Poll Options Explained

Welcome to the advanced guide to creating powerful polls with Poll For All. Whether you're gathering opinions, organizing events, or coordinating tasks, these settings help you tailor your poll perfectly.

πŸ”˜ Selection Types

Choose how participants vote:

1. Single Selection

Let participants choose one answer from a list.

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πŸ“Œ Example:

"Where should we meet next week?"

  • CafΓ© Downtown
  • The Office
  • Online

2. Multiple Selection

Allow participants to select more than one option. You can also define the minimum and maximum number of answers a participant must select.

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πŸ“Œ Example:

"Which topics should we cover in the team meeting?"

  • Roadmap Update
  • UX Improvements
  • New Feature Ideas
  • Budget Review

πŸ‘‰ You can require participants to select at least 1 and no more than 2 topics.

3. Star Rating

Let participants rate each option on a customizable scale. You can define the minimum (0-1) and maximum (5-10) number of stars. The symbol used for the rating β€” ⭐ by default, but you can also choose numbers or other symbols (❀️ or πŸ‘)

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πŸ“Œ Example:

"Rate each proposed feature based on usefulness"

  • Dark Mode
  • Real-Time Chat
  • Calendar Integration

πŸ‘‰ Participants might rate from 1 to 7 thumbs up and not allowed to skip options.

4. Opinion Gauge

Let participants express their stance between two opposing answers using a slider. They simply drag the slider to indicate how much they lean toward one side or the other or leave it in the middle if they’re neutral.

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πŸ“Œ Example:

"How do you feel about switching to a 4-day work week?"

  • Love the idea
  • Prefer the current schedule

πŸ•΅οΈ Anonymous vs Non-Anonymous Voting

Control how participants identify themselves in your poll using the β€œAsk for Name” setting. This allows you to tailor the level of anonymity based on the purpose of your poll. This setting gives you full control over privacy, engagement, and accountability, depending on your poll’s goal.

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You can choose from three options:

β–ͺ No

Participants are not asked for their name. Their vote remains completely anonymous.

πŸ“Œ Use case:

Collecting honest feedback or sensitive opinions β€” e.g., "How do you feel about the new remote work policy?"

β–ͺ Yes

Participants are asked to provide their name, but only the poll creator can see it. Names are not shown to other voters.

πŸ“Œ Use case:

Organizing signups or confirming who responded β€” e.g., "Who’s bringing snacks for the event?"

β–ͺ Yes and display to everyone

Participants are asked to provide their name, and their names are visible to everyone along with their votes.

πŸ“Œ Use case:

Promoting transparency in teams or decisions that benefit from public accountability β€” e.g., "Which team do you want to join?"

πŸ‘‰ When using this option, you can also choose to show results before voting, so participants can see how others have voted before casting their own vote.

πŸ‘€ Result Visibility Settings

Decide when participants can see poll results. This setting shapes how your voters interact with the poll β€” whether they're influenced by others, or vote independently.

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You can choose from the following options:

β–ͺ Before They Vote

Participants can view current results before voting.

πŸ“Œ Use case:

Promotes transparency and group alignment. Example: "Choose your preferred meeting time."

πŸ‘‰ Note: This option is only available when "Ask for Name" is set to "Yes and display to everyone"

β–ͺ As Soon as They Vote

Participants can see results immediately after they cast their vote.

πŸ“Œ Use case:

Encourages honest participation without bias, while still rewarding voters with immediate feedback. Example: "Which team-building activity do you prefer?"

πŸ‘‰ Additional Note: Once the poll closes, results will become visible to everyone, even if they didn’t vote β€” unless another visibility restriction is in place.

β–ͺ After Poll Ends

Results remain hidden during the poll, and are revealed only after it ends.

πŸ“Œ Use case:

Builds suspense and ensures votes are uninfluenced. Example: "Vote for the winner of the design contest."

β–ͺ When Author Permits

Results remain hidden from participants unless the poll author chooses to reveal them.

πŸ“Œ Use case:

Useful for collecting sensitive input or analyzing feedback before sharing outcomes. Example: "Submit your thoughts on company communication channels."

πŸ‘‰ The author can allow access at any time via the poll’s menu.

