Question 1

What is Dot Voting?

Accepted Answer

Dot Voting is a method for prioritizing and limiting options.

All participants receive a fixed number of points. These are distributed among the options of a poll. Each participant can also set several points on one option. The option with the most points wins.

Our Dot Voting Tutorial shows you how to use this method with PollUnit.

Question 2

How can I delete votes and comments from other participants?

Accepted Answer

To delete votes and comments of other participants you need admin rights for the PollUnit.

On the other hand, the activity log must be active. This log stores all activities such as new votes, comments and deleting votes and comments. This ensures that the poll cannot be manipulated secretly.

The activity log is available from our premium account.

To delete a vote or comment as admin, you have to open your poll with the admin link. Here you can delete participations and comments on the trash icon.

Question 3

Can participants change their votes afterwards or vote on new options.

Accepted Answer

Participants of a poll with a PollUnit account can change and delete their votes in an active PollUnit at any time.

Anonymous users, i.e. users without an account, can only do this as long as they are on the same computer and do not delete their browser data.

Question 4

How can participants add their own options in a poll?

Accepted Answer

When creating your poll, in step 4 »Advanced« you can allow your participants to add their own options. To do this, simply tick the box »Allow new options«.

Depending on the poll type, participants can suggest their own dates, upload their own pictures or create their own text options. The other participants can then also vote for these options.

Question 5

How can I create polls with my design and logo?

Accepted Answer

As a premium user you can create as many themes as you like. Our business users can also create logos.

When you create your poll, you can activate these logos and themes in any combination in your poll wizard step 3 »Design«. Themes also allow you to create custom CSS.

Our free accounts can choose from a variety of freely available themes.

Question 6

What is the difference between »Find best option« and »Distribute options«?

Accepted Answer

When you create a poll, you can choose the target of your poll. »Best option« means that the option with the most votes or points wins.

If your target is »Distribute Options«, the options are distributed optimally among the participants. This means that each participant can vote for options or tasks they would like to complete. PollUnit then distributes the tasks and tries to assign a task to each participant, which he or she is happy to do.

Question 7

How can multiple users participate in my survey without an account?

Accepted Answer

If you want to create an online poll where several of your participants should be able to vote without registration, you only have to make sure that the option »Invitation required« is not activated in the advanced settings.

Thus, a new name can be entered and votes cast in your PollUnit by clicking on »New participant«.

This is also possible with our Free Accounts!

Question 8

How can I make decisions online through systemic consensus?

Accepted Answer

If you select »Lowest Resistance« as target in step one of your vote under »Advanced Scheme Settings«, your participants can distribute negative points.

The best way is to combine the option »least resistance« with our vote type »Dot Voting«. Thus your participants can evaluate the options with e.g. 0 - 10 minus points. The option with the least minus points at the end wins.

Question 9

How can I create a poll with link?

Accepted Answer

When creating an online poll with PollUnit, you can allow links. For this open the schema settings in the first step of the poll wizard.

In the second step, you can assign a link per option in addition to a free text or date. This way you can provide your participants with further information or files.

Question 10

How can I create polls with designs for customer approval?

Accepted Answer

Whether multi-page PDFs with layouts and drafts, product designs or graphic and photographic work. You can get feedback from your customers and friends with our surveys and polls on files and pictures.

Just click on »Create PollUnit« and select »Image / File«.
If you select »Dot Voting« or »Star Rating« in step one of your vote under »Advanced Voting Schema Settings«, your participants can rate the designs.
Learn in our tutorial how to present and rate designs online.

Your participants can also vote directly via a link without registering.

Question 11

How to Enhance Photo Selection for Annual Reports and More?

Accepted Answer

Unleash the full potential of PollUnit's photo contest features for diverse applications, including refining the visual design of your annual report. Beyond contests, PollUnit offers a user-friendly platform to optimize photo selection for any project.

Customize voting mechanisms, simplify decision-making, and improve collaboration. A standout feature is the ability to deactivate the submission features of a contest, turning a PollUnit photo contest into an effective tool for photo selection. This adaptability makes PollUnit the preferred choice for efficient and compelling photo curation in various use cases.

Learn more how to simplify, collaborate, and captivate your audience with PollUnit's other powerful photo selection features.

Question 12

How can I upgrade my plan?

Accepted Answer

You can upgrade your package at any time. To switch from a premium to a business account, you simply need to buy a business account. The remaining time of your current package will be converted, rounded up and credited to your new account.

If, for example, you still have 30 days Premium and want to change to Business, proceed as follows: The Business Account has three times the value of the Premium Account. The 30 days Premium divided by three are 10. Thus 10 days are additionally credited to your new Business Account.

Of course you can also downgrade your account. Your remaining days will be multiplied and credited to the cheaper package.

