- May 25
- 13 min read
Creating a petition is a powerful way to make a change in your community. Gathering signatures helps you build strength in numbers and gives friends, followers, and fellow community members a platform to support your cause. Today, online petitions have mostly replaced pen-and-paper versions since they’re easy to share—and studies show they are more than three times as likely to attract media attention. Using a website builder, you can start your own petition to collect digital signatures and spread the word, from researching your cause to building awareness and momentum. In this guide, we’ll show you 10 easy steps to start a petition and create a petition website.
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TL;DR: how to start a petition
A petition website makes it easy to rally support, collect signatures and share your cause online. From setting clear goals to designing your site and spreading the word, you can organize your campaign and engage supporters quickly and effectively.
Key features of a petition website
Feature | Why it’s important |
Customizable homepage | Showcases your cause and story to engage visitors immediately |
Signature form | Collects digital signatures and supporter information efficiently |
Social sharing buttons | Lets supporters easily share your petition on social media |
Progress tracker | Displays signature counts and milestones to motivate supporters |
Mobile-friendly design | Ensures your site works on phones and tablets for all users |
How to start a petition in 10 steps
Let’s walk through how to start a petition in 10 simple steps. From planning your cause to getting support online, we’ll show you everything you need to know.
01. Research your cause
The first step in starting a petition is to have a thorough understanding of the cause. If you want people to take you seriously and lend their support, you’ll need to get the facts right. Do your research by speaking to relevant lawmakers, community members or anyone else who may be involved. You should also refer to reputable news sources and reading material. This will help you approach the petition from a strategic angle and articulate your position more clearly.
If you’re petitioning for a change in government policy or law, take note of any government regulations regarding the petition process, either at the local, state or national level. Depending on these legal guidelines, you may need a specific number of signatures before your efforts are deemed valid.
You’ll also need to research who is in charge of the issues at hand. If your petition targets the wrong people, they may not have the authority to accommodate your proposal, even if they side with your perspective.
Finally, take note of where you’ll need to submit the petition once your desired number of signatures has been collected.
02. Identify your goal
A petition isn’t simply a complaint; on the contrary, it’s a demand to achieve a goal. Because of this, it’s important to use your research to develop an informed idea of what, specifically, you’re aiming to accomplish.
First, confirm that the change you’re asking for doesn’t already exist. Maybe it does, and there are other obstacles that prevent it from being enforced. If that’s the case, you’ll need to shift the angle of your proposal.
Second, offer a solution that is straightforward, quantifiable and concrete. Spell out exactly what you want so that your audience can’t circumvent your proposal with a half-hearted compromise. Be sure to be as direct and transparent as possible by explicitly writing out your goal and demands on your petition website.
03. Name your project
To make your petition easier to identify and discuss, give it a name. Your title should:
Include a catchphrase (similar to a slogan) associated with your cause.
Identify the target of your petition.
Use active verbs that call your supporters to action.
Beyond a memorable name, your petition needs a strong headline. The headline is the first thing potential signers read, and it determines whether they keep scrolling or click sign. Start with an action verb such as Stop, Save, Ban, Change, Grant, Oppose, or Add, and follow it with the specific outcome you want. “Save the Riverside Library from closure” is more compelling than “Help the library.” Name the target, the people affected, and the requested change in a single line if possible. Avoid all-caps and stacked exclamation points; they read as sensationalized and tend to lower signatures rather than raise them. Keep the headline concise but rich in the specifics that make your cause feel real to a stranger.
Relatedly, you’ll need to choose a domain name for your petition website, since that’s the primary way people will learn about and share your message. Be sure to check the availability of your preferred domain names to ensure there isn’t already something similar that people can get confused with.
04. Choose a strategic design
Once you’ve dug deep into the issues you’re aiming to tackle and identified your goals, it’s time to learn how to make a website. Given the urgency of many petitions, you have two fast options: use Wix’s AI Website Builder, which generates a personalized site through a quick chat about your cause and design preferences, or pick a pre-built template designed by Wix’s professional designers and customize it. Both are fully editable in the Wix Editor.
Like with all types of websites, you’ll also want your color scheme to strongly reflect your messaging and accurately represent the issue at hand. Do you want to evoke feelings of optimism and hope, urgency or solemnity? Using color psychology, you can strategically select colors that add to the impact of your petition website and inspire empathy for your cause.
For additional inspiration on how to design for a good cause, take a look at this collection of the best nonprofit websites as well as these nonprofit website templates.
Learn more: Cost to create a website
05. Create a clear and powerful homepage
Your homepage will be many people’s first encounter with your petition. To persuade them to sign, this page should be informative and inspiring.
In addition to displaying the name of your cause, the site’s homepage should include:
A clear description of the issue, as well as your mission and goals.
Images that depict the problem.
A call-to-action (CTA) that prompts users to sign and takes them directly to the relevant form.
The bottom line is to make your petition website as easy as possible for people to browse and understand. By improving your website navigation and creating a seamless user flow, you’ll increase the chances that site visitors will read about your cause and leave their signature in support.
