WordPress Crowdsignal Polls & Ratings Plugin Features and How to Use

Crowdsignal Polls & Ratings is a versatile WordPress plugin that empowers website owners to engage their audience and gather valuable feedback through interactive polls and ratings.¹ Developed by Automattic, the company behind WordPress.com, Crowdsignal (formerly Polldaddy) offers a range of features to easily create, manage, and display these interactive elements on your WordPress site.²

The plugin integrates with the Crowdsignal.com service, acting as a bridge between your WordPress dashboard and your Crowdsignal account where the polls, surveys, quizzes, and ratings are primarily created and managed. More recent iterations, like the Crowdsignal Forms plugin, offer deeper integration with the WordPress block editor for a more streamlined creation process directly within your post or page.³

Here’s a detailed look at its features and usage:

Key Features:

• Creation of Various Interactive Content: While the plugin name highlights Polls and Ratings, Crowdsignal supports the creation of:

• Polls: Simple questions with predefined answer options for quick audience opinions.
• Ratings: Allow users to rate content (posts, pages, comments) using various scales (stars, thumbs up/down, etc.).⁴
• Surveys: More in-depth questionnaires with multiple question types (multiple choice, text, rating, Likert scale, etc.) to gather detailed feedback.
• Quizzes: Create engaging quizzes with scoring and results.⁵

• Seamless WordPress Integration: The plugin facilitates embedding Crowdsignal projects into your WordPress posts, pages, and widget areas.⁶
• Multiple Embedding Methods: Depending on your WordPress editor and preference, you can embed using:

• Blocks (Gutenberg Editor): The Crowdsignal Forms plugin provides dedicated blocks for polls, surveys, ratings, feedback buttons, NPS (Net Promoter Score), and applause, offering a visual and integrated experience.⁷
• Shortcodes: The classic method of embedding by pasting a shortcode generated from your Crowdsignal account into the classic editor or a shortcode block.⁸
• Widgets: Display polls or top-rated content in sidebar or footer widget areas.
• Direct Embeds: In some cases, simply pasting the Crowdsignal share link into the editor can automatically embed the content.
• Customization Options:

• Styling and Appearance: Customize the look and feel of your polls and ratings to match your website’s branding.⁹ This includes choosing themes, adjusting colors, fonts, and sizes.¹⁰ The block editor integration often allows for direct styling within the editor.¹¹
• Text and Labels: Customize the default text and labels used in your polls and ratings.¹²

• Real-Time Results and Analytics: View responses and results as they come in through your Crowdsignal dashboard.¹³ The plugin provides access to reports and analytics.¹⁴
• Data Export: Export your collected data in various formats (CSV, Excel, PDF) for further analysis.¹⁵
• Configuration Options:

• Close Dates: Set an expiration date for your polls or surveys.
• Response Limits: Limit the number of responses collected.
• Privacy Settings: Choose whether to display poll results publicly or keep them private.
• Vote Blocking: Options to prevent duplicate votes.
• Centralized Dashboard: Manage all your Crowdsignal projects (polls, surveys, quizzes, ratings) from within your WordPress admin area or the Crowdsignal.com dashboard.¹⁶

Usage:

Using the Crowdsignal Polls & Ratings plugin generally involves the following steps:

1. Installation and Activation:

• Install the “Crowdsignal Dashboard – Polls, Surveys & more” plugin (and potentially the “Crowdsignal Forms” plugin for better block editor integration) directly from the WordPress plugin repository.
• Activate the plugin.

2. Connecting to Crowdsignal:

• Upon activation, you will typically be prompted to connect your WordPress site to your Crowdsignal account. You can log in to an existing account or create a new one.¹⁷ This connection is often done via an API key.

3. Creating Polls, Ratings, Surveys, or Quizzes:

• While the plugin provides a dashboard within WordPress, the primary creation process for more complex items like surveys and quizzes often takes place on the Crowdsignal.com website.
• For polls and ratings, depending on the plugin version and your editor, you might be able to create them directly within the WordPress admin or using the dedicated blocks in the block editor.¹⁸

• Navigate to the Crowdsignal section in your WordPress dashboard or visit Crowdsignal.com, click “Create New,” and select the type of interactive content you want to create.
• Use the user-friendly interface (often drag-and-drop) to add questions, define options, and configure settings.¹⁹

1. Customizing Appearance and Settings:

• Within the Crowdsignal editor (either on Crowdsignal.com or via the WordPress interface/blocks), customize the visual appearance using themes or custom styles.²⁰
• Configure settings like close dates, response limits, and result visibility.²¹

2. Embedding on Your WordPress Site:

• Using Blocks (Crowdsignal Forms plugin): In the block editor, click the “+” icon to add a new block, search for “Crowdsignal,” and select the desired block (Poll, Rating, Survey Embed, etc.). Follow the block’s prompts to select or create your content.²²
• Using Shortcodes: If creating on Crowdsignal.com, find the “Share” or “Embed” option for your created item and copy the provided shortcode.²³ In your WordPress editor (classic or a shortcode block in Gutenberg), paste the shortcode.²⁴
• Using Widgets: Go to Appearance > Widgets, find the Crowdsignal widget (e.g., for displaying a specific poll or top-rated content), drag it to your desired widget area, and configure its options.²⁵
• For Ratings on Content: Navigate to the Crowdsignal or Feedback settings in your WordPress admin.²⁶ You can typically enable and configure ratings to appear automatically above or below your posts, pages, or comments.²⁷

3. Viewing and Analyzing Results:

• Access the results of your polls and ratings through the Crowdsignal section in your WordPress dashboard or by logging into your Crowdsignal.com account.
• View real-time responses, analyze data through charts and tables, and export the data if needed.²⁸

Pricing:

Crowdsignal offers different pricing plans, including a free tier with certain limitations (e.g., a limit on the number of “signals” or responses collected).²⁹ Paid plans offer increased limits, more features (like unlimited signals, advanced data export, customization options, and priority support), and the removal of Crowdsignal branding. A “signal” typically represents a single response in a poll or rating, or a response to a single question in a survey or quiz.

In summary, the Crowdsignal Polls & Ratings plugin, in conjunction with the Crowdsignal service, provides a robust solution for adding interactive polls and ratings to your WordPress website. With its ease of use, customization options, and integrated results tracking, it’s a valuable tool for engaging your audience and gathering insights. The introduction of the Crowdsignal Forms plugin has further enhanced the user experience for those utilizing the modern WordPress block editor.