WPForo – Polls is an add-on for the WPForo plugin, enabling forum administrators and users to create and participate in polls within the forum. This feature enhances user engagement and interaction by allowing members to vote on various topics, survey questions, or important decisions. Polls are a great way to involve the community, gather opinions, and increase user participation in the forum.

Key Features of WPForo – Polls:

1. Create Polls in Topics:
   • Polls can be easily created within forum topics, allowing admins or forum moderators to post surveys or polls on any thread. Users can vote on these polls directly in the thread where the poll is created.
2. Customizable Poll Options:
   • Poll creators can define the poll options, allowing users to select from a range of answers. Multiple options can be provided, and users can choose one or more options based on how the poll is set up.
3. Multiple Poll Types:
   • Single-choice polls allow users to select only one option from the list, while multiple-choice polls let users select more than one option. This versatility makes it suitable for different types of voting scenarios.
4. Anonymous Voting:
   • Polls can be set to anonymous, meaning that the identities of those who vote are kept private. This ensures that users feel free to vote without being publicly associated with their choice.
5. Poll Duration:
   • Administrators can specify a duration for polls, meaning that the poll will automatically close after a certain period, such as days or weeks. This helps in creating time-sensitive decisions or events.
6. User Participation:
   • Registered users can vote in polls, with the option to vote on any active polls they are interested in. It encourages more involvement from the community as users actively participate in decisions.
7. Poll Results Display:
   • Poll results are automatically displayed after users vote, and they can be seen in a graphical format (such as pie charts or bar charts) to make the results more visually appealing and easy to interpret.
   • Results are updated in real-time, showing how many votes each option has received, giving an interactive feel to the forum.
8. Poll Voting Restrictions:
   • Admins and moderators can restrict voting based on user roles or forum sections, allowing for more tailored voting experiences. For example, you could allow only certain user groups to vote on specific polls.
9. Poll Editing:
   • Poll creators have the option to edit polls after they are created. This allows for changes to be made in case of errors or to update options based on feedback. However, users who have already voted may not be able to change their votes after submitting.
10. Multiple Polls per Topic:
    • It is possible to have multiple polls within a single topic, providing flexibility to create more complex discussions or surveys where different aspects of a topic are voted on separately.
11. Poll Notifications:
    • Users can receive notifications when new polls are created in topics they are subscribed to, encouraging them to participate in new polls and stay engaged with the community.
12. Polls in Private Topics:
    • Polls can be added to private topics or threads where only certain users have access. This ensures that members of private groups or restricted areas can still participate in polls.
13. Customizable Poll Voting Settings:
    • Admins can configure various settings for polls, including whether users can vote only once or multiple times, whether the voting is restricted to specific groups, and how the results are displayed.
14. Poll Statistics:
    • The plugin can generate statistics based on poll results, which can be useful for tracking trends, making decisions based on user feedback, or analyzing popular opinions in the community.
15. Moderation of Polls:
    • As with other WPForo features, polls are fully manageable by forum moderators and administrators. They can delete, modify, or close polls as needed.

How to Use WPForo – Polls:

1. Install and Activate:
   • First, you need to install and activate the WPForo – Polls add-on on your WordPress site. Make sure the WPForo plugin is already installed and activated on your website.
2. Create a Poll:
   • When creating a new topic in the forum, the option to add a poll will appear. You can input the question you want to ask and the possible answers or options users can vote on.
   • You can choose whether the poll should allow single or multiple answers, set the poll duration, and configure whether voting will be anonymous.
3. Participate in Polls:
   • Forum members can view polls within active topics and vote by selecting their preferred option(s). Once they have voted, the poll results will be immediately updated for everyone to see.
4. Monitor Poll Results:
   • After voting, users can view the results of the poll, which will show the percentage of votes each option received. Admins or moderators can track participation and manage poll content as necessary.
5. Edit or Close Polls:
   • As the poll creator or a moderator, you can edit the poll, change the question or options, or close the poll once the voting period has ended.
6. View Poll Analytics:
   • Admins can access detailed poll statistics to analyze user responses. This is particularly helpful when conducting surveys or making decisions based on community feedback.

Benefits of WPForo – Polls:

1. Increased Engagement:
   • Polls are a great way to encourage forum members to participate more actively. By providing a simple way to share their opinions, polls can significantly boost community involvement.
2. Community Feedback:
   • Polls are an effective tool for gathering community feedback. Whether it's for decisions about forum changes, event planning, or just casual questions, polls give users a direct way to influence the forum.
3. Enhanced Interactivity:
   • With polls, users can engage in a more interactive manner, offering a break from long forum posts and allowing for quick, digestible discussions on different topics.
4. Time-Sensitive Decisions:
   • Polls with set durations allow for timely decision-making, such as voting on the date for an event or making time-sensitive community decisions.
5. User-Centric Decision-Making:
   • Polls make decisions more democratic, where users feel they have a voice in the direction of the community. This builds a sense of belonging and loyalty to the forum.
6. Customization and Flexibility:
   • The ability to create custom polls based on user needs, whether simple or complex, makes the WPForo polls feature extremely versatile for a wide range of applications.
7. Easily Trackable Results:
   • Results are updated automatically and can be displayed in a visual format, making it easy to analyze community opinions and track trends over time.

Conclusion:

WPForo – Polls is an excellent addition for any community forum looking to increase user interaction, gather feedback, or create engaging content. The plugin offers flexibility with custom poll options, easy voting mechanisms, and real-time results display, making it an ideal tool for creating interactive experiences within your forum. Whether you're looking to conduct simple surveys, vote on community decisions, or just have some fun with your members, WPForo – Polls makes it easy to integrate polls into your forum posts and encourage greater user participation.