Picking the right image for your petition
A single strong image will outperform a busy collage every time. The most effective petition images are close-up, simple in composition, and capture clear emotion in a person, animal, or place tied to your cause. Avoid overlaying logos, text, or graphics on the photo itself; clean images consistently get more signatures than designed ones. If your petition targets a specific company, public figure, or location, use a recognizable photo of that subject to anchor the cause visually.
If you do not have your own photograph, sites like Unsplash and Flickr offer free images you can use, but check the licensing first and stick to images marked with a Creative Commons license that allows reuse. Aim for at least 1600 by 900 pixels so the image stays sharp on large screens and looks clean when shared on social media. The same image will appear in social previews, so picking one that holds attention in a feed is just as important as picking one that fits your homepage.
06. Write a statement of purpose
Like a mission statement, a statement of purpose outlines your mission and goals. By explaining the nature of the problem, why it needs to be fixed and your proposed solution, this statement helps put your petition website in context and persuade potential signees.
To make this text as effective as possible, it should be concise and easy to skim read. Include straightforward information and relevant facts that tell a clear, logical story. At the same time, avoid bogging down your explanation with details, as this may confuse your audience or cause them to lose interest.
Finally, cite your references. Not only is this a good practice when sharing other people’s information, but it also adds credibility to your cause.
Choose the right decision maker for your petition
A petition is most effective when it’s addressed to a specific person who has the authority to act on it, not a group or institution. Instead of writing “Springfield City Government,” name the actual mayor. Instead of “the Department of Education,” name the superintendent or board chair. Naming a real person creates accountability and gives your supporters someone concrete to direct their pressure toward.
When choosing your decision maker, look for someone directly responsible for the outcome you want. A direct line is faster: a city council member who chairs the transportation committee can move a bike-lane proposal much more quickly than the mayor’s office can. For policy issues, that usually means an elected official; for company or workplace issues, it’s often a department head or executive.
Once you’ve identified them, gather their contact information so your supporters can reach them. Search LinkedIn for their professional email, check the contact page on their official website, or scan PDF documents like board minutes and conference programs where email addresses are often listed. If those fail, call their office directly and ask which email address is best for constituent or customer correspondence. Include this address visibly on your petition page so supporters can follow up beyond their signature.
07. Create a form for signatures
At the heart of your petition is your signature database - the collection of all the people who have signed up in support of your cause. To obtain these signatures, you’ll need a dedicated form on your website for people to leave their name, as well as other details like their email address and comments.
You can do this by adding Wix Forms directly onto your petition website. In the Wix Editor, click Add Elements, then Contact & Forms, then Create New Form, and drag the form onto your page. Customize the design and submission fields in the form builder. All submissions are automatically saved to the Forms & Submissions tab in your site’s dashboard, where you can view the full list of names and information entered.
You can export your submissions as a CSV file from the Forms & Submissions table at any time, or set up a Wix Automation to send each new submission straight to a Google Sheet, which is useful for tracking signature counts and sharing the list with collaborators.
Bot signups and duplicate entries can undermine the credibility of your petition when you present it to a decision maker. Wix Forms includes built-in spam filters, including reCAPTCHA protection, that screen out automated submissions before they reach your dashboard. For sensitive campaigns, you can also require an email confirmation step, which adds one extra click for signers but makes each signature traceable to a real address. Keeping your signature list clean from the start is far easier than auditing it later when you’re preparing the petition for delivery.
08. Include social share buttons
Social sharing is a critical part of raising awareness about your petition. Not only should you promote your petition website on your own social channels, but you should also encourage supporters to spread the word to their followers.
For that reason, it’s critical to add a variety of social share buttons to your site. Place these buttons prominently on your homepage, as well as next to the sign-up form, to encourage supporters to sign and share.
09. Spread the word
To grab the attention of potential signees, improve your website’s searchability. You can do this by boosting your website’s SEO, or search engine optimization. This important practice makes it easier for your site to get found on Google and other search engines, increasing the chances that people will navigate to your website and sign the form.
Additionally, couple your SEO efforts with a social media marketing strategy. Share your petition on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and other platforms to raise awareness for the cause and get more signatures. Be sure to use hashtags strategically, as this will help you reach people who aren’t connected with you on social media but who may be interested in your cause.
Finally, make sure your petition website is mobile-friendly. Many supporters will visit and sign your petition from their phones or tablets, so having a responsive design ensures a smooth experience and higher conversion rates.
"If your site isn’t mobile-friendly, it’s not search-friendly. At Wix, we design with mobile performance in mind—because great SEO starts with a seamless experience on every device." -Sharon Hafuta, SEO blog editor at Wix
10. Keep supporters in the loop
After people have signed your petition, you don’t want to simply let them go. On their end, they’ll want to stay updated and informed about your petition’s progress, especially if it’s for a cause they particularly care about. On your end, you want to retain these supporters as people you can reach out to if you need extra hands to help promote this or future efforts.