Question 13

How can I test PollUnit for free?

Accepted Answer

The easiest way is to create a free account. Alternatively, you can also create and test surveys without an account. However, you will miss our administration tools as well as our comment functions.

Our free account can already do a lot and you can create full-value polls and surveys.

Question 14

How can I cancel my subscription?

Accepted Answer

If you have a current subscription, you can cancel it at any time under »My Account«. If you cancel your subscription, you can use all plan functions until the end of the purchased period. After that, your account will be available with limited functions. Your votes and data with limited access rights will be intact.

After a new purchase your plan is renewed and you will get full access to all your data and can continue with your existing account as usual.

Of course, you can also delete your account and your votings.

Question 15

How do I pay?

Accepted Answer

Currently you can purchase PollUnit plan with credit card and Paypal. You will find an invoice under »My Account«. To book a plan, visit our price list and click on »Buy«" in the desired plan. In the next step you can choose the desired duration of your plan and benefit from discounts of up to 75%.

We offer other customized billing solutions for business and enterprise plans.

Question 16

Is there a minimum contract length?

Accepted Answer

No! When you book a plan, you pay for the use of PollUnit in advance. Depending on the period you choose, this can be one month or one year. With a one-time payment, your package simply expires after the selected period. If you choose a subscription, you can cancel it any time before the next booking free of charge. You then keep the functions of your plan until your booked package has expired.

Question 17

How can I share my vote in the right language?

Accepted Answer

It is best not to worry about the language at all but simply share the link as we provide it to you in our sharing dialog and in the step »Invite« - i.e. without language in the URL. Your URL should look like this: pollunit.com/polls/xyz and not pollunit.com/en/polls/xyz.

We read the language of the browsers of your participants and thus know which language they prefer. The system then delivers your voting in the language of the browser. So an English browser gets the English version of PollUnit, a German browser the German version. If PollUnit is not available in the language, the English version of PollUnit will be delivered.

Our PollUnit voting system is currently available in English, French and German.

If you share your PollUnit with the language in the URL, e.g. with /en, the participants will also get this language. If the language of the browser does not match, a button appears at the top to change the language.

Users can also switch to their desired language in the PollUnit footer.

Question 18

Can I pass user data, such as name and email address, to my embedded PollUnit?

Accepted Answer

Yes, with the help of parameters that you append to the PollUnit URL, you can transfer any text data to PollUnit. These will then be saved with the participating persons and can be viewed in the evaluation and export.

To save URL parameters, you need to allow the desired parameters in the »Advanced« step. You can find out exactly how this works in our Help.

Question 19

How can I scroll the iFrame to the top when the content changes?

Accepted Answer

When embedding PollUnit on your website, it may be useful to change the scroll position of your webpage when the content of PollUnit changes. For example, when switching from an overview to a detailed view in a photo contest and the height of the iFrame changes significantly. Unfortunately, PollUnit cannot remotely control your website and scroll to a different position. This needs to happen on your website.

To make this work, you can listen for the load event of the iFrame using JavaScript and then trigger a function. In our example, we call the function »customScrollFunction«, and the iFrame is assigned the ID »pollUnitIframe«.

The JavaScript that triggers the function could look like this:

document.getElementByClassName('pollUnitIframe')[0].onload = function() {
  customScrollFunction();
};

The actual function that scrolls the iFrame could look like this:

customScrollFunction = function() {
 const element = document.querySelector('#pollUnitIframe');
 if (element) {
  element.scrollIntoView({ behavior: 'smooth', block: 'start' }); 
 }
};

Please note that we are selecting the iFrame again based on our example ID. In some cases, it may be necessary to scroll a parent element of the iFrame or consider an offset. This could be the case, for example, if your website has a fixed header. Then you would need to adjust our example code accordingly.

Question 20

How can i create a online poll?

Accepted Answer

Everyone meets the requirements to make an own poll with PollUnit. We only need your e-mail to inform you about accesses and activities in your PollUnit.

We still recommend to create an optional account as the creator of a poll, as this way we can give you access to your poll management area.

Whatever you decide, by clicking on the button »Create PollUnit« you get to our online poll creator, which guides you step by step through the necessary settings. You can find the button in the header of this page or as a smartphone user in the PollUnit main menu.

Our tutorial »Create your first poll« will help you.

Question 21

How can I invite participants to my poll?

Accepted Answer

There are several ways to invite your participants to your poll. PollUnit can automatically send invitations to your poll. You can enter the e-mail addresses of your participants in our wizard. You can also create user groups that you can select for invitation.

Alternatively, you can distribute the member link by e-mail, WhatsApp, ...

You will automatically receive the member link when you create your poll.

As a premium user you can also integrate your polls on your own website and have the participants vote directly there.

Question 22

What image formats can be uploaded?

