=== WP ULike – Like & Dislike Buttons for Engagement and Feedback ===
Contributors: alimir
Donate link: https://wpulike.com/?utm_source=wp-repo&utm_medium=link&utm_campaign=readme
Author: TechnoWich
Tags: marketing, analytics, feedback, engagement, like
Requires PHP: 7.2.5
Requires at least: 6.0
Tested up to: 6.9
Stable tag: 5.0.1
License: GPLv2 or later
License URI: http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-2.0.html

Voting buttons that let your visitors give instant feedback. See what your audience loves with no registration, no friction, just one click.

== Description ==

= #1 Like & Dislike Buttons for WordPress – Get Instant Feedback and Engagement =

You're creating great content, but you're flying blind. Sound familiar? You don't know which posts hit, which products people love, or what's actually resonating with your visitors. Comments are great, but most people don't comment. They just consume and move on.

[WP ULike](https://wpulike.com/?utm_source=wp-repo&utm_medium=link&utm_campaign=readme) fixes that. Voting buttons that let your visitors give instant feedback. No registration, no friction, no barriers. Just one click tells you exactly what's working.

= Here's How It Works =

Activate the plugin, and voting buttons automatically appear on your posts. Zero setup. Zero configuration. It just works.

Your visitors click to vote. You see what resonates. That's it.

Every vote gets tracked so you can see which content your audience loves most. The dashboard shows your top-performing content and voting statistics—simple, actionable insights without the bloat.

And here's what we're proud of: it's all privacy-safe. GDPR compliant with IP anonymization. We don't store personal data—just the voting metrics that help you make better decisions.

= The Three Things That Matter =

**One-Click Voting:** Instant feedback buttons. No barriers, no registration required (though you can restrict to logged-in users if needed). Just pure, simple voting.

**Clear Insights:** A dashboard that shows you what's actually working. Not vanity metrics—real data about what content your audience loves.

**Privacy First:** Built with privacy in mind from day one. GDPR compliant, IP anonymization. We respect your visitors because that's the right thing to do.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nxQto2Yj_yc]

= Who Actually Uses This? =

We've been doing this for years, and we've seen who gets the most value:

**Bloggers and content creators:** Stop writing in the dark. See which posts actually resonate with your audience.

**Store owners:** Understand what your customers love. See which products get appreciation, not just views.

**Community managers:** Track what resonates in your forums and communities.

**Anyone who wants feedback:** Get instant voting feedback without waiting for comments or running surveys.

= The Problems We Actually Solve =

**Low engagement?** We fix that. Voting buttons with zero friction. No registration required—visitors just click and go.

**Flying blind on what works?** Not anymore. See exactly which content performs best. Real statistics, real-time data.

**Privacy concerns?** We get it. GDPR compliant with IP anonymization. No personal data stored—just the voting metrics you need.

**Worried about speed?** Don't be. Vanilla JavaScript (no jQuery), optimized for performance, compatible with every major caching plugin. Built to be fast, not bloated.

= What You Get (Free Version) =

We believe in giving you real value, not a teaser. The free version includes everything you need for instant voting and clear insights:

**Voting Buttons:** Auto-display on posts, or drop them anywhere with the `[wp_ulike]` shortcode. Works with WooCommerce, BuddyPress, and bbPress if you use them—but it's not required.

**Simple Dashboard:** See your most popular content and voting statistics. This isn't fluff—it's actionable data that helps you understand what resonates.

**Easy Customization:** Design your buttons with our built-in customizer. Adjust colors, spacing, and styles with a live preview. Multiple button styles included. No coding required.

**Built for Speed:** Vanilla JavaScript (no jQuery), optimized for performance, compatible with every major caching plugin. Your site won't slow down.

**Accessibility & RTL Support:** Full RTL support for Arabic, Hebrew, and other right-to-left languages. We built this right.

**Gutenberg Block:** Add voting buttons directly in the block editor. Shortcodes available too. It just works.

= Why 80,000+ Sites Use This =

We're not a faceless corporation. We're a team that actually cares about your success.

We've stayed focused on one thing: making voting easy and insights clear. That focus is why we've grown from a simple idea to powering over 80,000 websites.

