Ranker - Advanced Poll Widget - Increase User Engagement/Traffic - EASY INSTALL!

[profanitytalker]

Hey vB.org

This is my first hack and I hope this increases your site activity/engagement/traffic. All your suggestions will be taken into account and will be 100% supported, so don't hesitate to post here. EASY INSTALL! :) Feedbacks HIGHLY APPRECIATED.

What is Ranker (http://ranker.com)?
Ranker is a popular platform used by millions of people, that utilizes the wisdoms of crowds to deliver the best opinions possible about any topic where a list is the best answer. Anyone can participate simply by voting or reranking lists, and the more who do, the better the ranking gets. Our ranking algorithms have been honed by years of testing and study, and we have protections against gaming the system. Ranker has been featured on popular media like Forbes Magazine (http://www.forbes.com/sites/ilyapozin/2013/06/06/15-explosively-growing-companies-to-watch-this-year/3/)


What is the Ranker Widget:
The ranker widget is an embeddable list that livens up your forum content with a fun, votable list.

See the Ranker Widget in action:
http://personalitycafe.com/general-chat/173742-dont-you-hate-those-commercials-play-emotions.html
http://community.ranker.com/babes-parental-guidance-advised/813-hottest-red-heads.html

Popular Brands Using the Widget:
Forbes (http://www.forbes.com/sites/johngreathouse/2012/09/06/americas-coolest-tech-companies-decide-with-a-click/2/)
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (http://www.cbc.ca/newsblogs/yourcommunity/2013/12/vote-now-for-canadas-top-twitter-user-of-2013.html)
NextWeb (http://thenextweb.com/polls/2013/08/07/tnw-poll-whats-your-favorite-gps-fitness-tracking-app/)
Movies.com (http://www.movies.com/movie-news/rank-this-which-movie-win-best-picture-at-academy-awards/14434)
Complex.com (http://www.complex.com/music/2013/12/re-rank-complexs-50-best-albums-of-2013-list)
Spoilertv.com (http://www.spoilertv.com/2013/10/rotw-most-shockingsurprising-tv-series.html)
SBNation (http://www.blackandredunited.com/dc-united-fan-fiction-fun/2013/12/4/5174024/dc-united-fan-mls-hate-index-2013)
and more!


How the Ranker Poll Differs from vBulletin Poll

More engaging than a typical poll (Ability for users to add items after being published)
Offers more data points
Up and Down Voting.
Images next to the items
More customizations and options
Reach additional users from Ranker.


How Ranker helps your Forum/Site
Ranker?s free widget is a fun way to add a unique poll to your site.

Increase user engagement

Websites that use the widget report see 15-50% user engagement on each poll and a time-on-page increase of 70%.

Easy to install

It's as easy to install as a YouTube embed!

More comments more return visits

These polls inspire passionate discussion and return visits to see if the rankings change, and sites that post polls as blog posts see 125% more comments than a typical post.

Rich data on your users

If you make regular lists for your users to vote on, we can provide you with rich data on your users' preferences.

More exposure for your site

Your list will also be featured on Ranker.com with custom branding and a link back to your site. This is the referral traffic my site PersonalityCafe has been getting from Ranker from the past month:
https://vborg.vbsupport.ru/external/2014/01/53.png
Check out the article SEO Link Building with Ranker - http://pointblankseo.com/ranker-link-building



Installation

Enable for your users

Download the xml file attached to this post
Go to your Admincp -> Plugins & Products -> Manage Products -> Add/Import Product
To modify the Widget Width and # Items to display, go to Admincp -> Settings -> Options -> Ranker Widget Embedding


Creating a List and Embedding

Go to Ranker.com (http://ranker.com)
Create an account
Create a List
After creating a list, click on the More Options -> Embed This List -> Click Get Started -> Once done customizing, click Done.
While making a new post/thread, paste the Embed Code into the editor.
Refresh the page after posting. Congrats! You now know how to embed a list.
Here's a visual onhow to embed a Ranker List on your forum (http://community.ranker.com/general-chat/593-how-embed-list-your-post.html).