Accepted Answer

All common image formats can be uploaded to your photo contest. This includes for example files with the extension jpg, jpeg, gif, tiff and png.

Question 23

What are the correct security and access settings for my photo contest?

Accepted Answer

PollUnit allows you to configure your competition according to your needs. Regarding security, fraud and access control, you should consider the following aspects when running a photo contest.

Photos that do not meet your criteria can be excluded by activating the approval dashboard. Every uploaded photo can be checked there by an administrator. Rejected photos are archived or deleted and accepted photos are published.

As sad as it is, cheating is not unusual in competitions. How much motivation your participants have to win the contest by cheating depends on your contest. If it's a photo contest between friends or colleagues, the motivation for cheating is probably very low. If you offer prize money, the incentive for fraud is rather high. The more your competition is protected against multiple votes, the higher the hurdle to participate. Our article about the prevention of multiple votes will help you decide.

In addition, you should add terms which clarify under which conditions voting is allowed. You should also mention that cheaters who are caught will be excluded from the photo contest and their content will be removed.

Question 24

How many participants can take vote in a poll?

Accepted Answer

Polls created with our free accounts or anonymously have a participant limit of 20.

For larger teams there is our Premium Account. Here you can create polls with up to 200 participants.

With our Enterprise Account, polls with up to 20,000 participants are possible. Evaluation and results in real time, of course.

For an overview of our accounts see our price list.

Question 25

How can personal data of participants be hidden?

Accepted Answer

In step 4»Advanced« when creating or editing your online poll, you can activate the options »Hide votes« and »Hide participants«.

A Online Voting with hidden votes prevents participants from seeing what others are voting for. The overall result of your survey will also be hidden. When your poll ends, the votes and the result will be visible.

With the option »Hide participants« the participants can only see their own votes and names. The result of the survey also remains visible (unless the »Hide votes« option is active). Even after the vote is over, the names of the participants remain secret.

Question 26

How much does it cost to create a poll?

Accepted Answer

PollUnit offers different pricing plans, including a free plan with basic features.
So you can use PollUnit as Free Poll Maker. Allowing you to create as many gratis polls as you like.

With our purchasable accounts you can extend the standard functions of PollUnit. For more information see our Pricelist.

Try it out now and create your own free poll!

Question 27

How can I create a poll in which the participants can rate the options with points?

Accepted Answer

In the »Advanced Schema Settings«, step 1 of the poll Wizard you can change the »Vote type«. Here you can activate different rating systems.

You can also choose »lowest resistance« as your target. This allows participants to distribute negative votes or points among the options.

Here you find tutorials about our rating systems dot voting, range voting and information how to find decisions with the largest group acceptance.

Question 28

How can i create polls with images?

Accepted Answer

To create a poll with images, simply click the »Create PollUnit« Button in the page header. If you visiting PollUnit on your smartphone, the create button is located in the main menu.

After clicking you will be asked »What do you want to do?«. Click on »Image / File« and start the PollUnit Wizard. In step 2 of the wizard, you can upload your images.

Take a look in our polls with images tutorial for further help.

Question 29

I created an account after making polls. How can I add my anonymous polls to this account?

Accepted Answer

If you entered the same email address when you created the poll, the poll will automatically be assigned to your new account after visiting the admin link of your PollUnit.

If this is not the case, please contact our support at support@pollunit.com.

Question 30

How can i allow users to rate pictures?

Accepted Answer

Images and files belong to PollUnit's default option types. Click on »Create PollUnit« and then on »Images / Files«. PollUnit will start the poll creator for votings on pictures.

Open the »Advanced Schema Settings« and change the vote type to star rating or dot voting. After uploading some pictures and finishing your poll, participants will be able to rate and prioritize images.

Question 31

How can I create a party todo and task list?

Accepted Answer

PollUnit distinguishes two basic types of polls. On the one hand, PollUnit can find the best option, but also distribute options.

When you click on »Create PollUnit« you will be asked what you want to do. Here you choose »Distribute« and then »Something else«.

In step 2 of the PollUnit Wizard you can predefine tasks, dishes or drinks. If you activate the »Allow new options« function in step 4 »Advanced«, your participants can also make their own suggestions or enter their own ideas.

For more information on how to create task lists, see our »Distribute Tasks« Tutorial.

Question 32

How can I enter a free text in addition to my date?

Accepted Answer

If you use PollUnit to create a Online appointment determination, you can activate a subtitles in step one by clicking »Advanced Schema Settings«.

With a subtitle you can enter a time or period as well as a free text when planning your appointment. For example, you could suggest an additional location or meeting point.

In addition, you can also activate links. For example, you could provide links to further information for each appointment.

Question 33

How to create a survey with pictures?

Accepted Answer

Create captivating image-based surveys to engage your audience and boost completion rates by incorporating compelling visuals, or turn your survey into an image voting experience.

