Creating a new poll

To create a new poll, log into the QuickPolls CMS and select New in the primary navigation bar.

Start and end dates

To start, choose start and end dates for your poll. A few simple rules apply:

1. You can display only one poll at a time, so your dates must not conflict with any other poll you've created.
2. The dates must be valid dates
3. The end date must not be before the start date.

QuickPolls will suggest the current date or the next available start date. If you have other polls scheduled after the default start date, QuickPolls will also suggest the last possible end date.

You can type in the date you'd like in the format mm/dd/yyyy. Or, use the calendar buttons to choose a date from a pop-up calendar:

Questions and Answers

A few more rules apply to QuickPolls questions and answers:

1. Questions must not be longer than 250 characters.
2. Answers must not exceed 75 characters.
3. You must supply at least 2 answers.

By default, this form shows 2 answer fields. You can get more fields by simply clicking the More Answers button. When the form shows 3 or more answers, a Fewer Answers button also shows. Use it to reduce the number of answers in your poll.

Poll type

QuickPolls can be either single-choice or multiple-choice. While these terms are straightforward enough, keep in mind that all polls show the percentage of votes as they relate to total ballots, not answers.

For example, if 100 people take your multiple-choice poll and every voter checks of the first two answers, the results will show that 100% for each answer -- that is, for 100% of the ballots, the first two answers were selected.

Percentages for single-choice polls, by definition, will always add up to exactly 100%, even though QuickPolls calculates the percentages exactly the same way -- as the percentage of the total ballots were cast with a given answer selected.

Voting frequency

By default, QuickPolls allow visitors to vote only once per poll. However, you can choose to let visitors vote as many times as they want, or you can set a number of hours that must pass before the visitor can vote again (maximum 98).

QuickPolls depends on Web browser cookies to determine whether a visitor has voted. Consequently, if a visitor clears the cookies for the browser, or switches to a different make of browser, that visitor can vote again even if you set restrictions on voting to "once" or "every x hours." It's important to keep in mind that QuickPolls should not be used if the risk of vote tampering would be a cause for concern.

Viewing without voting

By default, QuickPolls allows visitors to view the results of a current poll without casting a vote. In that event, QuickPolls shows a link back to the poll on the same screen as the results. Seeing the results could cause visitors to vote differently than they would have, so you can choose to set this option to No. If you do, visitors will not see the results until they cast a vote. You cannot keep voters who have voted from seeing results.

Spelling and Saving

Before you save your poll, be sure to click the Spell button to check your question and answers text. QuickPolls uses JSpell to suggest and make corrections:

Upon clicking Save, the new poll is created and will be available for display on your site during the period specified. If your poll starts in the future, aspects of it are editable and it can be easily deleted. For more on this topic, see Editing upcoming polls.