Building a Block-Based Poll Plugin for WordPress: The Story of OpinionCamp

Polls have always been one of the most effective ways to engage website visitors. Whether it’s gathering quick opinions, running fun surveys, or collecting feedback on content; polls give people a voice and make your website more interactive.

But here’s the thing – most WordPress poll plugins still work the old way.

They rely on shortcodes, external dashboards, or clunky interfaces that just don’t feel native to WordPress anymore.

That’s why we decided to build OpinionCamp — a block-based poll plugin for WordPress, designed to work beautifully inside the Gutenberg editor.

This is the story of how it all began.

The Problem with Traditional Poll Plugins

Over the years, we’ve used and tested several WordPress poll plugins. Most of them did the job, but the user experience was far from smooth.

You had to create polls in a separate admin panel, copy a shortcode, and then paste it into a post or page. If you wanted to make design tweaks, you often had to reload pages or add custom CSS.

It didn’t feel like the modern WordPress experience, especially when everything else is now block-based.

We wanted to change that.

We wanted a plugin that allowed users to create and customize polls visually, right inside the editor — no shortcodes, no external pages, no guesswork.

That was the inspiration behind OpinionCamp.

Introducing OpinionCamp

OpinionCamp is a block-based WordPress plugin that helps you create interactive polls, collect opinions, and engage your audience — all from within the Gutenberg editor.

You simply add a Poll Block, type your question, add options, and you’re done.

You can instantly preview how it looks, adjust colors, and publish — all without leaving the block editor.

Key Features

100% Block-Based: Create and manage polls directly inside Gutenberg.
Visual Customization: Control colors, layout, and button styles — no CSS required.
Single & Multiple Choice Options: Support for both voting types.
Instant Preview: See exactly how your poll will appear before publishing.
Anonymous Voting: Option to collect votes without personal data.
Lightweight & Fast: Built with performance in mind.
Clean, Modern UI: Simple yet elegant design that fits any theme.

It’s poll creation — the WordPress way.

How We Built It

The idea for OpinionCamp has been around since 2021 or 2022. But the actual development started in October 2025, right after WordCamp Dhaka.

The last WordCamp Dhaka was in 2019 — where we were one of the sponsors. This time, we didn’t sponsor the event, which gave us a rare opportunity to use the weekend differently. Instead of setting up a booth, we decided to build a plugin — something new, something we’ve wanted to make for a long time.

So we organized our first team hackathon the day after WordCamp Dhaka, on October 19, 2025.

We booked an Airbnb near Zahin bhai’s house for three nights. It wasn’t fancy — just a few chairs, laptops, and a TV that we turned into our big screen for testing. But it had everything we needed to code, brainstorm, and collaborate.

Zahin bhai’s wife was kind enough to provide tea and coffee throughout the day, keeping us fueled for what turned into a 12+ hour coding marathon ☕.

Me (Istiak), Arif, Zahin bhai, and Saad bhai joined physically.

Imtiaz joined us briefly through Messenger from New York — just to say hi and share a few words of encouragement.

By the end of the day, we had built around 80% of the first version of OpinionCamp — including the core Poll Block, which allows users to create and customize polls natively inside Gutenberg.

Why Block-Based Matters

When we say block-based, we don’t just mean “compatible with Gutenberg.”

We mean built for it from the ground up.

OpinionCamp uses the WordPress block architecture — meaning:

You can see live previews as you build.
You can customize everything visually.
You can combine the poll block with other blocks for creative layouts.
You don’t have to rely on shortcodes or widgets ever again.

As WordPress continues moving toward Full Site Editing (FSE), block-based plugins like OpinionCamp represent the future — plugins that feel truly native to WordPress.

The Road Ahead

The first version of OpinionCamp focuses on creating and displaying polls on individual posts and pages.

But this is just the beginning.

Our long-term goal is to turn OpinionCamp into a complete feedback platform for WordPress — including:

Sitewide or campaign-level polls
Feedback forms and widgets
Reaction and rating blocks
Integration with AI-based sentiment analysis (in the future)

Each feature will follow the same principle — simple, block-based, and beautifully native.

Try OpinionCamp Today

We’ve just released the first version of OpinionCamp.

You can download it for free and start collecting feedback from your visitors today.

We’d love to hear your thoughts, ideas, or even feature requests — after all, that’s what OpinionCamp is all about. ❤️