How to build a rating system in Bubble

The simplest valid way to build a rating system in Bubble is to create a data type called Rating (with fields like score, rater, and thing being rated) and then, when a user clicks a star, you create or update a Rating entry. Then you display the average rating by doing a search for all Ratings for that thing and using :avg. This approach works for star ratings, thumbs‑up, or any score system.

Core Structure

You need one data type that stores each rating as its own record. This avoids overwriting ratings and prevents one user from rating multiple times unless you allow it.

• Create a data type Rating.
• Add fields: score (number), rater (User), item (your data type being rated).
• On the item’s page, add icons or elements for selecting a score (e.g., stars).

Submitting a Rating

When the user clicks a rating element, you run a workflow that first checks if they already created a rating for this item. If yes, update it. If not, create one.

• Use Do a search for Rating:first item with constraints rater = Current User and item = Current Page Item.
• If the result is empty, create a new Rating.
• If it’s not empty, make changes to it.

// Example of average rating in a text element
Search for Ratings:item = Current Page Item's Rating's score:avg

Displaying the Rating

To show the average score, place a text element and use the :avg operator. For star visuals, use a group of icons whose color is conditional based on whether the star index is less than the average.

• Text: Search for Ratings with item = Current Page Item → score → :avg
• Stars: Each icon’s conditional formatting checks if its number ≤ average.

Privacy Rules

Make sure users can only modify their own ratings. In the Privacy tab, for the Rating type, add a rule where This Rating's rater is Current User and give edit rights only there.