How to include interesting pictures in your questions?

Each survey step can include a description, where you can add multiple pictures. These images can help clarify your questions or be the subject of your questions. This feature is available for all step types, including the Likert Scale step.

How to create a Photo Survey or Picture Poll?

PollUnit offers various step types, including a rating step. When adding a step to your questionnaire, you'll be prompted with »What do you want to do in this step?« — select the option »Submit rating.« Next, you'll see »What do you want to rate?« — choose »Pictures, music or files« You can then provide details such as a title and description for your step, select a voting method like hearts or stars, and upload your images. You can also create multiple consecutive steps using this method.

Alternatives to surveys

In addition to an image-based survey, PollUnit provides various other image-based voting options. Explore more alternatives on how to vote on images.

Question 34

How to create an anonymous survey without login nor registration?

Accepted Answer

With PollUnit, you can easily create anonymous surveys without requiring any sign-up or registration — neither for you as the creator nor for the participants.

Create an Anonymous Survey Without Registration

To create an anonymous survey, you don’t need an account. Simply click on »Create PollUnit« in the main menu and choose the type »Survey«. You will then be guided through our intuitive wizard, where you can set up your survey. Add a title and description, include your questions, and adjust the settings. You can configure the survey to avoid collecting email addresses or personal data from participants to ensure anonymity.

For creators, we still recommend registering a PollUnit account. This gives you access to additional features like notifications and an overview of all your surveys.

Participating in the Survey Without Registration

Participation is also entirely registration-free. Once the survey is set up, you’ll receive a link that you can share with your participants. They can fill out the survey immediately, without needing to sign up or provide any personal information.

Why Use PollUnit for Anonymous Surveys?

PollUnit makes conducting anonymous surveys simple and efficient. No personal data is stored unless you activate optional features like email notifications. This flexibility makes PollUnit ideal for surveys where privacy is a top priority.

Try it out today and create your first anonymous survey in just a few clicks!

Question 35

What can I do if PollUnit is not shown on my website?

Accepted Answer

If the embedded variant of PollUnit on your website only delivers a grey page or shows a »Refused to display« error, it is because you have not whitelisted your host or domain in your PollUnit. You must explicitly allow your host in the context menu of the PollUnit. This is done for the security of your participants.

The following message should appear in the web console if this error occurs:

Refused to display 'https://pollunit.com/...'
in a frame because it set 'X-Frame-Options' to 'sameorigin'.

In rare cases or if you are using a web construction kit like WIX, it may be that not your domain has to be entered as host but a HTTP referrer generated internally by your site. Please contact your technician or service provider for this.

For further information how to embed a poll or photo competition visit our tutorial.

Question 36

Why choose to vote with negative points?

Accepted Answer

With negative votes you get a completely different result. The best way to understand this is to use an example. Imagine there are several dishes to choose from. One of the participants is allergic to one of the dishes. Then he can rate the dish as negative as possible. In a small team, this dish would probably already be sidelined.

If the team would vote the same question with positive votes, this dish could be the best dish (by points), although there are other dishes that everyone likes (or tolerates).

With the negative votes the result is not the dish that gets the most points because it tastes the best for a few teammates; but it is the dish that everyone likes to eat. In large teams, of course, a single negative vote can also perish, but the principle is the same. The result therefore has the highest group acceptance.

You can find more information in our tutorial about systemic consensus.

Question 37

I cannot scroll in the embedded PollUnit. What should I do?

Accepted Answer

If you use our iFrame Resizer script to embed PollUnit, check if there is a Javascript error on your website. Errors in scripts on your website can prevent our script from being executed correctly. Alternatively you can switch to the version without iFrame Resizer.

In general you should check if the PollUnit iFrame is changed by a script or CSS of your website. E.g. the iFrame should not have »scrolling="no"« attribute. If the delivered HTML code looks different than the one we provide, then the probability is very high that a script on your site is causing the error.

The verification can be done with the web console of your browser.

Question 38

How can I integrate PollUnit full-screen or in a custom size?

Accepted Answer

PollUnit is integrated as iFrame. You can freely adjust the size of the iFrame with CSS. You can add a class or ID to the PollUnit iFrame and adjust the display with your stylesheet.

Example Html

</pre></p>

<p>Example CSS
<br /><pre>#pollunit {<br> width: 100%;<br> height: 1000px;<br>}</pre></p>

<p>To scale the iFrame to the size of your browser, you can use the units vh and vw:
<br /><pre>#pollunit {<br> width: 100vw;<br> height: 100vh;<br>}</pre></p>

<p>Or even deduct something from the height or width.
<br /><pre>height: calc(100vh - 100px)</pre></p>

<p>So you could place the PollUnit e.g. screen filling under your web page headers.</p>

<p>You can find further information in our <a href="https://pollunit.com/en/tutorials/embed_poll">Tutorial about embedding your PollUnit</a>.So you could place the PollUnit e.g. screen filling under your web page header.
</p>

Question 39

How to create a survey with QR code?

