How to Create an Online Poll — Free Guide

What Makes a Good Online Poll?

Online polls are one of the fastest ways to gather opinions from a group. Whether you are deciding on a team lunch spot, gathering feedback from customers, or running a community vote on a new initiative, polls let you collect responses in minutes rather than days. But not all polls are created equal. Understanding what makes a good poll -- and how polls differ from elections and surveys -- will help you choose the right tool for your situation.

Before diving into how to create a poll, it helps to understand the differences between the three main types of group decision-making tools: polls, elections, and surveys.

Poll

Quick, single question
Public or private audience
Multiple choice or rating scale
Instant results and sharing

Election

Formal vote for positions or candidates
Voter authentication required
Multiple voting methods (ranked, approval, etc.)
Audit trails and transparency logs

Survey

Multiple questions per form
Research and data-focused
Open-ended and structured responses
Detailed statistical analysis

Polls shine when you need a fast, focused answer to a single question. They are lightweight, easy to set up, and simple for respondents to complete. A well-designed poll has a clear question, distinct answer options, and a specific audience in mind. Vague questions or overlapping options lead to unreliable results.

The best online polls also make it easy to share results, track responses in real time, and optionally protect against spam or duplicate votes. With the right platform, you can go from idea to published poll in under a minute.

Types of Online Polls

Different questions call for different poll formats. Choosing the right type of poll ensures your respondents can express their preferences accurately and that your results are meaningful. Here are the three main types of online polls you can create with TapVoter.

Choice Polls

The classic poll format. Respondents pick one or multiple options from a predefined list. Ideal for straightforward decisions where you need a clear winner or want to gauge popularity among a set of options.

-- "Where should we hold the annual retreat?"
-- "Which logo design do you prefer?"
-- "What day works best for the next meeting?"

Rating Scale Polls

Respondents rate each option on a numeric scale such as 1-5 stars or 1-10. This format captures intensity of preference rather than a simple yes or no. Perfect for feedback, satisfaction scores, and prioritization exercises.

-- "Rate each menu option from 1-5 stars"
-- "Score these project proposals on a 1-10 scale"
-- "How satisfied are you with each service area?"

Image Option Polls

Each option includes an image alongside the text label. Visual polls are especially effective when the options are design concepts, product photos, event themes, or anything where seeing is essential for making a choice.

-- "Vote for your favorite t-shirt design"
-- "Which venue looks best for the gala?"
-- "Pick the cover photo for our newsletter"

Choosing the Right Type

If you just need a quick answer, go with a choice poll. If you want nuanced feedback on multiple options, use a rating scale. If your options are visual in nature, image polls make it easier for respondents to make informed decisions at a glance.

Create Your First Poll with TapVoter

Getting started with TapVoter polls takes just a few minutes. Follow these steps to create, configure, and share your first online poll for free.

Sign Up for a Free TapVoter Account

Head to TapVoter and create your account. Registration is free and takes less than a minute. You can sign up with your email or use Google or GitHub authentication for even faster access.

Navigate to the Polls Section

Once you are in your dashboard, click on the Polls tab in the navigation. This is where you will manage all of your polls -- active, scheduled, and completed.

Click "Create Poll"

Hit the Create Poll button to open the poll builder. You will see a clean, step-by-step form that guides you through the process.

Enter Your Question and Add Options

Type your poll question and add the answer options. You can include up to 50 options per poll, which gives you plenty of flexibility for large lists, brainstorming sessions, or detailed preference gathering.

Choose Your Poll Type

Select the format that fits your question: choice poll for simple picks, rating scale for scoring each option, or image options for visual comparisons. Each type changes the voter experience to match the kind of feedback you need.

Configure Settings

Fine-tune your poll with optional settings. Allow multiple responses per person, add an "Other" option so respondents can suggest alternatives, set a closing date to automatically end the poll, or enable a custom closing page message. Pro users get additional options like passcode protection, Turnstile CAPTCHA, and scheduled launch times.

Publish and Share Your Poll Link

Once you are satisfied with your poll, hit publish. TapVoter generates a shareable link that you can distribute via email, messaging apps, social media, or embed in a website. Responses start flowing in immediately.

Free Tier Includes Unlimited Polls

You can create unlimited polls on the free tier with up to 50 options each. There is no trial period and no credit card required. Upgrade to Pro only when you need advanced features like passcode protection, CAPTCHA, scheduled launch, or PDF reports.

Free vs Pro Poll Features

TapVoter offers a generous free tier that covers most use cases. The Pro plan unlocks advanced security, customization, and analytics features for teams and organizations that need more control over their polls.

