A video library that people react to is worth more than one they only watch. Ratings tell you what is landing, likes give visitors something to do in a second, and comments turn a page into a conversation.
All three are switched off out of the box, so nothing appears until you decide it should.
Ratings and likes and dislikes are premium features and need a license key. Comments are available to everyone.
What you will build
A video page where visitors can give a star rating, click like or dislike, and leave a comment — with the results visible to you in the admin.
Step 1: Turn on star ratings
1. Select Components → Yendif Video Share → Videos, click Options, then open General → Ratings.
2. Set Ratings to Show.
- Ratings — shows the star rating widget on the single video page. Default: Hide.
- Allow guest users to submit Ratings — lets visitors who are not logged in vote. Set it to No to require an account. Default: Yes.
3. Click Save & Close, then open a video on your site.
Check it worked: a row of stars appears under the video title. Clicking one records your vote and the average updates.
Step 2: Turn on likes and dislikes
Same screen, next section along: General → Likes / Dislikes.
- Likes / Dislikes — shows thumbs up and thumbs down buttons with their counts. Default: Hide.
- Allow guest users to submit Likes / Dislikes — lets visitors who are not logged in vote. Default: Yes.
You do not have to use both. Likes are quicker for visitors and give you a clear signal; star ratings give you a finer measure and can be used to sort your gallery. Pick whichever suits how you plan to use the result.
Should guests be allowed to vote?
Both features start with guest voting allowed. Here is the trade off.
With guests allowed
- You get many more votes.
- They are less trustworthy — votes are tied to a browser session, so a determined person can clear cookies and vote again.
- A logged-out visitor sees working stars and buttons.
- Best for public sites where the numbers are a rough guide.
With members only
- You get far fewer votes.
- They are reliable — one vote per account.
- A logged-out visitor sees a message asking them to log in.
- Best for membership sites, or anywhere the ranking matters.
With guest voting turned off, a visitor who is not logged in and clicks a star or a thumb sees:
Sorry, you must login to do this action.
The widget is still visible, so people can see the existing score — they simply cannot add to it.
Showing ratings in your galleries
Star ratings can also appear on the thumbnails in your gallery pages and modules, not only on the video page.
- Everywhere, as the default — Options → General → Gallery → Ratings.
- One gallery page — the Ratings setting on that menu item, under Videos Layout.
- One module — the Ratings setting on that Videos or Playlist module.
Thumbnails show the score only. Voting happens on the video page.
Sorting by rating
Once you have ratings, Most Rated becomes useful as an Order By option on any gallery page or module — a genuine “best of” list built by your visitors.
Most Rated sorts on the average score, so a video with one five-star vote outranks one with fifty votes averaging 4.8. Give it a few weeks of real voting before you put it on your homepage.
Seeing who voted for what
Every vote is recorded individually, not just as a total.
- Components → Yendif Video Share → Ratings lists every star rating.
- Components → Yendif Video Share → Likes / Dislikes lists every thumb.
Both lists can be filtered and sorted, and you can delete entries — which is how you remove a run of nonsense votes. Deleting votes updates the video’s average.
Votes from logged-in visitors record the user. Guest votes record only a browser session, so they show as anonymous. That is the practical difference between the two guest settings, in one sentence.
Adding comments
Yendif Video Share does not have its own commenting system. Instead it connects to one you choose, so you are not maintaining a second set of comments separate from the rest of your site.
- Facebook Comments — nothing to install, though a Facebook App ID is recommended. The quickest to set up. Visitors comment with their Facebook account, so there is nothing for you to moderate in Joomla.
- Komento — needs Komento installed and enabled. For sites already running Komento on their articles. Comments stay on your own site.
- Jlex — needs JLex Comment installed and enabled. For sites already running JLex. Also keeps comments on your own site.
- — None — — the default. No comment block at all.
The setting is at Options → Single Video Page → Comments → Comments Type.
Setting up Facebook comments
1. Set Comments Type to Facebook Comments. Three more settings appear.
- Facebook App ID — your app’s ID. Comments will appear without one, but you need it to moderate them using Facebook’s own tools. Create a Facebook App ID. Default: empty.
- Number of Posts — how many comments show before a “view more” link. Default: 5.
- Color Scheme — Light or Dark. Match it to your template. Default: Light.
2. Click Save & Close, then open a video on your site.
Check it worked: an Add Your Comments heading and a Facebook comment box appear below the video. Facebook’s script is loaded for you, in your site’s language.
Facebook comments live on Facebook, not on your site. They will not appear in your Joomla search results, you cannot export them, and if you ever switch commenting system they do not come with you. Komento or JLex keep everything in your own database.
Setting up Komento or JLex
Install and configure the extension first, then set Comments Type to Komento or Jlex. Nothing else is needed — the component passes each video to it automatically.
If you choose Komento or Jlex and no comment box appears, the extension is either not installed or not enabled. The component checks for both and quietly shows nothing rather than breaking your page, so there will be no error message to go on.
Videos shared on social media
Worth knowing even if you never turn comments on: every video page publishes the tags social networks read, so a shared link shows a proper preview rather than a bare URL — the video’s title, its description and its thumbnail.
This happens automatically. To improve what appears, fill in each video’s Meta Description and give it a good Image.
The player also has its own Share Buttons, which put sharing links inside the player itself. That is a premium feature and is covered in Set up the player how you want it.
If something goes wrong
- A “premium feature” message on the Ratings or Likes settings. Both need a license key. Add yours under Options → Licensing.
- Stars or buttons do not appear at all. The setting is still on Hide, or the license is not active. Check Options → General → Ratings and Likes / Dislikes.
- They appear but clicking does nothing. You are not logged in and guest voting is off. Log in, or set the guest option to Yes.
- “Sorry, you must login to do this action.” Working as intended — guest voting is off. Nothing to fix, unless you meant to allow guests.
- No stars on a restricted video. Ratings, likes, comments and related videos are all hidden from visitors without access. Expected — see Restrict videos to registered members.
- Most Rated ordering looks wrong. It sorts on the average, so one enthusiastic vote can top the list. Wait for more votes, or order by Most Viewed instead.
- No Facebook comment box. An ad blocker or privacy extension is blocking Facebook’s script. Test in a private window with extensions disabled.
- No Komento or JLex comment box. The extension is not installed or not enabled. Check it under System → Manage → Extensions.
- The same person voted twice. Guest votes are tied to a browser session, so clearing cookies allows another. Turn guest voting off if the count needs to be reliable.
What to try next
- Put videos on your homepage and sidebar
To build a “top rated” page from your visitors’ votes. - Set up the player how you want it
To add share buttons inside the player. - Restrict videos to registered members
To require an account before watching, not just before voting. - Settings reference
To look up any setting in detail.