generated, robbing you of the SEO benefit of star snippets. Our module addresses all these shortcomings.

How Purchase Verification Works

The most valuable part of a review is the "verified purchaser" badge. We check against b_sale_order:

public function isVerifiedPurchase(int $userId, int $productId): bool
{
    $order = \Bitrix\Sale\Internals\BasketTable::getList([
        'select' => ['ORDER_ID'],
        'filter' => [
            '=PRODUCT_ID' => $productId,
            '=ORDER.USER_ID' => $userId,
            '=ORDER.PAYED' => 'Y',
            '=ORDER.CANCELED' => 'N',
        ],
        'limit' => 1,
    ])->fetch();
    return (bool)$order;
}

When creating a review, order_id can be explicitly passed — then verification is unambiguous. Without order_id, we check any paid order containing that product.

Moderation and Spam Protection

All reviews are created with status pending and enter a moderation queue. Two modes are possible:

• Manual moderation — a moderator approves/rejects each review.
• Auto-approval — reviews from verified purchasers are published automatically; others go to the queue.

Spam filtering uses simple heuristics: links in the body, excessive capital letters, duplicate text, stop words. Suspicious reviews get status spam.

class SpamDetector
{
    public function check(string $text): SpamResult
    {
        if (preg_match('/https?:\/\//i', $text)) return SpamResult::spam('Links are forbidden');
        if (similar_text($text, $this->getLastReview($text)) > 80) return SpamResult::spam('Duplicate');
        foreach ($this->stopWords as $word) {
            if (mb_stripos($text, $word) !== false) return SpamResult::suspicious();
        }
        return SpamResult::clean();
    }
}

Multi-Criteria Rating

Products can have multiple rating criteria (e.g., "Quality", "Matches Description", "Delivery Speed"). The overall rating is the average of all criteria:

SELECT
    entity_id,
    AVG(rr.value) AS avg_rating,
    COUNT(DISTINCT r.id) AS review_count
FROM b_vendor_review r
JOIN b_vendor_review_rating rr ON rr.review_id = r.id
WHERE r.entity_type = 'product'
  AND r.status = 'approved'
GROUP BY entity_id;

Aggregated data is cached with tag review_entity_{entity_id} and invalidated when a new review is approved.

Schema.org Microdata

For SEO impact, aggregated ratings must appear in microdata. As per Wikipedia: Schema.org, use AggregateRating for products:

<div itemscope itemtype="https://schema.org/Product">
  <span itemprop="name">Product Name</span>
  <div itemprop="aggregateRating" itemscope itemtype="https://schema.org/AggregateRating">
    <span itemprop="ratingValue">4.7</span>
    <span itemprop="reviewCount">143</span>
  </div>
</div>

The vendor:reviews.aggregate component generates this block from cached data. Sites with microdata see up to 5x more clicks on star snippets — proven in practice. You get stars in search results.

Usefulness Voting

Users can mark a review as "helpful" or "unhelpful". Protection against manipulation:

• One vote per IP per day.
• Authorized users: one vote per review forever.
• Usefulness rating influences the display order of reviews.

Development Process

1. Analysis and data model design (ORM tables).
2. Module development: infoblocks, criteria, verification.
3. Moderation, spam filter, voting.
4. Integration with microdata and site components.
5. Testing and deployment.

Comparison: Standard vs Our Module

Timeline

Total: 11 business days. Importing reviews from Yandex.Market or other platforms adds 1–2 days.

What's Included

• Review module with ORM tables, components, and admin interface.
• Purchase verification, moderation, spam filter setup.
• Multi-criteria rating and Schema.org microdata.
• Usefulness voting and seller responses.
• Documentation and staff training.
• Post-launch support.

Contact us to discuss your project and get an accurate estimate. We have been working with Bitrix for over 10 years and guarantee a quality result.

1C-Bitrix Module Development and Setup

The main trap of Bitrix is init.php. You add an OnBeforeIBlockElementUpdate handler there, then another one — a year later the file is 2000 lines, and on every hit all that code executes. We move business logic into full-fledged modules with D7 ORM, custom tables, and administrative interface. The module can be disabled, transferred to another project, covered with tests — none of that is possible with init.php. Our team has 10+ years of Bitrix experience, certified specialists, and a 6-month code guarantee. Request a consultation — we'll explain how to migrate legacy code to a modular architecture.

Why is init.php the worst place for business logic?

Init.php does not support class autoloading, lacks an isolated namespace, cannot be unit tested, and cannot be disabled without editing the file itself. Every handler written there runs on every request, even if not needed. In a module, you register handlers through EventManager, and they only execute when the event occurs. Performance difference: up to 3x with 10+ handlers.

Standard Modules: Typical Problems and Solutions

Information blocks. IBlock architecture is the first thing we review on any project. A classic mistake: one catalog infoblock with 80 properties, 30 of which are multiple. The b_iblock_element_property table swells to millions of rows, and CIBlockElement::GetList with filtering on three properties does a full scan. We move reference data to Highload-blocks, eliminate multiple properties where possible, and design the structure for 5x growth.

e-Store (sale). Cart business rules are a separate story. We set discount priorities to prevent two campaigns from giving 60% instead of 30%, connect payment handlers, and write custom validation via OnSaleOrderBeforeSaved.

Search. The built-in search module with morphology works up to 10–15 thousand elements. Beyond that — Elasticsearch. We configure it via the Bitrix search module API, indexing through CSearchFullText or custom indexers.

Highload-blocks for dictionaries, logs, user data — instead of bloated IBlocks. Direct queries via Bitrix\Highloadblock\HighloadBlockTable, custom tables instead of the EAV structure of standard infoblocks. A million records — no degradation.

