Post Engagement Widget

The Post Engagement Widget provides a simple yet powerful way to gather user feedback on your content. With just a few clicks, you can add beautiful, AJAX-powered Like and Dislike buttons to your posts and comments, encouraging visitors to interact with your site.

The plugin is designed to be lightweight and easy to use. The settings panel gives you full control over colors, labels, and display rules, while the included shortcode allows you to place the voting buttons anywhere you want.

Key Features for Initial Release:

• AJAX-Powered Voting: No page reloads. The interface updates instantly for a smooth, modern user experience.
• Post & Comment Engagement: Add like/dislike buttons to both posts and comments right out of the box.
• Guest Voting: Optionally allow non-logged-in users to vote (uses cookies to prevent duplicate votes).
• Full Customization: Use the built-in color pickers to match the buttons to your theme’s design.
• Emoji or Text Labels: Choose between classic “Like/Dislike” text or modern 👍/👎 emoji labels.
• Automatic Display on Posts: Automatically add voting buttons to the end of all your blog posts with a single checkbox.
• Universal Shortcode: Use the [engage_widgetment_widget] shortcode to manually place buttons on any page, product, or custom post type.
• Clean Uninstall: When you delete the plugin, it cleans up all its settings and data from your database, leaving no trace behind.
• Developer Friendly: Highly extensible with a complete set of actions and filters for advanced customization.

For Developers (Advanced Customization)

We’ve included several hooks to allow you to extend the plugin’s functionality. Here are some examples of what you can do.

Filters

engage_widget_auto_display_post_types
Modify the list of post types where buttons are automatically displayed.

add_filter( 'engage_widget_auto_display_post_types', 'add_my_cpt_for_voting' );
function add_my_cpt_for_voting( $post_types ) {
    // Add support for a 'portfolio' custom post type
    $post_types[] = 'portfolio';
    return $post_types;
}

engage_widget_render_buttons_html
Filter the final HTML of the buttons for posts.

add_filter( 'engage_widget_render_buttons_html', 'my_custom_post_buttons_wrapper', 10, 2 );
function my_custom_post_buttons_wrapper( $html, $post_id ) {
    return '
' . $html . '
';
}

engage_widget_render_comment_buttons_html
Filter the final HTML of the buttons for comments.

add_filter( 'engage_widget_render_comment_buttons_html', 'my_custom_comment_buttons_wrapper', 10, 2 );
function my_custom_comment_buttons_wrapper( $html, $comment_object ) {
    return '
' . $html . '
';
}

engage_widget_user_can_vote
Add custom permission logic to prevent a vote. Return false to block the vote.

add_filter( 'engage_widget_user_can_vote', 'prevent_voting_on_own_post', 10, 4 );
function prevent_voting_on_own_post( $permission, $item_type, $item_id, $user_id ) {
    if ( $item_type === 'post' && $user_id > 0 ) {
        if ( get_post_field( 'post_author', $item_id ) == $user_id ) {
            return false; // Prevent users from voting on their own posts
        }
    }
    return $permission;
}

Actions

engage_widget_after_vote_processed
Fire a custom action after a vote is successfully recorded.

add_action( 'engage_widget_after_vote_processed', 'my_custom_action_on_vote', 10, 4 );
function my_custom_action_on_vote( $item_type, $item_id, $vote, $user_id ) {
    if ( $item_type === 'post' && $vote === 'like' ) {
        // Example: Send a notification or update a transient
        error_log( "User {$user_id} liked post {$item_id}." );
    }
}

engage_widget_after_settings_fields
Add your own custom fields to the plugin’s settings page.

add_action( 'engage_widget_after_settings_fields', 'my_custom_engage_widget_setting' );
function my_custom_engage_widget_setting( $settings ) {
    // HTML for your new setting field
}

From your WordPress dashboard (easiest method):

1. Navigate to ‘Plugins’ > ‘Add New’.
2. Search for “Post Engagement Widget”.
3. Find the plugin and click ‘Install Now’.
4. Activate the plugin through the ‘Plugins’ menu in WordPress.
5. Go to ‘Settings’ > ‘Post Engagement’ to configure the plugin.

Manual Installation:

1. Download the plugin ZIP file from WordPress.org.
2. Unzip the file to get the post-engagement-widget directory.
3. Upload the post-engagement-widget directory to the /wp-content/plugins/ directory on your server via FTP.
4. Activate the plugin through the ‘Plugins’ menu in WordPress.
5. Go to ‘Settings’ > ‘Post Engagement’ to configure the plugin.

1. 

   The Like/Dislike buttons displayed at the end of a blog post.

2. 

   Engagement buttons shown below a user's comment.

3. 

   The simplified settings page in the WordPress admin dashboard (Settings > Post Engagement).

1.0.0

• Initial public release on WordPress.org.
• Features included:
  • AJAX-powered Like/Dislike voting for posts and comments.
  • Settings panel with color pickers and label type selection (Emoji/Text).
  • Option to enable/disable guest voting (with cookie-based duplicate prevention).
  • Simple one-click option to automatically display buttons on all Posts.
  • [engage_widgetment_widget] shortcode for manual placement on any content type.
  • Optimistic UI updates for an instant, responsive user experience.
  • Clean uninstall process that removes all data from the database.
  • Comprehensive set of developer hooks (actions and filters) for extensibility.