A public feedback portal has a single shareable URL. Anyone with the link can open it, browse existing feedback, and create an account to submit their own ideas. No invitation required, no domain restrictions - just a URL you share with your customers.
Before you start
Craft.io supports two types of portal access. This article covers the public access portal - but it is worth understanding the difference before you configure yours.
Public access gives anyone with the portal URL the ability to browse feedback and create an account to submit their own ideas. No invitation, no domain restriction. This works well when you want open engagement from customers, prospects, or the broader community.
Restricted access limits the portal to specific users - either by email domain or direct invite. If your feedback process is internal, or if you only want to hear from a defined group of customers, a restricted portal gives you that control.
If you want to limit who can access your portal, set it up as a restricted portal before inviting users. Read more on the setup here
Setting up your public portal
A few settings shape what customers see when they arrive.
Portal name
The name displayed on the portal's landing page. Use your product name or something customers will immediately recognize.
Categories
Categories let customers organise and filter submissions. You configure them in portal settings - only workspace admins can add or edit them. Common examples include General, Feature Requests, and UI/UX. You can also set a default category so submissions without one are automatically grouped.
Custom terminology
The portal supports custom terminology if your team or customers use different language for feedback concepts.
Once configured, your portal is live at [yourportalname].ideas.craft.io and ready to share.
Browsing before logging in
When a customer opens your portal URL, they land directly on the feedback list - no login required to look around. They can see every submitted idea, its vote count, the submitter's name, its category, and its current status.
From here they can:
Browse in list or grid view
Filter by category or status
Search for specific topics before submitting a duplicate
See the importance level each submitter assigned to their request
This upfront visibility means customers can find an existing idea and vote for it before they ever need to create an account.
Creating an account and logging in
When a customer clicks + Add feedback or Vote, they are prompted to sign in. They can authenticate with Google or sign up with an email address. New accounts take seconds to create.
Once signed in, the portal expands to show their personal views alongside the full feedback list.
Submitting an idea
Clicking + Add feedback opens a short submission form:
Title - a brief summary of the idea
Description - optional context on the problem or use case
Category - the relevant area, chosen from the categories you have configured
Importance - how much this matters to the submitter, from Nice to Have through to more critical levels
Each submission is assigned a unique ID and appears in the portal feed immediately, visible to all users.
The logged-in experience
Once signed in, customers have three views in the sidebar:
All feedback - every idea from every user, with filters for category and status. This is the main discovery view for finding ideas to vote on or comment on.
My feedback - a personal list of everything the customer has submitted, with live status updates as the team acts on each request.
Tracked feedback - ideas the customer has chosen to follow by clicking the Track feedback flag on an individual item. This keeps the item in their list so they can monitor progress without having submitted it themselves. Tracking and voting are independent - a customer can track without voting, or vote without tracking.
How customers stay informed
When a feedback item's status changes in Craft.io, the submitter is notified automatically. Customers also receive notifications when there is activity on ideas they are tracking or when someone mentions them in a comment.
Comments are available on every feedback item, giving your team and customers a direct channel to ask questions, share context, or provide updates - without any back-and-forth outside the portal.
What comes next?
Setting up a feedback portal - full portal configuration from scratch
Feedback status automations - automatically update feedback statuses when connected work progresses
User types and access in the Feedback Portal - understand what different users can see and do in your portal
Need more guidance? 🙋 Our LIVE support team (at the bottom right corner of your screen) replies to ANY question!