Start with a blank form or a template
Open Google Forms by going to forms.google.com in your browser. You'll see a gallery of templates on the left side — surveys about customer feedback, event registration, quiz formats, and others. Click any template to start with a pre-built structure, or click the blank form icon (a plus sign in a box) to begin with nothing.
If you choose a template, Google fills in sample questions you can edit or delete. If you start blank, you get an empty form with one text question ready to rename. Either way, you're editing the same thing — a form that lives in your Google Drive and can be shared as a link.
Give your form a title by clicking "Untitled form" at the top. Add a description below it if you want to explain what the form is for. Both are optional, but a clear title helps people understand what they're filling out.
Key Takeaways
- Google Forms starts you with a blank form or a template, and you edit questions by clicking directly on them in the form itself.
- Each question has a type — short answer, multiple choice, dropdown, rating scale, checkboxes, and others — which you change using the dropdown menu on the right side of the question.
- You can make questions required so people cannot submit the form without answering them, using the toggle switch in the bottom right of each question.
- Share your form by clicking the Send button in the top right, then choosing to send a link, embed it on a website, or email it directly to people.
- Responses appear in a Responses tab where you can see individual answers, a summary of all answers, or download the data as a spreadsheet.
Add and edit questions one at a time
Click the plus icon on the left side of the screen to add a new question. A blank question appears at the bottom of your form. Click directly on the question text to type your question — for example, "What is your email address?" or "How satisfied are you with our service?"
Below the question text, you'll see a dropdown menu that says "Short answer" or whatever type the question currently is. Click that dropdown to change the question type. The most common types are short answer (one line of text), paragraph (multiple lines), multiple choice (one answer from a list), checkboxes (multiple answers from a list), and dropdown (one answer from a list that saves space).
For multiple choice, checkboxes, or dropdown questions, you'll see fields that say "Option 1," "Option 2," and so on. Click each one to type the actual choices people will see. Click the plus icon next to the last option to add more choices.
Make questions required and set other rules
On the right side of each question, you'll see a toggle switch labeled "Required." Turn it on if you want people to answer this question before they can submit the form. This is useful for questions like email address or name that you need from everyone.
Some question types have additional options. For example, a short answer question can have a "Response validation" option that checks whether the answer is a valid email address, a number in a certain range, or matches a pattern you specify. Click the three-dot menu in the bottom right of a question to see what options are available for that type.
You can also set a question to show or hide based on someone's answer to a previous question. Click the three-dot menu and choose "Go to section based on answer." This lets you create branching forms where people only see questions that are relevant to them.
Organize questions into sections
If your form is long, you can break it into sections with their own titles and descriptions. Click the section icon (it looks like a document with lines) on the left side to add a section break. A new section appears, and you can type a title and description for it.
Sections make a long form feel shorter because people see one section at a time. You can also use sections with the "Go to section based on answer" feature to skip people ahead — for example, if someone answers "No" to "Do you have a car?", you can send them to a different section that doesn't ask about car details.
Customize the look and feel
Click the paintbrush icon at the top of the form to change colors, fonts, and the header image. You can choose a preset theme or upload your own image to appear at the top. The theme colors apply to buttons and question backgrounds throughout the form.
You can also change the header image by clicking the camera icon in the top banner. Google will suggest images from its library, or you can upload your own. Keep in mind that images make the form slower to load on phones, so use them sparingly if you expect mobile users.
Share your form and collect responses
Click the Send button in the top right. A popup appears with three options: a link you can copy and paste, an email field where you can type addresses to send it to directly, or an embed code you can paste into a website.
The link option is the most flexible — you can share it anywhere: email, text message, social media, a website, or a document. Anyone with the link can fill out your form. If you want to limit who can respond, click the settings icon (gear) at the top, go to the "Responses" section, and change "Collect email addresses" to "Verified Google Account" or "Your organization only."
As people fill out your form, their responses appear in the Responses tab. Click "Summary" to see charts and counts of all answers. Click "Individual" to see each person's complete response. Click the green download icon to save all responses as a Google Sheet, which you can then analyze or share with others.
Common adjustments and fixes
If you want to delete a question, click the trash icon in the bottom right of that question. If you want to move a question to a different spot, click and drag it by the six-dot handle on the left side.
If you need to change your form after people have already started filling it out, you can — Google Forms lets you edit at any time. Changes appear immediately for new responses, but old responses keep their original answers. If you want to prevent new responses, click the settings icon and toggle off "Accepting responses."
If you realize you need to add a question that should have come earlier, you can add it anywhere and then drag it to the right position. You don't have to delete and rebuild.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I make a form that only certain people can fill out?
Yes. Click the settings icon at the top, go to "Responses," and change "Collect email addresses" to "Verified Google Account" or "Your organization only." This means people have to sign into a Google account or your organization's account to respond. You can also share the link only with specific people instead of posting it publicly.
What happens if I need to change a question after people have already answered it?
You can edit the question text, change the type, or add new options at any time. Existing responses keep their original answers — changing the question doesn't change what people already submitted. If you want to start fresh, you can turn off "Accepting responses" and create a new form.
Can I use Google Forms to create a quiz with a score?
Yes. Click the settings icon, go to "Quizzes," and toggle on "Make this a quiz." Then click the three-dot menu on each question and choose "Answer key" to mark the correct answer. Google will automatically score responses and can show people their score or the correct answers after they submit.
How do I download my form responses?
Click the Responses tab, then click the green download icon (three vertical dots with a down arrow). Choose "Download responses (.csv)" to save all answers as a spreadsheet file you can open in Excel or Google Sheets. The file includes one row per person and one column per question.
Can I use the same form multiple times or make a copy?
Yes. Click the three-dot menu at the top right and choose "Make a copy." Google creates a duplicate form with the same questions but no responses. You can then edit it and share it separately. This is useful if you want to run the same survey again or use a form as a template for a new one.