Feature	Free	Pro ($4.99/mo)
Unlimited polls
Up to 50 options per poll
Rating scale polls
Image option polls
"Other" option for write-in responses
Passcode protection
Turnstile CAPTCHA
Scheduled launch
Custom closing page
PDF reports
Device analytics

Pro Pricing

TapVoter Pro is available at $4.99 per month or $49 per year (save over 18% with the annual plan). Pro features apply to all of your polls instantly upon upgrading. You can cancel anytime and keep access through the end of your billing period.

Poll Security Features

For casual polls, the free tier works perfectly. But when you need to control who can respond, prevent spam, or detect unusual patterns, TapVoter Pro gives you powerful security tools that keep your poll results trustworthy.

Passcode Protection

Pro

Set a passcode that respondents must enter before they can see or vote on your poll. This keeps your poll private and limits access to only the people you share the passcode with. Ideal for internal team decisions, board votes, or any situation where you want a controlled audience.

Turnstile CAPTCHA

Pro

Cloudflare Turnstile provides invisible bot protection without annoying image puzzles. It runs in the background to verify that each response comes from a real person, not an automated script. This is essential for public-facing polls where you want to prevent ballot stuffing by bots.

Device Analytics

Pro

Track response patterns including device types, browsers, and timing data. Device analytics help you spot unusual activity such as a burst of responses from the same device or suspicious patterns that might indicate someone is trying to game the results.

Free Polls Are Public

Free polls are public and anyone with the link can respond. If you need controlled access, use Pro features like passcode protection and Turnstile CAPTCHA to restrict who can participate and prevent automated responses.

Sharing Your Poll

Creating a great poll is only half the battle. Getting it in front of the right people is what drives meaningful results. TapVoter gives you several ways to distribute your poll to your intended audience.

Direct Link

Every poll gets a unique shareable URL. Copy and paste this link into emails, chat messages, Slack channels, or anywhere else your audience communicates. The link works on all devices and browsers without any app installation required.

Works on mobile, tablet, and desktop
No app download required for respondents
Rich link preview with poll title and description

Social Media

Share your poll link on social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, or Reddit to reach a broad audience. TapVoter generates Open Graph meta tags so your poll displays with a rich preview card including the title, description, and branding.

Rich preview cards on social platforms
Engage followers with interactive content
Reach audiences beyond your direct contacts

QR Code

Generate a QR code for your poll link and use it at in-person events, meetings, or printed materials. Attendees scan the code with their phone camera and go straight to the poll. This bridges the gap between physical and digital participation.

Perfect for conferences and live events
Print on flyers, posters, or slides
Instant access with a phone camera scan

Email Distribution

Include your poll link in email newsletters, team announcements, or direct messages. Email remains one of the most effective ways to reach a targeted audience, especially for organizational polls where you have a known contact list.

Targeted reach to specific groups
Include context and instructions with the link
Follow up with reminders to non-respondents

Maximizing Responses

The more channels you use to share your poll, the higher your response rate will be. For best results, share the link in the places where your audience is already active and send a reminder 24-48 hours before the poll closes.

Analyzing Poll Results

Collecting responses is just the start. TapVoter provides real-time analytics and reporting tools so you can understand your results as they come in and share findings with stakeholders.

Real-Time Response Tracking

Watch responses arrive in real time from your poll dashboard. See the current vote counts, percentages, and leading options update live as people participate. This is especially useful during live events or time-sensitive decisions where you need to monitor participation as it happens.

Visual Charts and Breakdowns

Results are displayed with clear visual charts that make it easy to see the distribution of responses at a glance. For rating scale polls, you get average scores and distribution breakdowns. For choice polls, you see vote counts and percentage bars for each option.

PDF Report Generation

Pro

Generate a professionally formatted PDF report of your poll results. These reports include the question, all options, vote counts, percentages, and visual charts. PDF reports are perfect for sharing with leadership, attaching to meeting minutes, or archiving for future reference.

Export Capabilities

Need to do your own analysis? Export your poll data and work with it in your preferred spreadsheet or analytics tool. Exported data includes all responses, timestamps, and any metadata collected during the poll, giving you full flexibility to slice the data however you need.

Sharing Results

TapVoter generates a unique results page for each poll that you can share with participants. Letting people see the outcome of a poll they contributed to builds trust and encourages them to participate in future polls.

Conclusion

Creating an online poll does not have to be complicated or expensive. With TapVoter, you can go from question to published poll in minutes, collect responses from anywhere in the world, and analyze results in real time. The free tier covers everything most people need -- unlimited polls, up to 50 options, rating scales, image options, and an "Other" write-in field.

When your needs grow, TapVoter Pro adds the security and analytics tools that organizations require: passcode protection, bot prevention with Turnstile CAPTCHA, scheduled launches, custom closing pages, PDF reports, and device analytics. All for $4.99 per month or $49 per year.

Whether you are running a quick team vote or a large-scale community poll, TapVoter makes the process simple, fast, and free to get started. Create your first poll today and see how easy online polling can be.