Embedding List to Forum Block (Like http://personalitycafe.com/forum/)

Go to your Admincp -> Forums & Moderators -> Forum Blocks Manager -> Add Block -> Choose Custom HTML/PHP
Title Your Block
Under Content Type Choose "HTML"
Paste the Ranker Widget Code into the "Content" form.
Save

[profanitytalker]

Embedding A List


Step 1: Go on the list page.

http://community.ranker.com/jasper/screenshots/embedlist/ss1.png




Step 2: Click on More Options
http://community.ranker.com/jasper/screenshots/embedlist/ss2.png


Step 3: Click on Embed This List


http://community.ranker.com/jasper/screenshots/embedlist/ss3.png


Step 4: Click Get Started
http://community.ranker.com/jasper/screenshots/embedlist/ss4.png


Step 5: Once done customizing, click Done.



http://community.ranker.com/jasper/screenshots/embedlist/ss5.png


Step 6: Copy the embed code.


http://community.ranker.com/jasper/screenshots/embedlist/ss7.png

Step 7: While making a new post/thread, paste the Embed Code into the editor.
http://community.ranker.com/jasper/screenshots/embedlist/ss8.png


Step 8 (Final): Refresh the page after posting. Congrats! You now know how to embed a list.
http://community.ranker.com/jasper/screenshots/embedlist/ss9.png

[BirdOPrey5]

By default HTML in posts is disabled in VB4/VB3 and so pasting HTML code into a post won't work.

Enabling HTML can only be done (be default) on a per-forum basis so it is extremely dangerous to enable HTML is any forum untrusted users can post in. If you do enable HTML in a forum then please make sure only you or very trusted Admins have permission to post in said forums.

Edit- See explanation in next post.

[profanitytalker]

By default HTML in posts is disabled in VB4/VB3 and so pasting HTML code into a post won't work.

Enabling HTML can only be done (be default) on a per-forum basis so it is extremely dangerous to enable HTML is any forum untrusted users can post in. If you do enable HTML in a forum then please make sure only you or very trusted Admins have permission to post in said forums.

Hmmm? This mod/plugin doesn't require you to enable HTML on the forum. It automatically converts the Ranker embed code into a tag.

[T2x]

The mod apparently looks for ranker embed codes when posts are made and pulls out a few variables then generates a bb code tag which vbulletin automatically sanitizes.

When parsing the post for bbcode, if the user has image posting permissions it will generate this code

'<a role="link" class="rnkrw-widget" data-rnkrw-id="'.intval($matches[1]).
'" data-rnkrw-width="'.$rankerwidgetwidth.'" data-rnkrw-rows="'.$rankernumitems.
'" href="'.htmlspecialchars_uni($matches[2]).'">'.htmlspecialchars_uni($matches[3]).
'</a><script id="rnkrw-loader" type="text/javascript" async="true" src="//widget.ranker.com/static/rnkrw2.js"></script>
<script>var RNKRW = RNKRW || {};RNKRW.pref = {"header":{"image":true}};</script>'

I can also see they are preventing xss injection in the href attribute by validating that the url conforms to this regex: https?:\/\/www\.ranker\.com\/[a-z0-9\-\/_]+

[Alan_SP]

It would be great if you could make something like this (c&p from my request here: http://ozzmodz.com/showthread.php/535-Mod-that-integrates-Ranker-com-with-threads)

There was "mod" (now I see it's deleted) that mentioned integration with http://www.ranker.com/

This site enables creating different lists, and users can vote in those lists, reranking them, adding items and many other things. Also, and this is reason why it could be useful, this mods allow that we easily create HTML 5 widget from each list.

If we could have list on first post (that's why I'm looking for good mod to do that), or even better, have widget to the right (or left), like sidebar in vB4 (but we can't actually use sidebar, as each thread should be connected to different Ranker.com's list), it would be great.