We test everything with major caching plugins because your site's performance matters. We built this to be fast, and we keep it that way. No bloat, no unnecessary features—just what you need.

Security and privacy aren't afterthoughts—they're built into everything we do. We follow WordPress best practices because your site's security matters.

And we keep improving. Regular updates, bug fixes, and thoughtful features. We're in this for the long haul, and we're committed to keeping WP ULike fast, focused, and reliable.

= WP ULike Pro: When You Need More =

The free version gets you started. It's complete, powerful, and ready to use right now. Pro adds advanced features for when you need deeper insights:

**Dislike Buttons:** Get the full picture. Sometimes you need to know what doesn't resonate, not just what does.

**View Tracking & Engagement Rates:** Track views and calculate real engagement rates (Likes + Dislikes / Views * 100). This is the metric that actually matters.

**Advanced Analytics:** Deep insights with filters, date ranges, world map visualization, device analytics, and exportable reports. Export to CSV, PNG, or SVG for presentations and analysis.

**Premium Templates:** 25+ professionally designed button styles that actually stand out.

**User Profiles:** Instagram-inspired user profiles that turn engaged visitors into community members.

**Login/Registration & Social Sharing:** Beautiful AJAX-powered forms with social login integration. Turn engagement into registered users. One-click sharing to amplify your reach.

**REST API & Elementor Widgets:** Full REST API for custom integrations. Drag-and-drop Elementor widgets for visual page building.

Think of Pro as your growth partner. When you're ready to scale, we're here to help you get there.

[See the full comparison](https://wpulike.com/?utm_source=wp-repo&utm_medium=link&utm_campaign=readme) | [View Templates](https://wpulike.com/templates/?utm_source=wp-repo&utm_medium=link&utm_campaign=readme) | [Documentation](https://docs.wpulike.com/?utm_source=wp-repo&utm_medium=link&utm_campaign=readme)

== Installation ==

Getting started takes about two minutes. Here's what you need:

= Minimum Requirements =

To run WP ULike smoothly, your site needs:
* WordPress 6.0 or greater
* PHP version 7.2 or greater
* MySQL version 5.0 or greater

= Recommended Requirements =

For the best experience and performance, we recommend:
* PHP version 8.1 or greater (faster and more secure)
* MySQL version 5.6 or greater
* WordPress Memory limit of 64 MB or greater (128 MB or higher preferred for busy sites)

= Installation =

**Installation Steps:**

1. **WordPress Admin** (Recommended): Go to Plugins → Add New, search for "WP ULike", click Install Now, then Activate.

2. **Manual Installation**: Download, unzip, upload to `wp-content/plugins/`, then activate through your Plugins menu.

That's literally it. Once activated, Like buttons appear on your posts immediately. No configuration needed. If you want to customize templates, colors, or settings, head to **WP ULike → Settings** in your WordPress admin.

**Stuck?** We've got you. Check our [Knowledge Base](https://docs.wpulike.com/?utm_source=wp-repo&utm_medium=link&utm_campaign=readme) for detailed guides, or reach out to support. We actually respond.

== Screenshots ==

1. **Like & Dislike Button Templates:** Multiple beautiful templates. Customize colors, styles, and text to match your brand.

2. **Engagement Metrics Dashboard:** Powerful analytics dashboard. Track voting statistics, engagement trends, and understand what resonates.

3. **Top Trends & Insights:** Discover your top-performing content with visual breakdowns. Make data-driven decisions.

4. **Gutenberg Block:** Add WP ULike buttons directly in the block editor with customizable templates and settings.

5. **Live Preview Customizer:** Built-in customizer panel with real-time preview. Design your buttons instantly—adjust colors, borders, spacing, typography, and see changes update live as you customize.

== Frequently Asked Questions ==

= Do visitors need to register or login to like content? =
Nope. One click, instant engagement. No registration required. If you want to build a registered community, you can require login in settings—but it's optional.

= Does WP ULike work with any theme? =
Yes. It adapts to your theme automatically. Works with any WordPress theme that follows coding standards. If you run into styling issues, let us know and we'll help.