Mail events. Configuration is not just templates in b_event_message. The key is SPF, DKIM, DMARC on the DNS, otherwise transactional emails go to spam. We check deliverability and set up bounce handling.

How to Design Infoblocks for Performance?

We use Highload-blocks for reference data (colors, sizes, manufacturers) that are not involved in complex queries. For SKUs — a separate infoblock with linking via IBLOCK_ELEMENT_PROPERTY. Enable INDEX_PROPERTY for frequently filtered properties. Tagged caching: when an element changes, only the related cache is cleared. Highload-blocks process up to 10x faster than infoblocks with multiple properties on volumes of 100,000 records.

Custom Module Development

Each module follows the structure /local/modules/vendor.modulename/:

• install/index.php — setup class, create tables via $DB->RunSQLBatch()
• lib/ — D7 ORM classes, extending Bitrix\Main\ORM\Data\DataManager
• admin/ — administrative pages using CAdminList, CAdminForm
• include.php — autoloading, event handler registration via EventManager::getInstance()->registerEventHandler()
• REST API endpoints via \Bitrix\Rest\RestManager

The module registers in the system, appears in the "Installed Solutions" list, and has its own settings at /bitrix/admin/settings.php?mid=vendor.modulename. It can be enabled, disabled, and updated through UpdateSystem or custom migration mechanics.

Examples of implemented tasks:

• Campaign management — visual condition builder via CAdminCalendar, timers via agents (CAgent::AddAgent), analytics linked to the sale module
• Cost calculator — React widget on the frontend, REST API in the module, formulas stored in a Highload-block
• Booking system — real-time calendar, locking via $DB->StartTransaction() / $DB->Commit() on concurrent requests, integration with channel manager via webhook

Components and Composite Cache

Component customization via result_modifier.php and component_epilog.php, not by editing template.php of the standard template. This way core updates are painless.

Composite cache ("Composite Site" technology) — the server sends ready HTML, bypassing PHP routing. Dynamic areas (cart, authorization) are loaded via CBitrixComponent::setFrameMode(true) and AJAX. TTFB drops to 30–50 ms. But there are caveats: not all components are compatible, $APPLICATION->ShowPanel() breaks composite, and careful markup of <div id="bx-composite-..."> is required.

What to Check Before Installing a Marketplace Module?

Before installing a module from the marketplace, an audit is mandatory. We check: SQL queries without prepared statements (hello SQL injection), direct use of $_REQUEST without filtering, use of outdated kernel API instead of D7, conflicts with the composite cache module. A module with no updates for over a year and a few dozen installations is likely a problem on the next PHP update. A typical case: a module calls CIBlockElement::GetList with no cache reset — the site crashes with 5000 elements.

Migration to D7

When upgrading PHP or switching to a new edition — refactor outdated calls:

• CIBlockElement::GetList() → Bitrix\Iblock\Elements\ElementTable::getList()
• CSaleOrder::GetList() → Bitrix\Sale\Order::getList()
• CModule::IncludeModule() → Bitrix\Main\Loader::includeModule() Testing on staging, rollback via git on issues.

According to official 1C-Bitrix documentation, D7 ORM is the recommended tool for working with data, providing type safety and automatic query generation.

Comparison: Init.php vs Module

Module Development Scope and Cost

What is included in module development?

• Technical specification and architectural plan
• Code following PSR-4 and Bitrix code style
• Unit tests (PHPUnit) for business logic
• Integration tests for events and REST API
• Installation, configuration, and API documentation
• Repository and documentation access
• Administrator training for module usage
• 6-month warranty support

Estimated timelines and complexity:

Cost is calculated individually — contact us for a project estimate.

Module Testing

Unit tests via PHPUnit cover business logic: discount calculation, validation, document generation. Mocks for Bitrix\Main\Application::getConnection() allow tests to be DB-independent. Integration tests verify event handlers on a real database — OnAfterIBlockElementAdd, OnSaleOrderSaved, etc. REST API endpoints are tested via curl or PHPUnit HTTP client. Critical for modules working with b_sale_order, b_catalog_price — where errors cost money.

Compatibility is checked on PHP 7.4, 8.0, 8.1, 8.2 and editions: Standard, Small Business, Business. We check conflicts with popular marketplace modules — they often intercept the same events. Load testing: measurements on 10K, 100K, 1M records, profiling via Xdebug for memory leaks and N+1 queries.

Practical Examples

Campaign module for an electronics chain. The built-in sale module discounts did not cover scenarios like "2+1", a gift with purchase over a certain amount, or combined conditions. We built a visual builder: marketers create rules via drag-and-drop without development tickets. Campaign calendar, auto-deactivation via agents, analytics linked to b_sale_order — conversion, average check, usage count. Time to launch a new campaign dropped from two days to half an hour.

Calculator for builders. Parameters (area, materials, number of floors) → formula → preliminary estimate → lead to CRM via CRest::call('crm.lead.add'). Regional coefficients and seasonal markups from a Highload-block, material prices from 1C exchange. The number of target leads increased by a third: clients see a breakdown before calling a manager.

Booking for a hotel chain. Real-time availability via AJAX requests to a custom table vendor_booking_slots, seasonal tariff calculation, synchronization with Booking.com via channel manager API. Room locking on concurrent booking via SELECT ... FOR UPDATE in transactions. Timezones handled via \DateTimeZone — a guest from Vladivostok and a manager from Moscow see the same picture.

We will evaluate your project within one day. Write to us — we'll tell you what is included in turnkey development. Contact us for a consultation on your project. Order a custom module development — get a ready solution with documentation and support.