Anyway, my first option is to use mod that enables first post visible on every page. Even better, if we could have sidebar version.

Mod should connect widget code with each thread ID, show widget right (or left) of thread content and thus enable users to vote in a widget and to write in a thread.

This is how I envision it:

We could enable this mod only in certain forums. Only certain usergroups would be able to enter widget code, as it is HTML (preferably that we could use HTML 5 code in that), for security reasons.

After that, mod would show "normal" thread, with widget to the side, users would vote in a widget, write in a thread and we all be happy to the rest of our lives. :D

I hope you would make it into mod, I think this has great potentials.

My further explanation in different thread:

Here you can see Ranker.com's widgets: http://www.ranker.com/widget/info.htm?ref=more

They are very vertical oriented, as you can see.

Imagine that thread is linked with certain list (term used on Ranker.com), i.e. we can see that Ranker.com widget of this certain list only when viewing this thread.

This widget is placed like sidebar in vB4, but only in threads, independently from sidebars. To link list (widget) and thread, we put widget code in form and it than changes postbit in such way that thread is narrowed making place for widget. Thread otherwise acts like normal thread, but displays widget left or right from thread.

And we can choose in which forums and which usergroups can enter widget code.

More or less, that's it in a nutshell.

It would make great integration and lists would be easily seen on every page of the thread all the time.

[profanitytalker]

The mod apparently looks for ranker embed codes when posts are made and pulls out a few variables then generates a bb code tag which vbulletin automatically sanitizes.

When parsing the post for bbcode, if the user has image posting permissions it will generate this code

'<a role="link" class="rnkrw-widget" data-rnkrw-id="'.intval($matches[1]).
'" data-rnkrw-width="'.$rankerwidgetwidth.'" data-rnkrw-rows="'.$rankernumitems.
'" href="'.htmlspecialchars_uni($matches[2]).'">'.htmlspecialchars_uni($matches[3]).
'</a><script id="rnkrw-loader" type="text/javascript" async="true" src="//widget.ranker.com/static/rnkrw2.js"></script>
<script>var RNKRW = RNKRW || {};RNKRW.pref = {"header":{"image":true}};</script>'

I can also see they are preventing xss injection in the href attribute by validating that the url conforms to this regex: https?:\/\/www\.ranker\.com\/[a-z0-9\-\/_]+

I appreciate verifying the plugin. Cheers to ya! :):up: We made sure that the plugin is safe to install. I think Birdsofprey was referencing the last post I made (no plugin) where I suggested to enable HTML on the board - which is a big no no.

[profanitytalker]

It would be great if you could make something like this (c&p from my request here: http://ozzmodz.com/showthread.php/535-Mod-that-integrates-Ranker-com-with-threads)



My further explanation in different thread:



It would make great integration and lists would be easily seen on every page of the thread all the time.

Ooo. This is interesting. We'll play around and see what we can come up with. So basically a sidebar module within the thread that shows the widget correct?

[davidatlas]

Hi. I went ahead and installed this on my board. My members love it. Do you know if we can add our own ads to these polls? That would be an interesting concept.

[profanitytalker]

Hi. I went ahead and installed this on my board. My members love it. Do you know if we can add our own ads to these polls? That would be an interesting concept.

Hi David,

Thanks for trying out the plugin. I think revenue sharing is on the roadmap for the polls. Not sure though. I'll confirm with the developers.

[davidatlas]

Thanks. If this is in the roadmap, it's going to help increase my forums revenue since my members have already been actively using it sitewide.

[Alan_SP]

Ooo. This is interesting. We'll play around and see what we can come up with. So basically a sidebar module within the thread that shows the widget correct?

Well, not sidebar module for use with built in sidebar, but something that looks like sidebar module. These threads with Ranker widget just would use different template, showing narrower thread content and thus making place for widget which is "static" as users scroll through thread.

I hope I make myself clear?

[profanitytalker]

Thanks. If this is in the roadmap, it's going to help increase my forums revenue since my members have already been actively using it sitewide.