Accepted Answer

A QR Code (Quick Response Code) is a two-dimensional barcode that stores information and can be quickly read by a device such as a smartphone, tablet, or scanner. QR Codes connect offline media with online surveys, creating a seamless integration between the two worlds.

PollUnit automatically generates a QR Code for each survey. This QR Code is also available as a print-ready file for download.

Creating surveys with a QR Code offers several advantages, especially in terms of accessibility, user-friendliness, and flexibility. Participants can access the survey simply by scanning the QR Code with their smartphone or tablet, eliminating the need to manually type in a URL. This lowers the barrier to participation!

The QR Code can be displayed directly on printed materials or screens, providing instant access. QR Codes can be placed anywhere — on flyers, posters, business cards, and product packaging, or even projected on a screen during your presentation to reach a larger audience.

Where can I find the QR Code for download?

When you open your survey as an admin or using the admin link, you will find a »QR Code« tab on the first page. Open this tab, and you will see the QR Code available for display and download.

Question 40

Do my participants need an account to vote on my website?

Accepted Answer

No, you can configure your PollUnit that participants without an account can vote, upload pictures and create new options. If you only allow participation with a confirmed account, an account is mandatory in this case.

The settings for this can be found in the advanced settings. How to embed PollUnit is shown in our Tutorial.

Question 41

How can I split a photo contest into an uploading and voting phase?

Accepted Answer

If you want to run a photo contest over a long period of time, such as several months, it may be useful to split the contest into two phases.

In a first phase in which participants can only upload pictures and in a second subsequent voting phase. This way every photographer has the same chances of winning.

You will find the settings for this in step 4 »Advanced«. By activating the options »Allow new photos« and »Allow voting« you can start your photo contest flexibly. You can adjust this setting at any time.

In addition, the sorting of the photos can be randomized per participant. This way you can eliminate voting bias that occurs when pictures have a higher chance of getting votes at the beginning and end.

Question 42

How can I hide the votes and ratings?

Accepted Answer

Yes, you can configure your PollUnit according to your needs and determine the visibility of different information yourself. To run a photo competition with hidden votes or voters, you can make different visibility settings in step 4 »Advanced«.

These include »Hide award of the best choice«, »Hide Votes (until your PollUnit is closed)« and »Hide participants«. You can find more information in our help section.

Question 43

How can i ask photographers for captions and other information?

Accepted Answer

PollUnit offers you different possibilities to request any information. The caption, which can optionally be hidden, is a standard field. You can also request a subtitle and link. This information is visible for all participants in the photo contest and can be activated in the first step when creating the contest.

In step 4 »Advanced« you can define any fields that your participants have to fill in optionally or mandatory. This information is only visible to administrators. PollUnit distinguishes between voting participants and participants, who submit photos. The additional fields can be defined per group.

Question 44

How to run a photo contest?

Accepted Answer

With the PollUnit Wizard you can create your contest in a few minutes. A click on »Create PollUnit« opens the dialog and guides you step by step through the creation process. There are various functions available for configuration.

Nevertheless, you should have a goal and an idea of how you like to run your photo contest. Starting with the topic of the contest. Do you divide the competition into a submission and voting phase or can participants rate photos at the same time as submitting them? How to vote - like, love or rate with stars. Can participants win something, who is allowed to vote and what data is required.
Check our participant limits and decide for a PollUnit account. If there are only a few participants, the free version might be enough.

Write the conditions of participation and list everything your participants should know. For example, how you use the photos during and after the competition, prize money, exclusion criteria, etc. . If prizes are awarded, there is an incentive to cheat and you should consider how to prevent double and multiple voting and how to deal with cheating.

Do not publish your contest until you are absolutely sure that all precautions have been taken. Is it a public contest? Then use all channels to promote your contest - write in social media, use your mailing list and publish the contest on your own site.

Question 45

I get an error when paying by credit card. What can I do?

Accepted Answer

The most common payment error is a rejection on the side of the credit card provider for unspecified reasons, which results in an Transaction Not Allowed error. This message indicates that the bank will not approve this transaction. This does not mean that there is an issue with your credit card. Unfortunately we do not get more detailed information from the bank.

Typical reasons and solutions for this error:

A high level of activity on the credit card in a short time.
Waiting can help here. A payment the next day could resolve this error.

An incorrect card number or expiration date.
Check your entries and try again

Insufficient funds in the bank account or exceeding the card limit.
Make sure your account has sufficient funds or increase your limit.

