Enable comments in your portals
Client Portal supports comments in Content Pages, making it easy for your clients to leave feedback and start discussions about specific content. Here's everything you need to know to get started.
What you need before getting started
Before you can use comments, make sure you have:
- Set your Editor to "Block" in Client Portal settings (you'll find this under Client Portal → Settings)
- Created at least one Content Page that you want to add comments to
How to enable comments on a content page
Getting comments set up is straightforward:
- In your WordPress admin, go to Client Portal → Content Pages
- Either edit an existing Content Page or create a new one
- Look for the "Discussion" panel in the editor sidebar (it's usually on the right)
- Click on "Discussion" and select "Open"
- Publish or update your page
That's it! Your Content Page now has comments enabled.
Connecting your content page to a portal
Here's where it gets important: comments only work when clients view the Content Page through a specific portal. Here's how to set that up:
- Go to Client Portal → CP Portals and edit the portal where you want to add the Content Page
- In the Modules section, click "Add Module" and choose "Content Page"
- Select your Content Page from the dropdown menu
- Save or update the portal
Now when your clients visit that portal and click on the Content Page module, they'll see the comment form at the bottom of the content.
Important things to remember
The one portal rule
Once you've enabled comments on a Content Page and attached it to a portal, that Content Page becomes exclusive to that portal. Here's what this means:
- If you try to add that Content Page to another portal, it won't appear in the dropdown
- All clients who have access to the portal can comment on the Content Page
- This keeps conversations focused and prevents comments from getting mixed up between different client projects
What your clients will see
When clients visit the Content Page through their portal, they'll find:
- The main content at the top (whatever you've added to the Content Page)
- A "Leave a comment" form at the bottom
- Any existing comments listed below the form
- A dropdown to sort comments by newest or oldest
The comment form shows the client's name (or gives them an option to log out if they want to switch accounts). After they submit a comment, the page refreshes and highlights their new comment.
Previewing how it looks
Want to see how your Content Page will look to clients? When you're editing a Content Page with comments enabled, you'll see a helpful notice that says something like:
This content page has been linked with: TechArk Website Redesign
Click that preview link to see exactly what your clients will see, including the comment form and any existing comments.
Privacy and access control
Don't worry about comments leaking between different client portals. The system is designed to keep everything properly separated:
- Comments are tied to the specific portal where clients are viewing the Content Page
- Private portals keep comments completely separate from each other
- Comments on Content Pages won't show up in WordPress's public comment feeds or widgets
This means you can have the same type of content (like a "Project Guidelines" page) with comments enabled for different clients, and their conversations will stay completely separate.
Ready to try it out? Start by enabling comments on one of your existing Content Pages and see how your clients respond to having a direct way to give feedback on your content.