How to Create a Survey in Google Forms [Step-by-Step Guide]

Even with a powerful tool like Google Forms, your survey can only go as far as your design. The good thing is, creating a Google Form can be simple and efficient without the hassle of familiarizing yourself with all the tools and settings of the app.

In this article, we’ll give you a step-by-step guide on how to create a survey in Google Forms, how to share your form, and tips you can follow to make your survey more goal-oriented and professional-looking.

How to Create a Survey in Google Forms

Knowing how to make a survey on Google Forms will help you collect and view responses with valuable information for your business, academic, or personal projects. Creating forms is easy and straightforward with its user-friendly interface, versatile features, and real-time collaboration capabilities.

Here’s a quick step-by-step guide on how to create a Google Form survey:

Step 1. Accessing Google Forms

To get started, sign in to your Google account to access forms.google.com.

Step 2. Creating a New Form

Under the “Start a new form” section, click on the + sign, which represents the blank form option to create a new survey in Google Forms. Alternatively, you can select a Google Form template among the available ones. For this example, we created a new blank form.

Step 3. Naming Your Survey

Rename your survey title by clicking the first section under “Untitled form.” You can also fill out the “Form description” under the title to include more details. Use this section to enter the form’s purpose and other information you want your recipients to know about in your survey.

Step 4. Adding or Editing A Question

Your form has one question loaded by default. You can either delete it or edit it as one of your questions. Adding the right questions is the first step to using Google Forms for a survey and what will distinguish it from a quiz or a generic form.

You will also see a vertical menu on the right-hand side of your form. On the menu, you can choose among the following elements to add to your survey:

1. Add question – This element is represented with a plus sign inside a circle. It adds a new question in the default format of an editable question and a multiple choice answer option.
2. Import questions – If you have another survey form available, you can import a question from that form to your current survey using this option.
3. Add title and description – This allows you to add another title and description section.
4. Add image – If you want to elaborate your survey question using an image, you can use this option to upload photos to your survey.
5. Add video – This allows you to embed a video into your form and add an accompanying description.
6. Add section – If your survey discusses different topics, you can add a new section to organize your questions for each topic.

Additionally, you can do the following to the questions you’ve already created:

• Make the response to a question mandatory by ticking the “Required” slider at the bottom of the question box.

• Delete a question by clicking the “Delete” option (a trash icon) on the bottom of the question box.
• Duplicate a question by clicking the “Copy” icon on the bottom part of the question box.

Step 5. Editing Answer Options

Google Forms allows different types of responses per question, such as multiple choice and long or short-form answers. To change the answer type for each question, simply follow the steps below:

1. Click the question you want to edit.

2. On the right-hand side of the question, click on the dropdown menu (where Multiple choice is selected by default).

3. Select the appropriate answer type you want to receive from your respondents.

Here, you choose the appropriate answer option depending on what answer you want to receive for your question:

• Short answer: This allows respondents to type a one-line answer.

• Paragraph: This allows respondents to type a paragraph-length answer.

• Multiple choice: This presents a list of multiple choice options that you have entered so your respondents can choose one answer among the different choices.

• Checkboxes: This allows respondents to select multiple answers from the options provided.

• Dropdown: The answer would be selected from a dropdown menu of options.

• File upload: This allows you to request to upload an external file (e.g., images or documents) to answer the question.

• Linear scale: Provide a linear scale where the respondent can choose a point on a numeric or qualitative scale.

• Multiple choice grid: This provides different options in different columns, allowing respondents to mix and match their answers.

• Checkbox grid: Create a checkbox grid where the respondents can select multiple answers corresponding to the rows and columns provided.

• Date: The answer must be a specific date.

• Time: The answer must be a specific time.

For answers requiring multiple options, you can delete an option by clicking on the X icon on the right side of that answer.

Step 6. Customizing Your Survey

By customizing your survey, you can demonstrate how to create a Google Forms survey that’s more visually appealing and attractive to recipients. Google Forms also allows you to change your font header, questions, other texts, and color theme and to add a header image to your survey.

To get started, click the palette icon on the right-hand side of the Google Forms Main Menu.

If you do not want to customize your Google survey, skip this step.

Step 7. Sharing Your Google Forms Survey

Once you have filled out your survey with all the questions and appropriate answer options, you can share it with your respondents. To get started, click the “Send” icon on the right side of the top menu of your survey.

