Dynamic Survey Plugin

User Documentation

Introduction

The Dynamic Survey Plugin allows you to create, manage, and track surveys directly from the WordPress admin dashboard. Users can vote on various survey options, and you can easily view and analyze their responses in real-time. This plugin is ideal for gathering feedback, conducting polls, and engaging with your website visitors.

Key Features

• Create Surveys: Easily create surveys with customizable questions.
• Add Options: Define multiple options for each survey question.
• Vote Tracking: Track votes by users, including the time of the vote, the option selected, and user IP addresses.
• Admin Dashboard: Access detailed voting reports, including the survey question, the user who voted, and the vote time.

Installation Instructions

Upload the Plugin:

1. Download the plugin .zip file.
2. In your WordPress admin panel, navigate to Plugins > Add New.
3. Click on Upload Plugin, then choose the .zip file and click Install Now.

Activate the Plugin:

1. After the plugin is installed, click Activate to enable it on your website.

Plugin Activation Hook:

• When activated, the plugin will automatically create the necessary database tables for surveys and votes.

Creating a Survey

Once the plugin is activated, you can start creating surveys:

Navigate to Survey Management:

• In the WordPress admin panel, go to Surveys > Add New Survey.

Add Survey Question:

1. Enter your question in the Question field.
2. Click Publish to save the survey.

Add Survey Options:

1. After publishing your survey, click Add Survey Options to define possible answers to the survey question.
2. Add multiple options, each with a descriptive text, and click Add Option for each.
3. You can add as many options as needed for your survey.

Displaying a Survey on Your Site

Use a Shortcode:

• After creating a survey, the plugin will generate a unique shortcode for that survey. You can find the shortcode under Surveys > All Surveys.
• To display a survey on any post, page, or widget, simply insert the shortcode [dynamic_survey id="X"] (replace X with the Survey ID).

Add Survey to Pages/Posts:

• In any page or post, paste the shortcode where you'd like the survey to appear.

Add Survey to Widgets:

• Navigate to Appearance > Widgets, and add a Text Widget or Custom HTML Widget.
• Insert the shortcode in the widget to display the survey in a sidebar or footer area.

User Voting Process

Accessing the Survey:

• Users will see the survey question and available options on the page or post where you inserted the shortcode.

Voting:

• Users select an option and submit their vote. If they are logged in, their user ID will be recorded along with their vote.
• If they are not logged in, the user's IP address will be recorded for the vote.

Survey Submission:

• After submitting their vote, users will see a confirmation message thanking them for participating.

Viewing Survey Results

Navigate to Survey Tracking:

• In the admin panel, go to Surveys > Survey Tracking to view detailed voting data.

Track Votes:

• You will see a table displaying all the votes for each survey, including:
  • Survey Question: The question of the survey.
  • User: The name of the user who voted.
  • Vote Time: The date and time when the vote was cast.

Export Results:

• You can export the results in CSV format by clicking the Export button on the Survey Tracking page.

Managing Surveys and Votes

Edit or Delete Surveys:

• To edit a survey, go to Surveys > All Surveys, then click Edit under the survey you want to modify.
• To delete a survey, click Trash.

View Survey Options:

• After creating a survey, you can add or remove options via the Edit Survey page. Simply scroll to the Options section to manage the options.

Track Votes:

• Each vote is recorded along with the user who cast the vote (if logged in) and the time of voting.
• Votes are also associated with a survey option and stored in the database for reporting purposes.

Admin Tracking Page

The Survey Voting Tracking page allows admins to review the details of votes for each survey:

Survey Information:

• The page displays the following information:
  • Survey Question: The question for which votes are tracked.
  • User Name: The name of the user who voted (if registered).
  • Vote Time: The timestamp of when the vote was cast.

Handling Large Numbers of Votes:

• If your survey receives a high volume of votes, the list of votes may be paginated. You can use WordPress’s default pagination or implement custom pagination to improve performance.

Important Notes:

• User Voting Limits: Each user can vote only once per survey. This is enforced by recording the user's ID (if logged in) or IP address.
• Data Privacy: IP addresses are recorded for users who are not logged in. Please ensure your website's privacy policy reflects this.
• Survey Data Storage: All survey and vote data is stored in custom database tables, so there is no risk of interfering with default WordPress data.

Troubleshooting

Survey Not Showing on the Frontend:

• Make sure you are using the correct shortcode [dynamic_survey id="X"].
• Ensure that the survey is published and not in draft mode.

No Votes Showing on the Admin Tracking Page:

• Make sure that users have participated in the survey. Check that you have surveys that are live and that the survey options are correctly defined.

Plugin Conflicts:

• If you experience issues with other plugins, try deactivating other plugins temporarily to check for conflicts.

Uninstalling the Plugin

If you wish to uninstall the plugin, follow these steps:

Deactivate the Plugin:

1. Navigate to Plugins > Installed Plugins and click Deactivate next to the Dynamic Survey plugin.

Delete the Plugin:

1. After deactivating, you can delete the plugin from the same page by clicking Delete.

Database Cleanup (Optional):

• If you want to remove survey-related data from the database, ensure that you manually delete the plugin's tables (dynamic_surveys, dynamic_survey_options, and dynamic_survey_votes) via a database management tool like phpMyAdmin or using WP-CLI.

Conclusion

The Dynamic Survey Plugin makes it easy to create surveys and collect user feedback directly on your WordPress site. By following the steps above, you can create engaging surveys, track votes, and analyze results in your admin dashboard.

For any further support or custom feature requests, feel free to reach out!