Google Forms is a free tool for creating surveys, questionnaires, and data collection forms. You can set it up in a few minutes, with no designer or developer needed. But a form people fill out willingly is different from one they close on the first question — and it's not just about design.
In this article, we'll cover how to make a form beautiful, convenient, and useful for working with the data afterward.
Choosing a theme and colors
The first thing a user sees is the visual design. Google Forms offers ready-made themes, but you can adjust them to match your brand. Here's how to choose a scheme:
- Open Google Forms and create a new form.
- Then click the palette icon in the top-right corner.
- In the menu that appears, choose a theme and a color scheme that suit the form.
Two simple rules that work: use colors from your company's brand identity, and avoid overly bright backgrounds — they distract from the questions.
Setting the title and description
Every form starts with a title and a description. This is the first thing users see, so it's important to make this section attractive and informative. Users can add a form title at the top of the page and a description to explain the form's purpose and give people the information they need. Try to keep the title short and clear, and make the description informative without overloading it with detail.
Adding and formatting questions
Now let's move on to creating questions. Google Forms offers a wide range of question types to help you collect the different kinds of data you need.
- Short answer — name, email, phone, any brief data.
- Paragraph — an extended answer. Good for reviews and comments, but don't overuse it: long text fields lower completion rates.
- Multiple choice / checkboxes — for choosing from preset options. Answer options can be illustrated with images. If there are many options, make the list a dropdown.
- Linear scale — a rating from 1 to 5 or 1 to 10. Works well for NPS surveys and satisfaction ratings.
- Multiple-choice grid — several questions with the same answer scale, shown as a table. Handy for comparing several parameters at once.
- Date and time — for booking a meeting, event, or consultation.
- File upload — when you need a document, photo, or other file from the respondent.
Splitting a form into sections or steps
To make your form more structured, you can use sections. This is especially useful for long forms or when you need to split questions into thematic blocks.
To add a new section, just click the two-lines icon in the menu on the right. Questions can be dragged between sections. To set up transitions between steps, you can use the "Go to section based on answer" option. The form's creator needs to choose the question whose answer determines the next step, and specify which section the user should go to depending on their answer.
This kind of structuring makes it easier for users to get through surveys with a large number of questions, and makes surveys where question order matters more effective.
Adding images and videos to Google Forms
Visual elements can significantly improve how your form looks and make it more engaging for users.
- To add an image, click the image or video icon in the menu on the right.
- You can choose a file from Google Drive or from local storage on your computer.
Adding visual elements helps make the form more visually appealing and can help clarify complex questions.
Setting up confirmations and error messages
After users fill out the form, it's important to give them a confirmation that their responses were submitted successfully, or to notify them of an error. These notifications are configured by clicking the gear icon at the top of the page. This way, users will know for sure that their answers were received.
Private surveys
Google Forms lets you create closed (private) surveys that only selected people can access. To create a private survey in Google Forms, open the settings, go to the "Sharing" tab, and enable the "Restrict to users in my organization" option, available for Google Workspace accounts. This way, only users from the selected organization will be able to view and fill out the form.
Testing and a final check
Before sending a form created in Google to users, it's important to test it. The author can fill out the form themselves to make sure all the questions and branching logic work correctly. We also recommend asking colleagues or friends to test the form and give feedback. This final check helps catch potential mistakes and improve the Google Form before launch.
What to do with the responses next
All responses are available in the "Responses" tab, where you can also export them to Google Sheets for analysis.
But forms are often used for more than one-off surveys. Here are a few scenarios where Google Forms works well alongside email campaigns.
Building a subscriber list. A form on the website or on social media collects email addresses, which then go into an ESP and trigger a welcome chain. If you use Letteros, export the addresses from the spreadsheet and upload them to your list via import.
An NPS survey after a purchase or visit. You insert a link to the form in the post-purchase email. The user fills it out, and you see their rating and comment. This is cheaper than dedicated NPS services and good enough for most needs.
A pre-webinar questionnaire. You gather data on the audience's level and expectations, then adjust the program. You insert the form link into the registration confirmation email.
A feedback form. Instead of a "Reply to this email" button, you put a link to a short form with two or three questions in your emails. Responses land in a spreadsheet instead of getting lost in your inbox.
For more on embedding a survey directly into an email without linking out to an external page, read our article on AMP for email: letteros.com/blog/zachem-vnedryat-interaktivnost-v-formate-amp-v-pisma-vozmozhnosti-email-amp-na-primerah/