Understanding WPForms Poll and Survey Features: A Troubleshooting Guide

Many WordPress users exploring the WPForms plugin have questions about creating polls and surveys. A common point of confusion is understanding which features are available in the free version and which require a paid addon. This guide will help clarify the capabilities of the WPForms plugin and its Surveys and Polls addon.

The Core Issue: Free vs. Paid Features

Based on community support threads, a frequent theme is users asking about advanced poll and survey functionality. The core WPForms Lite plugin, available on WordPress.org, is a powerful form builder. However, specific features for creating and managing polls and surveys are part of a separate, premium addon.

Common user requests that pertain to the paid Surveys and Polls addon include:

• Creating simple polls with multiple-choice answers.
• Building complex surveys with conditional logic (e.g., showing a rating field only after a specific image is selected).
• Displaying poll results to users, including conditional result filtering (e.g., showing a user only the results for their selected industry).
• Using advanced shortcodes to display results for multiple questions at once.
• Implementing features to limit votes or confirm a user only votes once.

Why This Distinction Exists

The 'WPForms' team develops and maintains both a free Lite version and a Pro version with additional addons. The WordPress.org forum guidelines stipulate that support on their forums is intended only for the free Lite plugin. This is why official responses in these threads direct questions about paid features to a separate contact page or support ticket system. This is a common practice among freemium plugin developers to ensure they are compliant with the forum's rules.

Troubleshooting and Next Steps

If you are trying to determine if WPForms can handle your poll or survey needs, here is a practical troubleshooting approach:

1. Identify Your Required Features: List the specific functionality you need, such as result display, conditional logic, or vote limiting.
2. Check the Lite Plugin's Capabilities: Test the free WPForms Lite plugin to see if its standard form fields (like dropdowns, radio buttons, etc.) can create a basic version of your form, even if it lacks advanced poll-specific features.
3. Research the Surveys and Polls Addon: Since official support for the premium addon cannot be discussed on the WordPress.org forums, you will need to research its full feature set elsewhere. The official 'WPForms' website is the primary source for this information, including documentation and demos.
4. Seeking Help for Premium Features: If you are already a paid license holder and need technical support for the Surveys and Polls addon, the standard procedure is to submit a support ticket through your WPForms account dashboard, as mentioned in the support threads.

By understanding the distinction between the free and paid features, you can better navigate finding the right solution for your website's poll and survey requirements.