Using the contact details in your site’s database, send email newsletters to your signees about how your work is progressing. You can also create a free blog to write updates on your site, tell the story behind your efforts, and detail other ways your supporters can help.
Finally, include supplementary resources to rally additional supporters and build an online community. Create a Wix Groups community on your site where supporters can engage with one another, share ideas, and stay coordinated around the cause. You might also try creating other content formats, such as podcasts, webinars, or vlogs, to provide more information about your petition.
Deliver your petition to the decision maker
Collecting signatures is the visible part of a petition, but delivery is what turns a list of names into action. Once you’ve reached your signature goal, prepare a clean version of the petition for delivery: include the headline, the statement of purpose, the total signature count, and the full list of signers if your campaign has agreed to share names publicly.
Email the petition to the decision maker first, attaching it as a PDF and copying any relevant secondary contacts such as committee members, communications staff, or local journalists who have covered the issue. For higher-stakes campaigns, request a brief in-person or virtual meeting to deliver the petition, often more memorable and harder to ignore than an email alone. If the decision maker is a government body that holds public comment periods, time your delivery to coincide with a vote, hearing, or council meeting where the petition can be referenced in the record.
After delivery, follow up. Public officials often respond to persistence as much as to volume, and signers will want to know what happened with their signature. Share the response (or lack of one) with your supporters and outline the next steps you’ll take if the request was not granted.
How to start a local petition in your city or county
To start a local petition you need to clearly define your issue and planned outcome, just as you would with any petition. It's then a good idea to investigate if similar petitions exist and understand your local government's requirements for petition submission.
Then write a compelling statement detailing the issue, why it matters and the requested action. Petitions need signatures. Use both digital platforms and face-to-face interactions to garner the support you need. Ensure you meet the required number of signatures.
Submit your petition to the appropriate local government body. This could be your city or county council. Always keep signatories updated on the petition's progress and next steps. If necessary, arrange a public meeting or council hearing about the issue.
How to start a petition on social media
Once you've created a petition, social media can be an effective way to get it in front of a lot of people, fast. Start with a compelling description explaining the issue, why it matters and the change you're advocating for.
Then share the link to your petition on all your social media accounts (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram) and ask people to sign and share. Always respond to comments and messages from supporters to keep them engaged. Regularly update followers about the progress of the petition.
Once you reach your signature goal, present the petition to the decision-maker and share the outcome with your supporters.
Core elements of a strong petition
A strong petition has a clear and concise message, a compelling call to action, and is easy to sign. Here are some core elements to keep in mind when writing a petition:
Start with a clear and concise message. What is the issue that you are petitioning about? Why is it important? Be sure to state your message in a way that is easy to understand and that will resonate with your audience. Avoid using jargon or technical language that your audience may not understand. People are more likely to read and sign a petition that is short and to the point.
Make it easy to sign. The easier it is for people to sign your petition, the more likely they are to do so. Include a clear and concise signature form, and make sure that the form is accessible to people with disabilities.
Include a compelling call to action. What do you want your readers to do after they read your petition? Do you want them to sign it, donate money, or contact their elected officials? Make sure your call to action is clear and easy to follow.
Personalize your petition. Address your petition to a specific audience, such as your elected officials, your company's CEO, or a community organization. This will help to make your petition more relevant and persuasive.
Use strong visuals. Visuals can help to make your petition more engaging and persuasive. Use images, infographics, or videos to illustrate your message and to make your petition more visually appealing.
Proofread your petition carefully. Typos and grammatical errors will make your petition look unprofessional and will undermine your credibility. Be sure to proofread your petition carefully before you publish it.
How to start a petition FAQ
What makes a petition legal?
In the US, for a petition. to be legal it must be submitted to the appropriate authority who can take action on it. It must also not request for anything illegal and comply with all relevant local and national laws. It must be signed and those who signed must be qualified to do so. It must have a clear purpose and call for action. Everything it contains must be accurate and truthful. Often for a petition to be legal it may need to be submitted within a specific time frame, depending on what it's asking for or to happen.
How to file a petition?
The process for filing a petition will vary according to the type of petition being submitted and in which state. Generally the process will involve submitting the petition online, or through a specific form sent and submitted to the specific office who can hear the petition. The process may also require you to submit supporting documents to build a case for your petition request and you may need to pay a filing fee.
How to create a petition online?
One of the easiest and quickest ways to create a petition online is with a website. It's easy to build, with the right website builder, and then easy to share to get people to sign it.
How many signatures does a petition need?
The number of signatures a petition needs depends on its nature and target. For official governmental petitions, there may be set requirements. For example, a petition needs 100,000 signatures to be considered for debate in the UK Parliament, whereas in the U.S., the White House requires 100,000 signatures within 30 days for a response. For petitions aimed at influencing private entities or raising awareness, there isn't a fixed threshold. However, the more signatures a petition has, the stronger the perceived public support and the more likely it is to make an impact or gain the target's attention.
