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 — "Blank," "Customer feedback," "Event feedback," and others. Click the blank form icon to start from nothing, or pick a template that matches what you're building. Templates save time because they come with question types and formatting already in place.

If you choose a template, you'll land in the editor with sample questions already there. Delete the ones you don't need and edit the rest. If you start blank, you'll see an empty form with one text field ready for your title.

Name your survey and add a description

Click the title field at the top and type the name of your survey. This is what people see first, so make it clear — "Customer Feedback on Our Website" works better than "Survey 1."

Below the title, click the description field and add context if you need it. Explain why you're asking, how long it takes, or what you'll do with the answers. This step is optional, but it helps people understand what they're walking into.

Key Takeaways

  • Google Forms lets you build surveys free and share them by link, email, or embedded on a website without needing to code.
  • Question types include multiple choice, checkboxes, short answer, paragraph, dropdown, linear scale, and ranking — pick the type that matches what you're asking.
  • You can make questions required, shuffle answer options, and set up branching logic so people skip questions that don't apply to them.
  • Responses land in a spreadsheet automatically, and Google Forms shows you charts and summaries without extra steps.
  • Share your form by copying the link, sending an email invitation, or embedding it on your website — people don't need a Google account to answer.

Add questions and pick the right question type

Click the plus icon on the left to add a new question. A text field appears where you type your question. Below that, you'll see a dropdown that says "Multiple choice" — click it to see all the question types available.

Multiple choice gives people one answer to pick from a list. Checkboxes let them pick more than one. Short answer is a single line of text. Paragraph is a larger text box for longer responses. Dropdown shows a list that people click to open. Linear scale is a numbered range (1 to 5, for example). Ranking lets people put options in order. Date and Time are self-explanatory. File upload lets people attach a document or image.

Pick the type that matches what you're asking. If you want to know someone's age group, use multiple choice or a dropdown. If you want their thoughts on a product, use a paragraph. If you want to measure satisfaction on a scale, use linear scale.

Make questions required and add answer options

For multiple choice, checkboxes, or dropdown questions, click "Add option" to type each answer choice. You can add as many as you need. If you want to shuffle the order so people see options in random order each time, click the three-dot menu next to the question and turn on "Shuffle option order."

To make a question required, toggle the switch at the bottom right of the question card that says "Required." When it's on, people can't submit the form without answering that question. Use this sparingly — required questions can frustrate people and cause them to abandon the survey.

If you want to add an "Other" option that lets people type in their own answer, click "Add 'Other'" at the bottom of the options list.

Set up branching logic to skip irrelevant questions

Branching logic means people only see questions that apply to them. For example, if you ask "Do you own a car?" and someone says no, you can skip the question "What brand is your car?" entirely.

To set this up, click the three-dot menu on a question and select "Go to section based on answer." Pick which answer should trigger the skip, then choose where people go next — to the next question, to a later section, or to the end of the form. This keeps surveys shorter and more relevant for each person.

Customize the look and share your form

Click the paint palette icon at the top to change colors, fonts, and the header image. You can upload your own image or pick from Google's library. Keep the design simple so it's easy to read on phones and computers.

When you're ready to send it out, click the send button (arrow icon) at the top right. You can copy the link and paste it anywhere, send it by email, or get an embed code to put the form on your website. People don't need a Google account to answer — they can fill it out and submit with just a click.

View and analyze your responses

Responses appear in the "Responses" tab at the top. Google Forms shows you a summary with charts for multiple choice and scale questions, plus a count of how many people answered each question. Click "Individual" to see each person's full response, or click the green sheets icon to open all responses in a Google Sheet where you can sort and filter.

You can download responses as a CSV file to use in Excel or another program. If you need to stop collecting responses, click the three-dot menu in the Responses tab and turn off "Accepting responses."

Frequently Asked Questions

Do people need a Google account to fill out my survey?

No. Anyone with the link can answer your survey without signing in. If you want to limit responses to people in your organization, you can change the sharing settings to require a Google account from your domain, but that's optional.

Can I edit my survey after people start answering?

Yes. You can add, delete, or reword questions at any time. Existing responses won't change, but new responses will follow the updated questions. Avoid deleting questions if you want to keep your data consistent.

How do I prevent people from taking the survey twice?

Click the three-dot menu at the top and turn on "Limit to 1 response." This restricts each person to one submission per email address or device. Without this setting, the same person can submit multiple times.

Can I make my survey anonymous?

Yes. By default, Google Forms doesn't collect email addresses. If you turned on email collection in the settings, turn it off to keep responses anonymous. Click the three-dot menu and look for "Collect email addresses" — toggle it off.

What happens if I share my form on social media?

Anyone who clicks the link can see and answer your survey. There's no limit on how many people can respond unless you set one. Keep in mind that responses are tied to the device or email used, so the same person could answer multiple times if they use different devices.