The payment is rejected due to fraud filters of the bank (3D Secure)
Enter as many data as possible. In particular, all address data as well as a company name if necessary. This very often leads to the solution of the problem!

3D Secure can lead to issues because it introduces an additional layer of authentication for online credit card transactions. We have limited control over 3D Secure-related issues because it's primarily managed by the card-issuing banks and financial institutions. This means that problems and challenges related to 3D Secure often require intervention and resolution from the cardholder's bank, making it beyond the direct influence of online service providers like PollUnit.

Browser extensions such as ad blockers may cause communication with our payment system to not work properly.
Disabling such extensions or changing the browser can fix this error.

If you still have problems with the payment, you could pay alternatively with PayPal. We also offer purchase on account from our annual business accounts - please contact us at support@pollunit.com.

Question 46

Does PollUnit get usage rights on the uploaded photos? What happens with the pictures after the competition?

Accepted Answer

No, PollUnit does not receive any rights of use for the photos! We are a service provider for photo contests. Therefore we only act on behalf of our customers or provide functions with which our customers can manage content independently. We will never use pictures for our own purposes, share them without permission, sell them etc.

If you want the right to use the submitted photos, you can create your own terms and conditions and inform your participants about it.

If you delete your photo contest, we will mark it as deleted for a period of time before we actually destroy the data irretrievably. This is done because it sometimes happens that users delete a PollUnit by mistake and so we can still help. To delete a PollUnit you need to click the context menu of your PollUnit as admin.
If the photo contests should be deleted immediately, we can do this on instruction.

However, our system does not protect the photos against downloads of preview data / screenshots / photographing the screen and the like. If you want to protect the pictures from your own participants, we recommend to put a watermark on the pictures.

We also offer a Data Protection Addendum (GDPR) for our business users.

More about running photo contests.

Question 47

Can I customize the Partizipation Link so that we can remove the »Login« and the »Sign up« button?

Accepted Answer

Yes, using our white label feature, login and sign-up buttons can be removed. Removing the buttons is optional. If you hide the buttons, your participants will have to vote as guests.

You can find the necessary settings for a in the step »Advanced«. It is also possible to customize the logo and design.

Question 48

How can I change the image and text when sharing my PollUnit via WhatsApp, Facebook, Slack, Twitter... ?

Accepted Answer

Whether you want to create a poll or run a photo contest, social media and messaging services play a major role in inviting participants. If you share the link to your PollUnit in your Facebook stream, via WhatsApp, in Twitter or similar, the app will read the social media tags. This metadata describes how the link should be displayed. In most cases this includes a graphic, headline and a short description.

At the bottom of the Share dialog you will find a link »Change content (Social Media Tags)«. If you click this link, you can edit the metadata and add your own graphic. A small preview shows you how Facebook, WhatsApp and Co. will display the link to your PollUnit.

Question 49

Is there an example of an embedded PollUnit?

Accepted Answer

Yes, we have prepared a simple example based on a photo competition. You can get to the example by clicking the following link: Example: Photo contest on your own homepage.

Question 50

Is PollUnit a cross-platform / multi-platform app?

Accepted Answer

PollUnit is a web application based on the client-server model. PollUnit does not need to be installed locally on the user's computer. At the same time PollUnit is optimized for desktop as well as for mobile devices like smartphones, phablets and tablets.

It does not matter if you want to create a simple voting about timeslots or freetext or if you want to run a photo contest voting. With our web app you can reach a large audience on different devices.

Just try it out for free and create a poll.

Question 51

How can I integrate PollUnit into WIX?

Accepted Answer

You can embed PollUnit using an iFrame. Basically, you proceed exactly as described in our tutorial about embedding PollUnit on your website. With the code snippet we provide you can publish PollUnit via iFrame on your website. To protect the visitors of your PollUnit, you have to activate your domain as an allowed host.

Attention! WIX web pages retrieve external content via a special referrer URL.

If you integrate an iFrame into WIX, WIX internally retrieves PollUnit content not via your domain, but via »filesusr.com«. So you have to additionally whitelist this domain. For example, if your web address is »www.mywebsite.com«, the additional host to unlock is »www-mywebsite-com.filesusr.com". All points in your domain will be replaced with a »-« (minus) and will prepended as subdomain of »filesusr.com«.

So it works with your own vote and your own photo contest in your WIX website.

Question 52

How do I create a survey with multiple-choice questions?

Accepted Answer

Multiple-choice questions are questions where participants can select one or more options from a predefined list of answers. They are ideal for surveys, quizzes, or opinion polls that require structured responses.