Still confirming David. I'm also going to ask the priority level on that. :)

Well, not sidebar module for use with built in sidebar, but something that looks like sidebar module. These threads with Ranker widget just would use different template, showing narrower thread content and thus making place for widget which is "static" as users scroll through thread.

I hope I make myself clear?

I think I understand. Can you check this example out?
http://community.ranker.com/entertainment/834-what-best-chick-flick-guys-can-get-into.html

Is that what you were looking for?

[Alan_SP]

http://community.ranker.com/entertainment/834-what-best-chick-flick-guys-can-get-into.html

Is that what you were looking for?

No, not like this. Here's list on the right of contents of the first post, and only there.

I want it outside thread contents completely, like sidebar is, but I don't want to use sidebar, I only want to have lists there. And then lists would be visible everywhere, no matter what post people would be looking at.

I'm not good at making picture mockups, but I found something similar here: https://vborg.vbsupport.ru/attachment.php?attachmentid=107477&d=1260720141

You have a thread, which is narrower, making place at the right (or left) for lists. List is visible everywhere in this thread, in "fixed" position as we scroll through thread. I saw some sites with ads (or other elements) placed like that, you scroll through some text, but have something fixed left or right, which is easy to make with HTML tables.

But it needs to be linked with certain thread, that each thread has it's own list.

[BirdOPrey5]

Hmmm? This mod/plugin doesn't require you to enable HTML on the forum. It automatically converts the Ranker embed code into a tag.

Excellent. :)

[Morrus]

Cool. It would be very useful if it could be made to work in articles, too!

[profanitytalker]

No, not like this. Here's list on the right of contents of the first post, and only there.

I want it outside thread contents completely, like sidebar is, but I don't want to use sidebar, I only want to have lists there. And then lists would be visible everywhere, no matter what post people would be looking at.

I'm not good at making picture mockups, but I found something similar here: https://vborg.vbsupport.ru/attachment.php?attachmentid=107477&d=1260720141

You have a thread, which is narrower, making place at the right (or left) for lists. List is visible everywhere in this thread, in "fixed" position as we scroll through thread. I saw some sites with ads (or other elements) placed like that, you scroll through some text, but have something fixed left or right, which is easy to make with HTML tables.

But it needs to be linked with certain thread, that each thread has it's own list.

Ah I see what your saying. I'll see what we can do. That does look better. Will provide an update soon. Thanks!

Cool. It would be very useful if it could be made to work in articles, too!

Good idea Morrus! I'll check this out. Will update you too!

[davidatlas]

Just want to say that I'm amazed by the effectiveness of doing some linkbuilding on Ranker. Since installing the plugin and following the steps in the linkbuilding article, Ranker has been able to send me over 4000 referral traffic to my site alone! :o

[Morrus]

This mod appears to be interfering with the report post functionality. I've installed/uninstalled it several times to check - when installed, the content of a post gets deleted when reported.

[profanitytalker]

This mod appears to be interfering with the report post functionality. I've installed/uninstalled it several times to check - when installed, the content of a post gets deleted when reported.

Thanks Morrus. We'll send a fix for this.

[profanitytalker]

This mod appears to be interfering with the report post functionality. I've installed/uninstalled it several times to check - when installed, the content of a post gets deleted when reported.

Hi Morrus. We can't seem to replicate your issue.

What version of vB are you using? Also can you provide the steps (in detail) taken when report the post?

Thanks

[Morrus]

Hi Morrus. We can't seem to replicate your issue.

What version of vB are you using? Also can you provide the steps (in detail) taken when report the post?

Thanks

4.2.2.

I'm not sure what you mean by steps. Someone clicks the report post button; that's the step. Other than that, not really; I don't really have the time to help bugfix. Sorry! :)

[profanitytalker]

4.2.2.

I'm not sure what you mean by steps. Someone clicks the report post button; that's the step. Other than that, not really; I don't really have the time to help bugfix. Sorry! :)

Thanks Morrus. We'll see what we can do to provide a fix.