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Step one: choose where the prompt appears
Place the rating at the moment a person has enough experience to judge. For an online course, that is the end of a lesson, not the landing page. Worked example: a video editing course adds a five-star prompt beneath each lesson video, with one optional comment box that appears only after a rating is chosen. Keep the prompt to a single question, such as how useful was this lesson. Avoid popups that interrupt viewing. A fixed location at the end of content trains returning visitors to expect it and raises the share who respond.
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Step two: pick a scale people understand
Decide the scale before building anything, because changing it later breaks comparisons. Five stars are familiar and quick; a ten-point scale gives finer detail but slows answers. In the course example, five stars are enough, with labels on hover such as not useful and very useful so each star carries the same meaning for everyone. Decide whether half stars are allowed and whether visitors can change their answer. Store each rating with the lesson identifier and date so averages can later be split by lesson, month or instructor.
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Step three: display the meter honestly
Show the average together with the number of ratings, because a 4.8 from three people means little. In the course example, the lesson page displays a compact meter with the average, the count and a small bar breakdown by star level. Hide the average until a minimum number of ratings exists, perhaps five, and show a message like collecting feedback instead. Review the lowest-rated lessons weekly, note what changed after edits and watch whether scores move. A meter is useful when it triggers a decision, not when it only decorates the page.