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Get the Widget

Spread awareness by adding polls and bills that matter to you on your website. If you own a blog or website and want to seamlessly integrate this functionality into your site's look and feel, create one using the step-by-step instructions below. It's free and easy!

What is a widget? In the world of web development, a widget is a piece of self-enclosed code which can be embedded into a website or program to perform a specific function. Many websites will use widgets to increase their functionality and customizability. Also, many bloggers and users of social networking sites will use widgets to make their sites more entertaining and interesting for their users.

How to Download the Visible Vote Widget

  1. You must download Visible Vote for Facebook to create and edit the widget. To do this, be sure that you are logged in to your Facebook account. If you already have Visible Vote for Facebook, skip to step 8.
  2. In the Search field at the top of the screen, type Visible Vote, and click on the magnifying glass.
  3. In the search results, you should see Visible Vote listed under Applications. Click on View Application.
  4. You should now see a screen similar to the one below. Click on Go to Application (underneath the Visible Vote logo).
  5. On the next screen you will see a shaded box. Click anywhere in the shaded box to be taken to the following screen.
  6. To complete the download, click on Allow. This will link your account to Visible Vote for Facebook.
  7. On the Getting Started screen, enter your zip code (including the last four digits if you can). Read over the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. If you agree with this policy, mark the checkbox. Then scroll down and click on Continue.
  8. You should now see the home page for Visible Vote for Facebook.
  9. Toward the upper right side, click on Get the Widget.
  10. Enter a name for your widget (example: Campaign Widget or Blog Widget). Click on Create New Widget.
  11. From this point, you can begin to build your widget. In the Edit Your Widget section, enter a display title for your widget. For example, you can enter “Vote on Bills” or “Vote on Polls” or “Vote on Bills & Polls”. If necessary, you can adjust the width and height. You can also choose whether or not to show bill highlights (recommended). If you are a website designer, or feel comfortable with cascading style sheets, you may want to check out the advanced features.
  12. In the Items in your Widget section, you will start to add bill/poll questions that you want to feature on your website.
    • To add a bill, you can search for it by number, topic or name. You can also click on Display Major Bills for a list of the top 50 most popular bills in Visible Vote (as voted on by our users). When you find the bill you are looking for, click Add and you will see your itemized list of bills begin.
    • To add a poll, you can search for it by topic or name*. (*Note: only Visible Vote portal customers are able to create and edit polls. The Visible Vote portal is available to congressional campaigns, legislative offices and state political parties.) Click the Save & Preview button at any time to view your widget.
  13. After you have added all of the bills and polls that are important to you, look at the order listed under Items in your Widget. This is the order that the questions will be asked in when the widget is displayed on your website. If you would like to rearrange the order, click on the double arrow in the lower right corner of the bill/poll question. Hold your mouse and drag the question to the place you would like it to be.
  14. Express YOUR viewpoint on a bill/poll by clicking Add a Custom Note (within each itemized question). This section is optional. Click the Save & Preview button at any time to view your work.
  15. When your widget is complete, click on Get the Code in the preview box. Copy and paste this code into your blog or website. You may need to contact your web designer for specific questions about this process.
  16. Editing your Widget:
    Should you ever need to edit the widget you created, just come back to the Visible Vote for Facebook page, and click on Get the Widget. Click on the widget name, and then you will be able to add/edit the questions and fields within it.