Overview
Use the Poll Widget to pose a question, have visitors choose an answer, and then display the results.
IMPORTANT: The Poll Widget does not track users and does not offer a fool-proof way to restrict repeat votes. Do not use the Poll Widget when voting will be used to determine a winner. Since it is not suited for scientific data gathering, it should be used for entertainment purposes only.
Setup
- Enter the question to pose to your visitors in the What is the question? field.
- Click the Add New Choice button.
- Enter a choice in the Enter choice text... field and/or select an image to represent the choice, then click Save.
- Repeat steps 2 and 3 for each additional choice. There must be at least two choices for the poll to be valid.
Options
Restrict Poll Voting using a Browser Cookie
Check the Restrict Poll Voting using a Browser Cookie box to set a cookie on the visitor’s browser to prevent them from voting a second time. IMPORTANT: it is possible for the visitor to clear his or her cookies and cast additional votes. If you will use voting to determine a winner, use our Voting Widget instead.
Test Poll Voting Restrictions in Live Preview
Even when restrict poll voting is enabled, by default you can still vote multiple times in the Live Preview for testing purposes. To test the Restrict Voting feature in the Live Preview, check the Test Restrict Voting in Live Preview box. It only has an effect when Restrict Voting is also enabled.
Use Full-Size Images (not available on campaigns using the Style Panel)
If you select an image to represent a choice, ShortStack displays a thumbnail of the image. Check the Use Full-Size Images box to show the full-size image.
Show Total Votes
Check the Show Total Votes box to display each entry’s vote count. If this is unchecked, the percentage of votes an entry received will display.
Reset Test Votes to 0
Check the Reset Test Votes to 0 box to reset the test vote total. Remember, when you cast test votes in the Live Preview, those votes are kept separate from live votes.
Additional Notes
The only way to see the total number of votes a choice in the poll received is via the live campaign.
You can change the behavior of the poll with the error.poll and success.poll JavaScript events. For example, you could hide the Poll Widget, show hidden widgets, or prevent the display of the repeat vote error message.
See Customizing Behavior with Events for details.