Google Forms allows you to create various surveys, polls, quizzes, tests, and more. Sometimes taking long surveys can be boring for some people and they give up without finishing them. This is not good when you need to collect important data or need a response to your invitation to a social event. For this reason, Google Forms introduced conditional questions.
With this feature, you can adjust the questions and make your survey more efficient. This provides useful information, considering that your next question is based on your previous answer. This way, your respondents won’t have to answer unnecessary questions and you won’t waste their time.
Continue reading to learn how to use this feature in Google Forms.
Understand how Google Forms work
Google Forms can be confusing if you’ve never used the app before or want to create a complex survey. For beginners, this software offers templates to get started or you can opt for a blank form and create your questionnaire from scratch. Some templates you can use are RSVP, time off request, event registration, event feedback, party invitation, contact information, and more.
Additionally, if you are using Google Forms for the first time and want to create a new form, you can choose a tutorial that highlights and explains each option and how it works.
How to create a survey in Google Forms
Let’s start by creating a survey from scratch by opening the Google Forms Page and clicking the plus sign (+) in the lower right corner of the screen. You can also create your form from scratch by clicking the “Blank” option in the “Start a new form” p or choose a template from the gallery on the same page.
After selecting the new form to create, here’s what you need to do:
- Name your form based on the type in the top left corner of the screen (whether it’s a survey, test, quiz, or something else).
- Click on the form to add the desired title.
- On the right side of the form, click on the two small rectangles to add a p.
- Click on the first p.
- Tap the “Add Question” option on the right toolbar (the icon looks like a plus sign with a circle).
- Write the first question.
- Add as many questions as you want and customize the “Options” p.
For example, if you’re creating a survey about games, the first question might be “What’s your name?” while the second is “How old are you?” Customizing the options, in this case, will change the options for the second question. You can put 11-15, 16-20, more than 20, etc. You can add as many options or possible answers as you need. If you want to add another question, it can be something like “Do you play video games?” with possible answers “Yes” and “No”. You can also change the “Options” p type from multiple answers to check boxes.
- After creating these three questions, add a new p.
- Name the p. For this example, you can include “Gaming Questions.”
- In this p, choose the “Add question” option and enter the question “How many video games do you play?”
- Repeat the process with the “Options” p and add as many answers as you need.
Please note that this is optional; You can add as many questions as you want. In this case, it is appropriate to add another question where you can ask people what video games they play and provide possible answers with names of specific video games.
You can repeat the process mentioned above by adding questions and options for each p you complete. Adding descriptions to ps is also available, allowing you to further explain questions.
How to use conditional logic in Google Forms
After creating your survey, like in the example we provided in the previous p, you can add conditional questions or use conditional logic. This works best for yes or no answers. So go back to your survey p with those answers. In this case, it’s the question “Do you play video games?”
Follow these steps to add conditional logic to these responses:
- Click on the question with the answer yes/no.
- Navigate to the bottom right of the screen.
- Next to the “Required” switch, tap the three vertical dots.
- Choose the “Go to p based on answer” option.
If you want to make answering all of your questions mandatory, you can toggle the button for the “Required” option for each question. This way, all questions need to be answered and cannot be skipped. If you choose the “Required” option, you will see a small red snowflake next to your questions, indicating that this option has been enabled.
After doing this, you will see two new options, “Continue to next p” next to both answers.
- First click on this option next to the “Yes” answer.
- Then, choose which p you want to redirect the person taking the survey to if you choose “Yes.”
- Click the “Continue to next p” option next to the “No” answer.
- Choose the “Send from” option.
If someone answers the question “Do you play video games?” question with “yes”, they will be redirected to another p. In this case, it might be “How many video games do you play?” that you created previously. Or you’ll direct them to a different question, depending on the format of your survey.
On the other hand, if someone answers “no” to the previous question, they will be redirected to the last page of the survey, where they can submit the form. This way, they can skip unrelated queries and finish the survey right away. You can use conditional logic on each question in your survey and redirect people to questions based on their answers.
Finally, before creating the survey, you can check if everything works by navigating to the eye icon in the top corner of the screen. This is the “Preview” option.
Set the theme for your survey
Next to the “Preview” option, you can set the theme and font for ps, questions, and text in the left sidebar. You also have the option to add an image to the header p and select the background color.
By choosing the header image, you can set the theme from the Google Forms gallery or add one from your PC. If you decide to add the image from the Google Forms gallery, you’ll be able to choose from a variety of options depending on the type of survey you’re running. The possible options are:
- Work and school
- Illustrations
- Birthday
- food and dining
- Party
- Just kids
- Wedding
- night out
- Sports and games
- Travel
- Others
Limit options in Google forms
Google Forms allows you to customize your survey and add different features, but some options are not available for conditional questions.
- Adding conditional logic to each question can be time-consuming, considering that you have to create ps for each question.
- You cannot add if/then statements.
- You cannot add and/or questions.
Customizing surveys with Google forms
Despite some limitations, Google Forms offers users a great way to create different forms. Forms can be implemented with conditional or standard questions. If you choose conditional logic, the process will take longer but may produce satisfactory results. Additionally, you can use Google Form plugins to further customize your survey, including setting a timer for a quiz, etc.