To create a survey with multiple-choice questions using PollUnit, follow these steps:

Start your survey
Click on »Create PollUnit« and select »Survey« as the PollUnit type.
Enter basic details
In the survey wizard, give your survey a name and optionally add a description or welcome text.
Select step type
In the second step of the wizard or via the admin link, add a step and choose "Request information" as the step type.
Configure the step
In the step wizard, name your step and add a description.
Define fields
In the second part of the step wizard, add fields such as text fields, dropdowns, or multiple-choice fields. Then, specify the options available for selection.

Alternative: Single Choice

In addition to multiple-choice questions, PollUnit also supports single-choice questions, where participants can select only one answer. This question type is especially useful when clear and definitive decisions are needed, such as selecting a favorite option or answering a yes/no question.

Question 53

Can I conclude an Data Processing Agreement with PollUnit?

Accepted Answer

Yes, you can sign a Data Processing Agreement (DPA) online. You find it in the »My Account« section. This DPA regulates the rights and obligations of the client, contractor and any necessary subcontractors. In addition, the DPA guarantees the data protection measures required by the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). It also meets the requirements of the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA).

The DPA is available to all our business accounts.

Additional legal compliance is provided by our user-defined conditions of participation, data protection information and imprint. Here you can inform the participants about the purpose and nature of your processing.

This way, nothing stands in the way of your GDPR-compliant votes and photo competitions.

Question 54

How to create a survey with Likert Scale?

Accepted Answer

A Likert scale is a popular rating method where participants express their opinion or agreement with a statement on a graded scale. For example, the scale may range from »strongly agree« to »strongly disagree«. This method is ideal for collecting structured feedback on opinions, satisfaction, or preferences.

To create a Likert scale survey with PollUnit, follow these simple steps:

Start your survey Click on »Create PollUnit« and select »Survey« as the PollUnit type.
Enter basic details In the survey wizard, name your survey and, if needed, add a description or a welcome message.
Select step type In step two of the wizard or via the admin link, add steps to your survey. Select "Rate in Matrix/Scale" as the step type.
Configure the step In the step wizard, name your step, provide a description, and select a scale for participants to use when rating your statements.
Define statements In the second part of the step wizard, input the statements you want participants to evaluate.

Flexibility and Customization

PollUnit allows you to add as many Likert scale steps to your survey as you need or mix them with other step types. You can create custom scales or choose from our pre-designed templates, such as:

Satisfaction
Hate / Love
Importance
Likelihood
Agreement
Poor / Excellent
Frequency
Yes / No

Why Use Likert Scales?

Likert scales help you collect structured and easy-to-analyze data. They allow you to identify opinions and trends clearly and provide valuable insights for informed decision-making. Try it now and create a professional survey in just a few clicks!

Question 55

What's the difference between voters, participants, files, and photos?

Accepted Answer

Our different plans differ not only in their functionality but mainly in their different limits of participants and files. Our PollUnit types are sometimes very different and it is difficult to find a wording that is correct for all types. Usually we talk about participants. Depending on the context, participants are voting participants or submitters. This FAQ post is intended to provide some clarity.

In the feature comparison, we have grouped the features and limits by their type.

If you create a voting »Participants per voting« describes the number of possible voters. If you've created a file voting, »Files per PollUnit« describes the maximum number of files allowed.

If you create a photo contest, »files per PollUnit« or »photos per contest« describes the number of possible submissions of photographers. »Voters per contest« describes the allowed number of voters.

If you create a table »Participants per table« describes the number of possible persons who can enter the table.

If you create an idea collection »Participants per idea collection« describes the allowed number of suggested ideas and voters.

Question 56

Which browsers support embedded PollUnits?

Accepted Answer

Embedded pages should work in all major browsers.

It is important that the embedding page has an SSL certificate or is accessible via https. You also need to enter the domain of the embedding page in our list of allowed hosts.

Question 57

How do I create a Halloween Photo Contest?

Accepted Answer

Creating a Halloween-themed photo contest is easy as a breeze! Click »Create PollUnit« and choose »Photo Contest«. Now you're in the photo contest creator and you can set up your contest in four simple steps.

In the first step add a name, a description and choose one of our voting types like »star rating«, »likes« or »hearts« and got to the next step.

In the step »Images« you can batch upload a bunch of spooky images. Skip this step if you want your participants to upload their own images.

In »Design« step you can choose a creepy theme or create your own one. We also have a spider effect 😉

In the »Advanced« step you find various other features helping you to create your customized photo contest. Some of those features are automated submission and voting periods, require additional attributes, customized thank you page, terms and conditions, and much more.

For small teams you can run a halloween competition with basic features for free. For more pricing information visit our price list.

Question 58

What happens to my data after my account expires?

Accepted Answer

If you have created one or more PollUnits with a paid account, the data will remain even after the account expires. But then the limits and features of the free account apply again. For example, no one can vote if the participant limit is reached or the export function of the business account can no longer be used. We only delete data when they are deleted by our customers.

Question 59

How to create an online survey for free?

