Exclude Products from Wix Review Requests (Proofy Setup)

You can exclude products from Wix review requests in Proofy Reviews by adding them to the product exclusion list inside the review request automation. Excluded items are skipped, everything else still triggers a request, and the customer never sees a prompt for a gift card or a free sample.

This matters because a review request that asks about a $5 shipping add-on looks careless. It also drags your average rating down with stars that do not describe a real product. The fix takes about two minutes once you know where the list lives.

Which products belong on the exclusion list

Not every line item in an order is a product a customer can review. Some are fees, some are gifts, and some are one-time items you plan to retire. The exclusion list is for those.

• Gift cards and store credit products
• Free samples, swag, and promotional inserts
• Shipping protection, handling fees, and insurance add-ons
• Deposits, booking fees, and service line items
• Clearance or last-run items you will not restock
• Bundles that will be split into separate SKUs next quarter

A useful rule: if the product page has no photo, no description, and no reason for a customer to form an opinion, it does not need a review request. Skipping it keeps the automation focused.

How to set up product exclusions in Proofy Reviews

Proofy Reviews handles this inside the same automation that sends the request emails. You do not need a second app or a custom script.

1. Open the Proofy Reviews dashboard from your Wix site.
2. Go to the review request automation settings.
3. Find the exclusions section next to the email exclusion list.
4. Add each product by name or SKU. Add them one at a time so you can review the list.
5. Save the automation and place a test order that includes one excluded product.
6. Confirm the request email skips the excluded item and still mentions the normal products.

If you are still setting up the automation from scratch, the step-by-step flow in Automate Product Review Requests on Wix covers triggers, delays, and the second request. The exclusion list is the last piece, not the first.

Product exclusion vs email exclusion: two different filters

Proofy has two exclusion lists and they solve different problems. Mixing them up is the most common setup mistake.

Use the product list when the item is the problem. Use the email list when the person is the problem. If a wholesale buyer orders a gift card and a real product, you want them on the email list, not just the product list.

When not to exclude products from review requests

Exclusion is a filter, not a strategy. If you exclude too much, you quietly turn off the automation and wonder why review volume dropped. Skip the exclusion list when the store is not ready for it.

• You have fewer than 20 products and every one is a real, reviewable item. Excluding anything just reduces coverage.
• You have not yet set up the automation at all. Fix the trigger and delay first, then come back to exclusions.
• You are using exclusions to hide products with bad reviews. That is a trust problem, not a filter problem.
• You have no one to moderate incoming reviews. Excluding products does not fix an unmoderated review page.
• You are pre-launch and have no orders. There is nothing to exclude yet.

The honest test: if you cannot name three products that should never be reviewed, you probably do not need the list yet. Come back after your first 50 orders, when the pattern is obvious.

What to measure after you exclude products

Exclusion changes what gets asked, so it changes what gets answered. Track the effect instead of assuming it worked.

• Review request send volume before and after the change
• Average rating on the remaining products
• Share of reviews that mention a real product experience
• Response rate on requests, since fewer low-value asks can lift it
• Number of reviews on excluded products, which should drop to zero

Proofy's dashboard shows counts, average rating, distribution, and response rate. Use those numbers, not a feeling. If send volume drops more than you expected, you probably excluded a product that was actually reviewable.

For a wider view of what to watch after install, see What to Track After Installing a Reviews App on Wix.

When the store situation is wrong for this tactic

Excluding products only helps if the review request automation is already doing useful work. If your store has no traffic, no orders, or no one to reply to reviews, the exclusion list is not the bottleneck.

• Nobody on the team can moderate or reply to reviews within a week. Fix staffing before tuning filters.
• The store has fewer than 10 orders per month. You need volume before you need precision.
• Product pages are already overloaded with widgets and scripts. Adding more review logic will not help.
• The real problem is shipping delays or wrong photos, not which products get asked about.

If any of those describe your store, pause the exclusion work and fix the underlying issue first. The list will still be there next month.

Common mistakes when excluding products

• Excluding the whole order instead of the product, which kills requests for real items
• Forgetting to exclude gift cards, so every gift purchase triggers a review ask
• Excluding a product and then forgetting to remove it when the product is restocked
• Adding products by name only, when SKU is more reliable after a rename
• Assuming the change applies to requests already in the queue

The last one catches people. Exclusions apply to future requests. If a batch is already scheduled, those emails still go out. Plan the change before a big campaign, not during one.

If you are switching from another reviews app, read How to Switch Review Apps on Wix Without Losing Reviews before you touch the automation. The exclusion list should be set up after the import, not before.

For the canonical platform rules behind this setup, check official docs and platform documentation.

One more thing worth checking: if your store sells both physical products and services, the service line items usually belong on the exclusion list too. They rarely get useful reviews, and they clutter the product review page. Treat the list as a living document and revisit it once a quarter.