How to Add a Feedback Widget to Your Website

You can add a feedback widget to your website by pasting a single <script> tag into your HTML. With Pollenate, the widget loads asynchronously, renders a feedback button, and starts collecting ratings and comments in under five minutes — no build step, no framework, and no backend required.

This guide walks through the fastest way to embed a feedback widget on any site, plus how to customize it, capture the right context, and avoid the mistakes that quietly kill your response rate.

The fastest way to add a feedback widget

Add this snippet just before the closing </body> tag of any page:

<script
  src="https://pollenate.dev/widget.js"
  data-inbox-key="YOUR_INBOX_KEY"
  data-api-key="YOUR_API_KEY"
  data-type="emoji"
  defer
></script>

That's the whole integration. The data-inbox-key tells Pollenate which inbox should receive the feedback, and the data-api-key (with the collect scope) authorizes the submission. The defer attribute keeps the script from blocking your page render.

Because it's a plain script tag, this works identically on static HTML, WordPress, Webflow, Shopify, Ghost, and any server-rendered site.

Which feedback widget type should you use?

Pick the widget type that matches the question you actually want answered:

Widget type	Best for	Question it answers
Emoji	Overall sentiment, fast reactions	"How was your experience?"
Thumbs	Docs and help articles	"Was this helpful?"
Stars	Products, features, content	"Rate your experience"
NPS	Loyalty and word-of-mouth	"How likely are you to recommend us?"
CSAT	Support and transactions	"How satisfied are you?"
Text	Open-ended insight	"Tell us what you think"

Set the type with the data-type attribute (emoji, thumbs, stars, nps, csat, or text). You can run different widget types on different pages from the same inbox.

How do you customize the widget's look?

Pollenate widgets are fully themeable through JSON theme tokens, so you can match your brand colors, fonts, corner radius, and placement. The widget also respects the visitor's dark-mode preference automatically.

The most common customizations are:

• Position — anchor the launcher to any corner of the viewport.
• Colors — set brand, text, and surface tokens to match your design system.
• Copy — change the prompt, thank-you message, and button label.
• Trigger — show the widget on a timer, on scroll depth, or only on specific routes.

How do you capture context with each submission?

Raw scores are far more useful when they carry context. Pass metadata so every response arrives tagged with the page, release, and user segment it came from:

<script
  src="https://pollenate.dev/widget.js"
  data-inbox-key="YOUR_INBOX_KEY"
  data-api-key="YOUR_API_KEY"
  data-type="nps"
  data-meta-plan="pro"
  data-meta-version="2026.6"
  defer
></script>

Pollenate automatically records the page URL, referrer, and user agent. Adding your own fields — plan tier, account ID, experiment variant — lets you slice feedback by exactly the segments you care about later.

How do you act on feedback in real time?

Listen for the pollenate:submit event to trigger your own behavior the moment someone responds — fire an analytics event, show a follow-up, or route detractors to support:

window.addEventListener('pollenate:submit', (event) => {
  console.log('New feedback:', event.detail);
});

For automated follow-up, create an automation rule in your dashboard so low scores or written comments instantly trigger an email, Slack message, or webhook.

Common mistakes that lower response rates

• Asking too early. Trigger the widget after a meaningful interaction, not on page load.
• Asking too much. Lead with one tap (emoji, thumbs, or stars); make the comment optional.
• Forgetting mobile. Test the launcher position so it never covers a key button or your cookie banner.
• Ignoring the replies. Set up an automation so feedback reaches a human quickly — a fast response is the best reason for users to keep giving it.

Next steps

Once your widget is live, the natural next step is a standalone Feedback Page for longer surveys you can share by link, QR code, or email. Both feed the same real-time dashboard, so all of your feedback stays in one place.