A comprehensive walkthrough of creating and customizing your feedback board from scratch. This is our most popular guide for getting started with FeatureShark.
Setting up your first feature request board is a crucial step that determines how effectively you'll collect and manage user feedback. A well-configured board leads to:
Before diving into configuration, clarify what you want to achieve:
Product Development Goals:
Community Building Goals:
Understanding who will use your board shapes every configuration decision:
Internal Users:
External Users:
Plan your initial content approach:
Categories to Create:
🚀 New Features - Brand new functionality requests
🔧 Improvements - Enhancements to existing features
🐛 Bug Reports - Issues and problems to fix
🎨 Design & UX - Interface and experience improvements
📱 Mobile App - Mobile-specific requests
🔌 Integrations - Third-party service connections
Sample Requests to Seed:
Log into FeatureShark and navigate to your dashboard
Click "Create New Board" or use the setup wizard
Enter Board Details:
Board Name: [YourApp] Feature Requests
Description: Help us build the features you need most
URL Slug: yourapp (creates yourapp.featureshark.com)
Select Board Type:
✅ Allow anonymous viewing
✅ Require account for submissions
✅ Enable user voting
✅ Allow comments and discussions
⚠️ Moderate submissions (recommended initially)
❌ Hide vote counts (transparency builds trust)
Essential Categories for Most Products:
🚀 New Features
Name: New Features
Description: Suggest completely new functionality
Color: Blue (#3b82f6)
Icon: Rocket
🔧 Improvements
Name: Improvements
Description: Enhance existing features
Color: Green (#10b981)
Icon: Wrench
🐛 Bug Reports
Name: Bug Reports
Description: Report issues and problems
Color: Red (#ef4444)
Icon: Bug
🎨 Design & UX
Name: Design & UX
Description: Interface and user experience improvements
Color: Purple (#8b5cf6)
Icon: Palette
Template for Submission Guidelines:
## How to Submit Great Feature Requests
### Good Requests Include:
✅ Clear, specific titles
✅ Detailed description of the need
✅ Use cases or user stories
✅ Examples or mockups (when helpful)
✅ Business justification
### Example Format:
**Title:** Add dark mode to mobile app
**Description:** As a user who frequently uses the app in low-light environments, I would like a dark theme option to reduce eye strain and improve battery life.
**Use Case:** Night reading, late evening usage sessions
**Business Impact:** Requested by 40% of power users in recent survey
### Please Avoid:
❌ Vague requests ("make it better")
❌ Duplicate submissions (search first!)
❌ Bug reports (use our bug tracker instead)
❌ Requests outside our product scope
Required Fields:
✅ Title (minimum 10 characters)
✅ Description (minimum 50 characters)
✅ Category selection
✅ User contact information
Optional Fields:
- Priority level (High/Medium/Low)
- Use case description
- Attachment upload
- Expected business impact
- Willingness to beta test
Product Manager: Admin role
Engineering Lead: Moderator role
Customer Success: Moderator role
CEO/Founder: Admin role
Set Clear SLAs:
Create Response Templates:
Acknowledgment: "Thanks for this detailed request! We're reviewing it and will update you on our decision within 2 weeks."
Status Update: "This feature is now planned for Q2 development. We'll keep you updated on progress."
Decline: "After careful consideration, we've decided not to pursue this feature because [reason]. However, you might be interested in [alternative]."
Upload Company Logo
Set Brand Colors
Primary Color: #your-brand-color
Secondary Color: #complementary-color
Success Color: #10b981 (green)
Warning Color: #f59e0b (amber)
Error Color: #ef4444 (red)
Choose Typography
Heading Font: Your brand font or Inter
Body Font: Same as heading for consistency
Font Size: 16px base (good readability)
/* Example custom CSS for brand consistency */
.feature-card {
border-left: 4px solid var(--primary-color);
border-radius: 8px;
}
.vote-button {
background: linear-gradient(135deg, var(--primary-color), var(--secondary-color));
}
Configure notifications for your team:
New Submissions: Immediate email to product team
High Priority: Instant Slack notification
Status Changes: Email to stakeholders
Weekly Summary: Digest to entire team
✅ New high-priority submissions
✅ Features reaching vote milestones
✅ Status changes on planned features
❌ Every comment (too noisy)
Create 3-5 sample feature requests that demonstrate:
Excellent Request Example:
Title: Bulk Export Customer Data
Category: New Features
Description: As an account manager, I need to export customer data in bulk for quarterly business reviews. Currently, I have to export each customer individually, which takes hours.
