Hi, I’m Gideon, a Glide Certified Expert. Recently, Meledina asked me how to create a rating app in Glide where users can only rate an event a limited number of times. Limiting ratings is crucial for fairness, accurate leaderboards, and meaningful engagement. Without limits, users could repeatedly rate the same item, skewing results or inflating scores.
If you prefer watching a full demonstration, here’s the video tutorial:
Creating a rating system without limits might seem simple, but it can lead to major problems. Users could rate themselves, overrate certain items, or manipulate leaderboards. Limiting ratings ensures:
Fairness for all participants
Accurate scoring and leaderboard positions
A meaningful and engaging user experience
For example, imagine a leaderboard for a company event. Without limits, one user could artificially inflate their own score or skew the results, making the leaderboard meaningless.
Before adding any limits, you need a solid data structure. Typically, a Glide rating app uses three tables:
Items table – the entities being rated, like contacts or events
Companies table – optional, if rating organizations
Ratings table – records each rating with Item ID, User Rated, Rating Value, and timestamp
This structure allows you to track who rated what, calculate averages, and apply limits efficiently. Using row IDs and relations ensures every rating links to the correct item or company.
One of the first constraints to implement is preventing self-rating. This is done in Glide using conditions: the user’s email cannot match the email associated with the item they’re rating. You can also filter collections to hide the user’s own items entirely.
This simple step improves fairness and ensures that leaderboards reflect genuine engagement rather than inflated scores.
Once your data structure is ready and self-rating is blocked, you can build the rating action. Typically, this is done with a form screen. When a user selects an item to rate, Glide records:
The item ID
The signed-in user’s email
The rating value
At this stage, users can submit ratings, but there’s still no limit in place.
To prevent a user from rating the same item multiple times, you can limit ratings by number. Here’s how it works:
Create a relation linking users to their submitted ratings
Use a rollup column to count how many ratings they’ve submitted for each item
Set a math column for the rating limit (e.g., 3 ratings per item)
Use a template column to show progress, like “2 of 3 ratings”
Then, apply a condition to the rating action: users can only submit a rating if they haven’t reached the limit. Once the limit is reached, the rating button can be hidden or replaced with a “Finished” label.
This approach is perfect for scenarios where a fixed number of ratings per user is required, like voting or feedback apps.
In some cases, you may want more flexibility than a fixed number allows. Condition-based limits are ideal for this. For example, you can restrict ratings based on:
Whether a user has already rated an item
Whether the item belongs to the same company as the user
By combining conditions using AND/OR logic in Glide, you can create a highly personalized experience. Condition-based limits are especially useful when different items require different rules, such as allowing multiple ratings for some events but not others.
Users should always know how many ratings they have left. Using a template column, you can display progress like “Rated 2 of 3.” Showing this directly on item cards or leaderboards improves transparency and motivates users to engage responsibly.
Leaderboards can be sorted and filtered to display only items with ratings, or highlight top performers. This ensures the app is visually clear and user-friendly.
For more robust apps, you can:
Filter out self-owned companies to prevent internal bias
Use row IDs for precise tracking of ratings
Keep all ratings in a separate table for easier analytics
Update user-rated columns automatically on form submission
These techniques allow your app to handle complex rating logic without adding confusion for users.
Imagine a company event rating app: Bobby can rate Company A and Company B, but not his own. Christina has a limit of three ratings per company. The app tracks each rating, displays progress like “2 of 3 ratings,” and updates leaderboards automatically. This setup ensures fairness, prevents abuse, and keeps engagement meaningful.
Can users rate themselves?
No, Glide conditions prevent self-ratings.
Can ratings be limited differently for contacts versus companies?
Yes, using separate rollups and math columns.
Do I need advanced Glide skills?
No, basic knowledge of relations, rollups, and conditional actions is enough.
Can the system automatically track ratings?
Yes, rollups count ratings per user and conditions enforce limits automatically.
For a complete walkthrough, including both number-based and condition-based limits, watch my video tutorial:
Limiting user ratings in Glide apps keeps your leaderboards fair, engagement meaningful, and data accurate. By combining number-based and condition-based limits, preventing self-ratings, and showing progress, you can create a reliable rating system that works for events, contacts, or companies.
With the right guidance, you can turn your vision into a real, working app — no code needed.
