Voxel Credits
The {CODICTS} Voxel Credits plugin introduces a credit/points system for sites running the Voxel theme. It automatically awards users credits based on their activity — specifically for publishing posts and receiving reviews. Credits are stored per user and can be displayed via shortcode, used to sort and filter users in the admin, and added as an order-by option on Voxel’s explore/search pages so visitors can sort listings by the author’s credit score.
Installation & Activation
Start by downloading the plugin from the Downloads page on your dashboard on the CoDicts website.
After downloading, install and activate the plugin in WordPress by navigating to “Plugins” > “Add New” > “Upload Plugin” and selecting the downloaded zip file. Click “Install Now” and then “Activate”.
After activation, navigate to “Credits” in the WordPress admin sidebar to configure credit values for your post types and reviews.
Key Features
| Feature | Description |
|---|---|
| Post Publishing Credits | Award credits when a user publishes a post, configurable per Voxel post type. |
| Review Credits | Award credits to the post author when their post receives a review, based on star rating. |
| Explore Page Ordering | Add “Credits” as an order-by option on Voxel explore/search pages so visitors can sort listings by author credit score. |
| User Credits Column | A “Total Credits” column in the WordPress Users list with sorting and filtering. |
| Shortcode | Display any user’s credit total anywhere on the site. |
| Full Recalculation | When you save settings, all user credits are automatically recalculated from scratch using the new values. |
How It Works
The plugin hooks into Voxel’s app-events system to listen for post submissions, post approvals, and review creations. When one of these events fires, the plugin awards the configured number of credits to the relevant user.
Post Publishing
When a user publishes a post (or a submitted post is approved by an admin), the plugin checks if that post type is enabled in settings. If so, the configured number of credits is added to the user’s total.
Reviews
When a review is left on a user’s post, the review’s score is mapped to a 1–5 star rating, then multiplied by the “Credits per Star” setting. The resulting credits are awarded to the post author (not the reviewer).
Voxel uses a -2 to +2 internal score for reviews. The plugin maps these to stars:
| Voxel Score | Stars |
|---|---|
| -2 | 1 ⭐ |
| -1 | 2 ⭐⭐ |
| 0 | 3 ⭐⭐⭐ |
| +1 | 4 ⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
| +2 | 5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
Example: If “Credits per Star” is set to 2 and a review with a Voxel score of +1 (4 stars) is submitted, the post author receives 4 × 2 = 8 credits.
Settings Page
Navigate to “Credits” in the WordPress admin sidebar.
The settings page is split into two sections:
Reviews Credits
| Setting | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Enable Credits for Reviews | Off | Toggle on to award credits when a user’s post receives a review. |
| Credits per Star | 1 | Number of credits awarded per star of a review. Visible when enabled. |
Post Type Credits
For every Voxel post type registered on your site (e.g., Places, Events, Jobs), the settings page automatically generates a configuration row:
| Setting | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Enable [Post Type] Credits | Off | Toggle on to award credits when a user publishes a post of this type. |
| Credits per [Post Type] Post | 1 | Number of credits awarded each time a post of this type is published. Visible when enabled. |
Full recalculation on save: When you click “Save Changes,” the plugin automatically recalculates credits for every user on the site — counting their published posts and received reviews with the new credit values. On sites with many users and posts, this may take a moment.
Adding Credits as an Explore Page Order-By Option
The plugin registers a custom order-by type in Voxel’s search/explore system, allowing visitors to sort listings by the author’s credit score.
1. Go to the Voxel post type editor for the post type you want to add credit sorting to.
2. Navigate to the Search / Explore settings.
3. In the Order By options, you’ll see a new option: {CODICTS} Voxel Credits.
4. Add it as an available ordering option.
5. Save. Visitors can now sort listings by the author’s total credit score (highest first by default, or lowest first).
User Credits in the Admin
The plugin adds credit management features to the Users list in the WordPress admin:
| Feature | Description |
|---|---|
| Total Credits column | A new column in the Users list showing each user’s total credit count. |
| Sort by credits | Click the “Total Credits” column header to sort users by their credit score (ascending or descending). |
| Filter by credit score | A dropdown above the Users table lets you filter to show only users with a specific credit score. |
Shortcode
Display any user’s credit total anywhere on the site:
[codicts-user-credits id="USER_ID"]| Attribute | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|
| id | Yes | The WordPress user ID whose credits you want to display. |
The shortcode outputs a plain number (the user’s total credit count).
Example:
Your credits: [codicts-user-credits id="42"]Tip: In Voxel templates, you can combine this shortcode with Voxel’s dynamic data tags to pass the current user’s ID or the post author’s ID automatically.
Example Setup — Local Business Directory
1. Activate the plugin with the Voxel theme active.
2. Navigate to “Credits” in the admin sidebar.
3. Enable Reviews Credits and set Credits per Star to 2. This means a 5-star review awards the listing owner 10 credits (5 × 2), while a 1-star review awards 2 credits (1 × 2).
4. Enable credits for the “Places” post type and set Credits per Post to 5. Each time a user publishes a Place listing, they receive 5 credits.