Accepted Answer

Creating free surveys with PollUnit is simple and accessible. You’ll gain access to most features. However, keep in mind that larger groups require a paid plan. If you’re running surveys for up to 40 participants, you can do so entirely for free. This makes PollUnit especially appealing to students, school classes, and private individuals who want to create surveys at no cost.

What features are available in PollUnit's free version?

PollUnit offers a wide range of features to help you design your survey for free. A full list of features is available on our plan overview page. Key features for surveys that are included in the free version are:

Information pages
Form fields
Submit ratings
Matrix / scale questions
Drawing and signing
Graphical evaluations
Branched surveys

Create your first free survey

To get started, we recommend creating a PollUnit account. While you can create surveys without registering, having an account provides many advantages, such as notifications and an overview of all your surveys.

Click on »Create PollUnit«, e.g., in the main menu of this page. Then select the »Survey« option from the different PollUnit types. You will now be guided through the creation process using our wizard. You can add a title and description. Click on the small question mark icons to get help and detailed explanations of each feature.

Question 60

How can I create a gratis online poll where users do not need an account?

Accepted Answer

PollUnit is specially designed that users do not necessarily need an account to vote or fill a survey. After creating your PollUnit, simply invite your users or send them the member link by e-mail. Also for the creation of a PollUnit no registration is necessary.

Creating surveys and votes is free of charge. If you want to create polls in large teams or even mass polls, you need one of our paid plans.

Learn how to make your own poll in our tutorials.

Question 61

How do PollUnit plans and subscriptions work?

Accepted Answer

You can book, upgrade, downgrade and cancel PollUnit as you wish. There are no notice periods. The basic package is free of charge. The chargeable packages are available as one-time purchases and subscriptions. The subscription automatically extends your PollUnit package, otherwise the subscriptions work like a one-time purchase.

When your purchase expires, your account will remain, all polls and surveys will be preserved, only the Premium, Business or Enterprise functions will be deactivated. If you don't have to conduct any surveys for a while or don't need all functions, you can suspend your account for free.

All our packages are available in monthly and annual rates. In the annual plan you save up to 75% - you can find more detailed information in our price list.

Question 62

How can I use PollUnit as photo club / camera club software?

Accepted Answer

The PollUnit poll maker is generic tool to generate various types of votings and surveys. This includes image votings and photo competitions.

Your entrants can use the web entry system to upload images. Visitors can vote on each image or you allow voting for judges only. Various voting types will help you to rate submissions. A voting category feature allows to rate each image in different categories e.g. light, quality and idea.

The PollUnit landing page feature allows you to group all your club competitions on a single page and make it available via a single link.

Using the organization feature allows you to share a single-paid account along with other users like the competition secretary. This way you can manage all PollUnits as a team.

Rich evaluation features enables you to understand the voting process.

Question 63

How do I create a  fundraising photo contest?

Accepted Answer

Creating a fundraising photo contest can help raise funds for your cause or support your non-profit organization, engage your audience, showcase creativity, and generate exposure. By encouraging people to submit photos and vote, you can build a sense of community and excitement, while also promoting your cause on social media and other marketing channels.

Fees and donations can be charged from participants who want to submit photos or cast votes. It can be especially rewarding to run a donate-to-vote contest.

A donate-to-vote photo contest is a type of fundraising campaign where participants donate money in order to cast a vote for their favorite photo entry. This type of contest can be especially effective for social media campaigns, where participants can easily share their entries and encourage others to donate and vote. People can view the photos and choose to donate to their favorite entry. Each donation is counted as a vote for that photo, and the entry with the most votes at the end of the contest wins a prize. The higher the donation, the more points the photo receives.

The first step to creating a fundraising photo contest is to sign up for an PollUnit account. Additionally you need a Stripe account to receive payments. Your Stripe account can be connected to PollUnit via a PollUnit Wallet. More informations can be found in our fees and donations tutorial. Once you've successfully set up your PollUnit wallet you are ready to run as many fundraising photo contests you want.

Start the PollUnit photo contest maker by clicking »Create PollUnit« and choose »Photo Contest«. Next, you can customize your contest by adding a title, description, and any necessary instructions. You can also add your own design, set the start and end dates for the contest, ask for contact information, as well as any entry requirements. Proceed to the step »Advanced«. Here you find a submitter and voter section. For both participant types you can ask for donations and fees by checking the »Fee and Donation« checkbox and choosing your PollUnit wallet.

Once your PollUnit is set up, you can promote your photo contest to your audience. Share the link to your PollUnit on social media, email, and other marketing channels. Encourage participants to share their entries with their networks to increase engagement and exposure.

As the contest progresses, you can manage your PollUnit by monitoring the entries and voting process. Once the contest is over, you can announce the winners and distribute the prizes.

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