ProductReview talks to Amazon over HTTPS from your server. A few host settings matter.
- PHP 7.4+ (8.0+ recommended).
- Outbound HTTPS allowed — some locked-down hosts block outbound connections; the API needs to reach
webservices.amazon.*. - Up-to-date TLS/OpenSSL so the signed request is accepted.
- WP-Cron running (or a real cron hitting
wp-cron.php) so scheduled cache refreshes happen.
The legacy Amazon API relied on PHP SOAP; PA-API 5 is a signed REST/JSON API, so the SOAP extension is not required. If an old guide told you to enable SOAP, you can ignore it for PA-API 5.
If calls time out, ask your host whether outbound requests to Amazon’s API host are permitted.