5. Save changes. All existing users’ credits are recalculated based on their current published Places and received reviews.
6. Go to the Voxel post type editor for “Places.” In the Search / Explore → Order By settings, add {CODICTS} Voxel Credits as an ordering option. Save.
7. On the explore page, visitors can now sort Places by the listing owner’s credit score — rewarding active users who publish more listings and receive better reviews with higher visibility.
8. Optionally, use the shortcode on user profile pages to display each user’s total credits.
Example — Review Credit Calculation
Consider a site where “Credits per Star” is set to 3 and “Credits per Places Post” is set to 10.
A user named Sarah:
| Activity | Calculation | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Publishes 2 Place listings | 2 × 10 | +20 |
| Receives a 5-star review (score +2) | 5 × 3 | +15 |
| Receives a 3-star review (score 0) | 3 × 3 | +9 |
| Receives a 4-star review (score +1) | 4 × 3 | +12 |
| Total Credits | 56 | |
Sarah’s credit score of 56 is stored in her user profile, displayed in the admin Users list, and used to rank her listings when visitors sort by credits on the explore page.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does this require a child theme?
No. The plugin does not override any template files. It hooks into Voxel’s event system and registers a settings page, shortcode, and explore page order-by option.
Does this work without the Voxel theme?
No. The plugin requires the Voxel theme to be active. It relies on Voxel’s app-events system for detecting post submissions and reviews, and Voxel’s search system for the explore page order-by integration.
Is there a settings page?
Yes. Navigate to “Credits” in the WordPress admin sidebar to configure credit values for reviews and each post type.
What happens when I change the credit values and save?
The plugin automatically recalculates all user credits from scratch — counting published posts and reviews again with the new values. No manual intervention needed.
Are credits deducted when a post is unpublished or deleted?
Credits are not automatically deducted when a post is deleted or unpublished. However, clicking “Save” on the settings page triggers a full recalculation, which will reflect the correct totals based on currently published posts and existing reviews.
Who receives credits for reviews — the reviewer or the post author?
The post author receives credits when their post is reviewed. The reviewer does not receive any credits.
How are Voxel’s review scores mapped to stars?
Voxel uses a -2 to +2 internal scale. The plugin maps these to 1–5 stars: -2 = 1 star, -1 = 2 stars, 0 = 3 stars, +1 = 4 stars, +2 = 5 stars. The star count is then multiplied by the “Credits per Star” setting.
Can I sort listings by credits on the explore page?
Yes. After activating the plugin, go to your Voxel post type’s Search/Explore order-by settings and add {CODICTS} Voxel Credits as an ordering option. Posts are sorted by their author’s total credit score.
Can I display the current user’s credits on the frontend?
Yes. Use the shortcode [codicts-user-credits id="USER_ID"] with the user’s WordPress ID. In Voxel templates, you can combine it with Voxel’s dynamic data tags to pass the current user’s ID automatically.
Does the plugin create any database tables?
No custom tables are created. Credits are stored as standard WordPress user meta (codicts_user_credits). Plugin settings are stored as a single entry in the WordPress options table. The explore page order-by feature adds a column to Voxel’s existing index table.
What happens when the plugin is deactivated?
Credit values stored in user meta and settings in the options table are preserved. The “Credits” order-by option is removed from explore pages, the Users list column disappears, and the shortcode stops rendering. Reactivating the plugin restores all functionality with existing data intact.
Troubleshooting
Credits Not Being Awarded for New Posts
| Cause | Solution |
|---|---|
| Post type not enabled | Navigate to Credits in the admin sidebar and verify the toggle for the relevant post type is enabled. |
| Post not published | Credits are only awarded when a post reaches “publish” status. Draft, pending, or expired posts do not trigger credits. |
| Credits per post set to 0 | Ensure the “Credits per Post” value is at least 1 for the relevant post type. |
Credits Not Being Awarded for Reviews
| Cause | Solution |
|---|---|
| Reviews credits not enabled | Navigate to Credits settings and verify “Enable Credits for Reviews” is toggled on. |
| Credits per star set to 0 | Ensure the “Credits per Star” value is at least 1. |
Credits Column Not Showing in Users List
| Cause | Solution |
|---|---|
| Plugin not activated | Go to Plugins → Installed Plugins and verify the plugin is active. |
| Voxel theme not active | The Voxel theme must be installed and active for the plugin to initialize. |
“Credits” Order-By Not Available in Voxel Explore Settings
| Cause | Solution |
|---|---|
| Plugin not activated | Verify the plugin is active. The order-by type is registered on plugin initialization. |
| Voxel cache | Clear any Voxel or WordPress object cache and refresh the post type editor page. |
Recalculation Takes Too Long on Settings Save
| Cause | Solution |
|---|---|
| Large number of users/posts | The recalculation runs through all users and their posts synchronously. On sites with thousands of users, this may take time. Increase your PHP max_execution_time if the save times out, or save during low-traffic periods. |
“Voxel Theme Not Detected” Error
The Voxel theme must be installed and active. Go to Appearance → Themes to verify. The plugin does not function without the Voxel theme.
For further support, visit codicts.com or contact us at support@codicts.com.