= Is WP ULike compatible with other plugins and caching? =
Absolutely. We've tested it with all major caching plugins (WP Rocket, W3 Total Cache, WP Super Cache, LiteSpeed Cache, and more). It also works seamlessly with WooCommerce, BuddyPress, bbPress, Elementor, GamiPress, and myCRED if you use them. Your site will stay fast.

= Can I customize the button appearance? =
Yes. Multiple built-in templates and styles. Customize colors, text, and styling through the settings panel—no coding needed. Pro version includes 25+ premium templates if you want something more unique.

= What's the difference between WP ULike Free and Pro? =
Free gives you everything you need: voting buttons (auto-display + shortcodes), real-time dashboard, customizable templates, and Gutenberg block support. Pro adds advanced features: dislike buttons, advanced analytics with filters and date ranges, view tracking with engagement rates, 25+ premium templates, user profiles, login/registration forms, social sharing, REST API, and Elementor widgets.

= Can I use WP ULike on a multisite setup? =
Yes. Works perfectly across WordPress multisite networks. Each site gets its own settings and statistics.

= Is WP ULike secure? =
Yes. We follow WordPress security best practices, regularly audit our code, and have over 80,000 active installations with a high WordPress.org rating. Security isn't optional for us—it's built in.

== Changelog ==

= 5.0.1 =
* Improved: Performance optimizations across page loading, statistics display, and data processing for faster response times.
* Improved: Enhanced security and reliability improvements for widgets and statistics functionality.
* Improved: Optimized user experience when viewing likers lists and activity data.
* Removed: Composer dependency replaced with native WordPress solution for improved compatibility and reduced plugin footprint.

= 5.0.0 =
* Added: Brand new settings panel that's actually beautiful to use. Everything is organized, easy to find, and makes configuring your like buttons a breeze instead of a chore.
* Added: Built-in customizer panel with live preview—see every style change instantly. No more guessing how your buttons will look. Adjust colors, spacing, borders, typography, and watch it update in real-time.
* Added: Completely redesigned analytics panel that makes understanding your engagement data actually enjoyable. Better charts, clearer insights, and navigation that just makes sense.
* Improved: 90% faster. That's not a typo. Pages load faster, stats load faster, everything just feels snappier. Your visitors will notice the difference.
* Fixed: Squashed bugs and tightened up stability across the board.

= 4.8.3.1 =
* Fixed: Gutenberg block assets not being included in build process, preventing blocks from displaying correctly.

= 4.8.3 =
* Added: Gutenberg block support for adding WP ULike buttons directly in the block editor with customizable templates and settings.
* Added: Introduced view tracking service for all content types with engagement rate calculation (Likes + Dislikes / Views * 100) and intelligent tracking using Intersection Observer API with batched requests. [PRO]
* Added: Added Growth column to WorldMap country statistics table for tracking country performance trends. [PRO]
* Added: Added comprehensive GDPR tools section with user search and bulk log removal functionality for compliance with data protection regulations. [PRO]
* Added: Introduced advanced bulk actions feature with various filters (post type, taxonomy, category, search, and item ID) for efficient content management. [PRO]
* Added: Redesigned user profile pages with Instagram-inspired layout, featuring improved visual hierarchy and modern aesthetics. [PRO]
* Added: Custom stylish avatar uploader with real-time preview and enhanced user experience. [PRO]
* Improved: Enhanced analytics dashboard UI and functionality with improved visualizations and user experience.
* Improved: Optimized database query performance by implementing index-friendly date range queries, eliminating slow query issues and improving response times for statistics and analytics.
* Fixed: Various minor bug fixes and improvements.

= 4.8.2 =
* Improved: Fixed memory leaks and optimized JavaScript performance.
* Fixed: Various minor bug fixes and improvements.

= 4.8.1 =
* Improved: Refactored codebase for better maintainability and improved user experience.
* Improved: Updated translation files for multiple languages.
* Fixed: Various minor bug fixes and improvements.

= 4.8.0 =
* Improved: Removed jQuery dependency from front-end scripts. All JavaScript functionality has been rewritten in vanilla JavaScript for better performance, reduced file size, and faster page load times.
* Improved: Admin panel settings descriptions for better clarity and user understanding.
* Improved: Updated translation files for multiple languages.
* Fixed: Tooltip syncing and sibling element issues.
* Fixed: Various styling improvements and bug fixes.

