First-Time Setup

After installing Votlie, follow these steps to get your feedback board ready. This guide walks you through the onboarding wizard and essential configuration.

Onboarding Wizard

When you first log in after installation, Votlie presents a 4-step onboarding wizard to help you configure the basics quickly.

Step 1: Welcome

A brief introduction to Votlie and what you will configure. Click Next to begin.

Step 2: Board Setup

  • Enter your Board Name (e.g., your product or company name)
  • This name appears in the header, page title, and email notifications

Step 3: Branding

Configure your board's visual identity:

  • Color Presets - Choose from 6 built-in color presets to quickly set your primary color
  • Custom Hex - Enter a custom hex color code (e.g., #3B82F6) if none of the presets match your brand
  • Logo Upload - Upload your logo (PNG or SVG recommended). This appears in the board header.

Step 4: Complete

Review your choices and click Finish Setup to apply them.

You can skip the onboarding wizard entirely by clicking Skip at any step. All of these settings can be configured later from the Admin panel.

Post-Installation Checklist

Use this checklist to make sure your board is fully configured before sharing it with users.

Essential Items

  • Board name and description - Set in Admin > Settings > General
  • 4-6 categories - Create categories that match the types of feedback you expect (e.g., Bug Reports, New Features, Improvements, Integrations)
  • Logo and favicon - Upload in Admin > Settings > Branding
  • Email SMTP - Configure a mail provider so notifications are delivered (see Email Setup)
  • Voting rules - Decide if users must log in to vote and any per-user vote limits
  • Moderation - Choose whether new submissions require approval before appearing publicly

Recommended Items

  • Customize statuses and roadmap visibility - Adjust which statuses are shown on the public roadmap
  • Theme customization - Fine-tune colors, fonts, and layout in the Theme Editor
  • Social login - Enable Google/GitHub OAuth for easier sign-up (see OAuth Setup)
  • Email templates - Customize notification email content and branding
  • Cron job - Set up a cron job for scheduled tasks (email digests, cleanup)
  • Seed with features - Add a few initial feature requests yourself to make the board feel active

Extended License Additional Setup

If you purchased an Extended License, also configure:

  • Custom domain setup (if applicable)
  • API access and webhook endpoints
  • Priority support registration

Set Board Name

  1. Go to Admin > Settings
  2. In the General tab, find "Board Name"
  3. Enter your product or company name
  4. Click Save

This name appears in the header and email notifications.

Create Categories

Categories help organize feature requests. Create at least 2-3 to start.

  1. Go to Admin > Categories
  2. Click Add Category
  3. Enter a name (e.g., "Bug Reports", "New Features", "Improvements")
  4. Choose a color
  5. Add an icon (optional)
  6. Click Save

Suggested starter categories:

  • Bug Reports
  • New Features
  • Improvements
  • Integrations
  1. Go to Admin > Settings
  2. Click the Branding tab
  3. Click Upload Logo
  4. Select your logo file (PNG or SVG works best)
  5. Click Save

Upload both light and dark versions if your logo needs different colors for each mode.

Set Your Colors

  1. Stay in Settings > Branding
  2. Find "Primary Color"
  3. Enter your brand color (e.g., #3B82F6 for blue)
  4. Click Save

Or use the Theme Editor for more control:

  1. Go to Admin > Theme Editor
  2. Adjust colors for buttons, backgrounds, and text
  3. Preview changes in real-time
  4. Click Save Theme

Configure Email

Email notifications keep users informed about their feature requests.

  1. Go to Admin > Settings
  2. Click the Email tab
  3. Enter your SMTP details (or use the default log driver for testing)
  4. Click Test Email to verify it works
  5. Click Save

See Email Setup for detailed instructions.

Review Settings

Check these important settings in Admin > Settings > General:

SettingRecommended
Require login to voteYes (prevents spam)
Require login to submitYes (prevents spam)
Auto-approve submissionsNo (review first)
Votes per userUnlimited or 5

Testing Your Board

Verify everything works correctly before sharing your board with real users:

  1. Open an incognito window - Visit your board URL in a private/incognito browser window
  2. Create a test user - Register a new account using a test email address
  3. Submit a feature request - Create a test feature request with a title, description, and category
  4. Approve it (if moderation is on) - Switch to your admin account and approve the pending submission
  5. Vote on it - Go back to the test user and upvote the feature to verify voting works
  6. Leave a comment - Add a comment on the feature to confirm the commenting system is functional
  7. Check the roadmap - Navigate to the public roadmap page and verify features appear under the correct status columns

You're Ready!

Your feedback board is now set up. Share the URL with your users and start collecting feedback.

Next Steps:

Managing Features

Quick Tips

  • Start small - Launch with basic settings, customize later
  • Seed with ideas - Add a few feature requests yourself to get things started
  • Promote voting - Tell users to vote, not just comment
  • Update statuses - Keep users informed by updating feature statuses regularly

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