Make your first poll in two minutes
- 1 Click Create a poll, choose One question and keep Multiple choice.
- 2 Write the question the way you would in the group chat: “Where should we eat on Friday?” beats “Restaurant preference”.
- 3 Type an option and press Enter for the next one. Two to six options are easy to scan on a phone.
- 4 Open the Settings tab and check the duplicate check and who sees the results (more on both below).
- 5 Click Publish, then copy the link from the Share tab or send it straight to WhatsApp, Telegram, Facebook or LinkedIn.
Votes show up live in the Results tab, without refreshing. Neither you nor your voters need an account.
Write a question with a clear answer
Most unclear results start with an unclear question. Ask one thing at a time, in the words your group uses, and say when or where it applies.
- Make options that don’t overlap, like “Under 10 minutes” and “10 to 30 minutes”.
- Turn on Allow more than one answer when people would be happy with several options. The winner is then the option most people can live with.
- Turn on Allow "Other" answer when you may have missed something.
- Turn on Randomize order so the first option doesn’t win just for being first.
When a plain list isn’t enough, pick another question type: a ranking for priorities, picture choice for designs, a meeting poll for dates.
Decide how often someone can vote
The Duplicate check in the Settings tab decides how StrawPoll keeps it to one vote per person. New polls start on IP address, which suits public polls on social media, in chats or on a stream.
- Browser session for friends, family or an office: everyone on one Wi-Fi shares an IP address, and only the first person could vote.
- Email address when the result really matters. Voters confirm their address with a code.
- Unique code when you know exactly who may vote, like club members or a class.
- Off for brainstorms and word clouds, where people may answer more than once.
Choose before you share. Votes that are already in can’t be checked again under a new setting. Compare every option.
Choose who sees the results, and when
What people see after they vote changes how they vote. Under Access to results, After responding shows the chart once someone has voted, which suits quick, fun polls. After the form closes keeps everyone in the dark until the end, so nobody follows the crowd. Only you keeps results in your dashboard, for feedback and sensitive topics.
Set a close date under Open & close dates when you need the answer by a certain time. The poll stops on its own.
Share it where people already are
Paste the link in any chat and it unfurls into a preview with your question. Show the QR code on a slide or a poster, or embed the poll on your website inline, as a popup or as a full page.
Create a free account to keep your polls across devices. Without one, polls are saved in your browser, and you can sign up later to keep them.