This section covers getting started with Rallly, aimed at new users who want to quickly sign up (or use guest mode), create their first poll, invite participants, and view results—all without needing an account right away. Guest mode lets you jump in instantly, with the option to claim your poll later by signing up. Once comfortable, explore advanced features in Creating and Sharing Polls, team collaboration in Spaces and Team Collaboration, or account options in User Settings and Preferences.

Overview

Getting started in Rallly is streamlined for speed: land on the home page, create a poll in moments, share a link with participants, and watch votes roll in via live results. No credit card or complex setup required. Guest-created polls are public and editable via the share link, and you can convert them to a full account anytime.

Account Creation and Login

New users see prominent buttons on the home page: Sign Up, Login, and Continue as Guest.

• Sign Up: Creates a free account for saving polls, notifications, and history. Enter your email address and click Sign Up—you’ll receive a magic link to verify and access your dashboard.
• Login: Use your email address for a magic link to return to your polls.
• Continue as Guest: Skips account creation; ideal for one-off polls. Your poll link persists for editing and viewing.

[!NOTE] Guest polls are fully functional but not tied to an account initially. Sign up later using the Claim this Poll option on your poll page to save it permanently.

Creating Your First Poll

From the home page or dashboard, click Create New Poll to open the poll editor.

1. Enter a Title (e.g., Team Meeting)—this appears at the top of the poll.
2. Add a Description (optional)—provides context for participants.
3. Input dates or times using the Add Date or Add Time Slot buttons—specify date, start time, and end time in your preferred format.
4. Click Create Poll to generate a unique share link.

Your new poll opens immediately, showing empty results. Copy the Share Link from the top to invite others.

graph TB
  Start["Home Page or Dashboard"] -->|"Click **Create New Poll**"| Editor["Poll Editor"]
  Editor --> Title["Fill **Title**<br/>(required, e.g., *Team Offsite*)"]
  Title --> Desc["Fill **Description**<br/>(optional)"]
  Desc --> Slots["Click **Add Date** or **Add Time Slot**<br/>Enter *date* and *times*"]
  Slots -->|"Click **Create Poll**"| LivePoll["Live Poll Page<br/>Copy **Share Link**"]
  LivePoll -->|"Share link via email/chat"| Invite["Invite Participants"]
  style Editor fill:#e1f5fe
  style LivePoll fill:#c8e6c9

Inviting Participants and Viewing Results

• Paste the Share Link into emails, chats, or messages—no accounts needed for voters.
• On your poll page, results update live: tally Yes, If Need Be, and No votes per option, plus participant names.
• Refresh or leave the tab open to see changes. Use the Results tab for charts and summaries.

Participants access the poll via the link and vote as described below.

How Participants Vote

Anyone with the share link can vote—no signup required.

1. Open the share link and click buttons under each date/time: Yes (available), If Need Be (flexible), or No (unavailable).
2. Click Continue.
3. Enter Name and Email (recommended), then click Submit.
4. Votes appear immediately. To edit, use the dropdown next to your Name and select Edit Response.

graph LR
  subgraph "Voting Phase"
    Link["Open Share Link"] -->|"Toggle buttons"| Select["Select **Yes**/**If Need Be**/**No**<br/>for each option"]
    Select -->|"Click **Continue**"| Details["Enter **Name** and **Email**"]
  end
  Details -->|"Click **Submit**"| Submitted["Vote Recorded<br/>Live Update"]
  Submitted -->|"Use dropdown"| Edit["**Edit Response**<br/>(via cookies or email link)"]
  style Submitted fill:#c8e6c9

[!TIP] Advise participants to enter an email—it emails a direct edit link, preventing loss of edit access.

Troubleshooting

Common issues users encounter when starting out:

Summary

• Start instantly as a guest or sign up with email for persistent polls: click Create New Poll, add details, and share the link.
• Participants toggle Yes/If Need Be/No, enter Name/Email, and submit—results update live.
• Use email for edits to avoid cookie issues.
• Next: Customize polls in Creating and Sharing Polls, manage teams in Spaces and Team Collaboration, or set preferences in User Settings and Preferences.