Specific Requirements:
- Export 100+ customers at once
- Include custom fields and tags
- Support CSV and Excel formats
- Filter by date ranges and segments
Business Impact: Would save our team 5+ hours monthly and improve client reporting accuracy.
Good Improvement Example:
Title: Faster Search Results
Category: Improvements
Description: The current search takes 3-5 seconds to return results. For a better user experience, search should return results in under 1 second.
Current Problem: Users often abandon search due to slow results
Expected Outcome: Improved user satisfaction and feature adoption
Clear UX Request:
Title: Mobile-Friendly Navigation Menu
Category: Design & UX
Description: The current navigation menu is difficult to use on mobile devices. Buttons are too small and the layout is cramped.
Suggested Solution: Implement hamburger menu with larger touch targets
User Impact: 60% of our users access via mobile
Show users how you engage by adding thoughtful responses:
"Thanks for this detailed request! This aligns perfectly with our Q2 goals for improving data management. We're adding this to our development backlog and will start user research next month."
"Great suggestion! We've actually been seeing similar feedback from other users. This is now planned for our next major release. Would you be interested in beta testing once it's ready?"
✅ All categories created with clear descriptions
✅ Submission guidelines published and clear
✅ Team members invited with appropriate roles
✅ Branding matches company identity
✅ Notifications configured for team
✅ Sample content created to demonstrate quality
✅ Response templates prepared
✅ Integration connections tested
Week 1: Internal Testing
Week 2: Closed Beta
Week 3: Public Launch
Categories:
- 🏢 Enterprise Features
- 🔗 Integrations
- 📊 Reporting & Analytics
- 🔒 Security & Compliance
- 🛠️ Admin Tools
Special Considerations:
- Weight enterprise customer votes higher
- Private boards for sensitive requests
- Integration with support ticketing system
Categories:
- 📱 iOS Features
- 🤖 Android Features
- ⚡ Performance
- 🔄 Sync & Offline
- 🎨 UI/UX
Special Considerations:
- Device-specific feedback collection
- App store review integration
- Push notification for updates
Categories:
- 🛒 Shopping Experience
- 💳 Payments & Checkout
- 📦 Order Management
- 📊 Merchant Tools
- 🚚 Shipping & Fulfillment
Special Considerations:
- Separate boards for buyers vs. sellers
- Integration with support systems
- Revenue impact tracking
Add fields specific to your business:
Business Impact: Dropdown (High/Medium/Low)
Customer Tier: Multiple select (Enterprise/Pro/Free)
Development Effort: Dropdown (1 week/1 month/3+ months)
Revenue Impact: Text field ($X ARR potential)
Set up rules for efficiency:
Rule 1: Auto-assign mobile requests to mobile team
Rule 2: High-priority enterprise requests → Slack alert
Rule 3: Requests with 50+ votes → Add to roadmap review
Rule 4: Bug reports → Forward to development team
Track success metrics:
Engagement Metrics:
- Daily active users on board
- Submission rate trends
- Vote participation rates
- Comment engagement levels
Business Metrics:
- Feature request to implementation rate
- User satisfaction with implemented features
- Reduced support ticket volume
- Customer retention impact
📊 Baseline Metrics:
- 25+ feature requests submitted
- 15+ active voting users
- 3+ implemented quick wins
- 90% positive user feedback on board experience
📈 Growth Metrics:
- 100+ feature requests submitted
- 50+ regular community members
- 10+ features implemented from requests
- 95% team response rate within SLA
🎯 Maturity Metrics:
- Self-sustaining community engagement
- Clear roadmap driven by user feedback
- Measurable impact on product adoption
- Established feedback loop process
Productivity Gains:
User Engagement:
Business Impact:
Problem: Users aren't submitting requests or voting Solutions:
Problem: Requests are vague or unhelpful
Solutions:
Problem: Too many requests to handle effectively Solutions:
Problem: Requests submitted to wrong categories Solutions:
After successfully launching your board:
Total Setup Time: 45-60 minutes
Difficulty: Beginner-friendly
Success Rate: 95% of users successfully launch within first session
Last Updated: September 2025
Still need help? Contact our support team