= 4.7.11 =
* Improved: Admin panel settings descriptions for better clarity.
* Improved: Removed several outdated admin functions.
* Fixed: Correct MySQL time format is now used when inserting or updating datetime values in the database.
* Fixed: Various minor bug fixes and stability improvements.

= 4.7.10 =
* Improved: Added additional fingerprint + cookie presence check for 'cookie' & 'no limit' logging methods to further reduce the chance of automated/bot submissions without valid cookies. This was not a security vulnerability, but a preventive hardening measure to improve vote integrity.

= 4.7.9.1 =
Fixed: Critical HTML sanitization issue.

= 4.7.9 =
* Added: Global engagement insights with world map and device type charts in the stats panel. [PRO]
* Added: New action hooks to enhance data insertion and updates.
* Improved: Internationalization (i18n) support for more accurate translations.
* Improved: Optimized stats panel codebase for better performance and efficiency.
* Fixed: Addressed a security vulnerability by implementing a sanitization method.
* Fixed: Resolved various minor issues and applied performance enhancements.

= 4.7.8 =
* Improved: UI enhancements in the Stats Panel.
* Fixed: Various small issues and optimizations.

= 4.7.7 =
* Added: Support for NitroPack cache plugin to enhance caching capabilities.
* Fixed: Improved compatibility with the FlyingPress plugin.
* Fixed: Resolved several minor issues for smoother functionality.

= 4.7.6 =
* Improved: WPML compatibility to better handle multilingual setups.
* Fixed: Addressed several minor bugs to improve overall stability.

= 4.7.5 =
* Improved: Enhanced functionalities of the stats panel for better performance.
* Improved: Addressed remaining security issues by properly escaping values.
* Fixed: Resolved several minor bugs.

= 4.7.4 =
* Added: Added email verification support for newly registered users. [PRO]
* Improved: Enhanced stats panel datepicker with a modern, stylish design, including support for preset date ranges. [PRO]
* Improved: Optimized select fields for better compatibility with dark mode.
* Improved: Improved sorting functionality on the logs page.
* Fixed: Addressed several minor bugs and performance issues.

= 4.7.3 =
* Added: Dark mode support on the stats panel for a more comfortable viewing experience.
* Added: New overview data sections to show monthly & daily performance, including CAGR calculations for more detailed trend analysis. [PRO]
* Added: User roles engagement displayed through pie charts, offering insights into user interactions. [PRO]
* Added: Option to download charts in CSV, PNG, or SVG formats, making it easier to export and share data. [PRO]
* Improved: Replaced the stats charts library with a lighter and faster alternative, improving load times and performance.
* Improved: General improvements in the stats code for better reliability and accuracy.
* Fixed: Resolved all ESLint issues for cleaner code.

= 4.7.2.1 =
* Fixed: Resolved a minor bug in the stats panel that caused incorrect data display under certain conditions.

= 4.7.2 =
* Added: Launched an advanced, React-based statistics panel.
* Improved: Removed deprecated menus and scripts.
* Improved: Enhanced SQL queries for date ranges.
* Fixed: Addressed various minor bugs.

= 4.7.1 =
* Added   : Compatibility with WordPress 6.5 for seamless integration.
* Updated : Minimum PHP version requirement increased to 7.2 and WordPress to version 6.0.
* Improved: Comprehensive security enhancement with sanitization and escaping across all methods.
* Improved: Optimized queries for better performance.
* Removed : Deprecated class contents for cleaner code.
* Replaced: Some PHP methods with standard WordPress ones for better compatibility.
* Enhanced: Admin logs pagination functionality for improved usability.
* Fixed   : Minor bug fixes for a smoother experience.

= 4.7.0 =
* Fixed   : security vulnerabilities by implementing proper sanitization and escaping methods throughout the plugin codebase.
* Improved: overall performance and reliability by optimizing SQL queries and utilizing WordPress API functions where applicable.
* Updated : setting panel to enhance user experience and provide better customization options.

== Upgrade Notice ==

= 4.5.3 =
Important: If page cache is enabled on your site, clear the cache immediately after updating.