Then, choose among these three methods you can use to share your Google survey:

Share Your Survey Via Email

Google Forms can share your survey as an email for you. This is useful if you already have a list of respondents with their email addresses. To send your form via email, here’s how to do it:

1. Enter the respondents’ email, separating each email with a comma.

2. Enter an email subject and type your message body. This is usually an engaging copy explaining what your survey is about.

3. If you want to include the form in the email, select the “Include form in email” checkbox. Do not tick the checkbox if you do not wish to include the form in the email.

4. Once you’re done, click the “Send” button at the window’s bottom-right corner.

Share Your Survey Via Link

Another option for sharing your survey is by a link, which can be helpful when you want to include your form in a social media post, comment, email, or other applicable outlets. To get the link for your survey, simply follow these steps:

1. Select the “Link” tab on the “Send via” options.

2. Here, you have the option to shorten your URL. If you want to shorten your URL, tick the “Shorten URL” checkbox. If not, proceed to the next step.

3. Click the “Copy” button on the bottom-right corner of your screen.

Once you’ve copied the URL link for your survey, you can paste it wherever you want to share your form.

Share Your Survey Via HTML Code Snippet

If you want to attach your survey to your blog or website, Google Forms provides a code snippet you can incorporate into your website. However, this requires web development skills to accomplish.

Setting Email Notifications When Someone Answers Your Survey

You can choose to receive email notifications when someone answers your Google Form survey. Set up your email notifications by following these simple steps:

1. Click the “Responses” tab in your form.

2. Click the “vertical ellipsis” (three vertical dots) on the right-hand side of the responses box, and a drop-down menu will appear.

3. Select “Get email notifications for new responses” on the drop-down menu. If you click the vertical ellipses again, you should now see a checkmark on the left-hand side of the option.

Note: You can preview your survey before sending it to your respondents. This way, you can double-check for any typos or customization errors.

Other Tips on Creating Google Forms and Managing Responses

Knowing how to make a poll on Google Forms is only the first step in gathering the data. Your form and the responses it collects should work hand in hand to give you the correct information that your brand or company’s goals require.

Here are some tips for creating a goal-oriented poll and managing the responses in Google Forms:

• Define your goals for creating your form – Before creating your poll, you can take notes about the exact information you are trying to gather using your survey. Then, focus on your goals and determine what questions you need to ask to achieve them.
• Choose the appropriate answer type – The importance of your question relies on the right answer. With the variety of answer types available in Google Forms (multiple choice, short answer, checkboxes, etc.), you must evaluate which answer type is most appropriate for each question.
• Make your questions concise and easy to understand – Keep each question centered on gathering specific information from your respondent. Avoid asking questions that are too complex or long. This will help your respondents complete the survey more quickly while giving you more concise answers.
• Customize your form – Customizing your form is an engaging way to make a Google Forms survey more pleasing to the eyes. Changing your survey form’s theme to match your brand and style will also help with brand consistency and recognition.
• Track your responses – As responses come in, you should track the survey results to see how your respondents receive your poll. This way, you can know if you need to revise your questions or send them to others for more responses.
• Use analysis tools – Quantitatively analyzing your form responses is a helpful way to interpret the data from your respondents. Google Forms’ built-in analysis tools are readily available for each survey form with responses. Create charts, graphs, or other visual representations to understand the data better. You can also connect your Google Form survey to Google Sheets to maximize Google Sheets’ features.

By following these tips, you will know how to use Google Forms for surveys more effectively while managing the form responses more efficiently.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I Add Multimedia to the Questions?

Yes. You can easily add images and videos to your Google Forms survey to make your questions more informative and engaging.

Is Google Forms Survey Free?

Yes. Google Forms is a free poll survey creation tool provided by Google.

Is There a Survey Template in Google Forms?

Yes. Google Forms offers several templates for surveys, quizzes, and other kinds of forms with a set of predefined questions included.

Is Google Surveys and Google Forms the Same?

Google Forms is an online tool used to create forms and surveys. Google Surveys is a different product published by Google. It is a market research tool that allows you to create and conduct surveys online.

Wrapping Up

Google Forms is a powerful and flexible tool for gathering information from your target respondents. With its easy-to-use interface and customization options, you can design a survey that meets your specific needs and goals.

If you want to learn more about Google Forms and other Google apps in Google Workspace, consider taking online courses on GSuite today to expand your knowledge and skills.

Want to become a pro in Google Forms and Sheets? Take our masterclass!

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