🚫 Limit Participants Per Answer

This setting allows you to restrict how many people can select each individual answer β€” perfect for distributing tasks, forming balanced groups, or preventing overcrowding in any choice.

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πŸ“Œ Use case:

Group Sign-Ups: Example: "Choose your preferred workshop time slot"

β†’ Limit each time slot to 10 people.

πŸ“Œ Use case:

Task Distribution: Example: "Which task would you like to help with?"

β†’ Limit each task to 2 volunteers.

πŸ“Œ Use case:

Event Planning: Example: "Bring something for the team lunch"

β†’ Limit β€œDrinks”, β€œSnacks”, etc. to 1 person.

πŸ“Œ Use case:

Balanced Teams: Example: "Pick a team to join for the hackathon"

β†’ Limit each team to 5 participants.

πŸ”„ Voters Can Change Their Votes

You can decide if your voters are allowed to change their responses after voting.

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β–ͺ No

Votes are locked in immediately after submission. Best for official decisions, competitive polls, or when you want to maintain clear finality.

β–ͺ Yes

Participants can edit their previous choice at any time while the poll is still open. Useful when opinions may evolve, or when new information becomes available during the voting period.

✍️ Allow Participants to Add Their Own Answers

Make your polls more open and interactive by letting participants submit their own answers, in addition to (or instead of) the predefined choices. This is especially helpful when collecting ideas, planning events, or encouraging creative input.

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You can choose from three modes:

β–ͺ No

Participants can only select from the choices you provide.

β–ͺ Yes

Participants can add their own answers, but these answers are only visible to the poll creator.

πŸ“Œ Use case:

Idea Collection (Private Review First). Example: "Suggest a speaker for the next meetup"

β–ͺ Yes and display to everyone

Participants can add their own answers, and these are immediately visible to all participants.

πŸ“Œ Use case:

Open Collaboration. Example: "Suggest your favorite ice cream flavor"

πŸ‘‰ The poll creator can choose to display or hide each answer or remove inappropriate answers at any time via the poll menu.

πŸ“… Set an End Date for Your Polls

Want your poll to automatically close after a certain time? Use the β€œEnd Date” setting to define when voting should stop.

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πŸ‘‰ After the end date voting is no longer possible, but participants can still view results if visibility settings allow it.

πŸ‘‰ You can change the end date at any time, even after the poll has ended so the poll can be reopened.

πŸ‘‰ You can also pause, resume, or stop the poll manually at any moment from the top menu on the poll results screen.

πŸ’¬ Enable Comments for Discussion and Feedback

Use the option to let participants share thoughts, feedback, or additional ideas directly under your poll. A comment box will appear below the answers for all participants.

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πŸ‘‰ You can delete any comment at any time.

🎨 Customize Answer Colors

Want your poll to look clean and consistent? Or maybe you prefer a vibrant mix of colors to make each answer stand out? With Answer Color Settings, you decide how your poll looks.

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πŸ›‘οΈ Protection Against Repeated Voting

Poll For All offers multiple protection levels so you can choose the right balance between accessibility and integrity.

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Choose from the following options:

β–ͺ Allow Multiple Votes per Browser

Disables all protection measures and allows repeated voting from the same device. Perfect for in-person polling with a shared device (e.g., a tablet at a booth or during a live event).

πŸ‘‰ Note: This is a premium feature.

β–ͺ Only reCAPTCHA

Enables Google reCAPTCHA to block bots from voting. Ideal when you want to allow easy access for people but still stop automated abuse.

β–ͺ Standard Protection with reCAPTCHA

A layered approach that includes session and browser fingerprint checks, plus reCAPTCHA. Extra CAPTCHA appears only in suspicious situations, like too many votes from the same browser or fast repeated voting.

β–ͺ One Voter per IP Address

Limits one vote per IP and blocks excessive attempts with a β€œTOO MANY REQUESTS” error. Strong protection for polls shared in public communities or forums.

πŸ‘‰ Can restrict access in shared networks (e.g., offices, schools).

β–ͺ With Unique Code

Only participants with a unique voting code can submit a response. Highest level of control β€” ensures every vote is accounted for, with no duplicates possible.

πŸ‘‰ The poll creator downloads a list of one-time-use codes.

πŸ‘‰ These must be distributed to participants manually.

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