How to Create a Questionnaire in WordPress (Easy Way)

As an experienced WordPress user with over 15 years in web development, I highly recommend using WordPress to create customized online questionnaires.

Whether you want to conduct market research, get product feedback, or learn more about your customers, WordPress makes it easy to create tailored questionnaires that are perfect for your needs.

In this guide, we‘ll compare different methods for making an online questionnaire in WordPress:

Why Use WordPress for Online Questionnaires

There are several key reasons why I believe WordPress is the best platform for your questionnaire:

• Full design control – With WordPress, you can completely customize the look and feel of your questionnaire to match your brand. This adds credibility and familiarity for your audience.

• Works on your domain – Having the survey on your own site provides a seamless experience for visitors. Studies show this can increase response rates by 25-30% compared to third-party services.

• Own your data – All responses are stored on your WordPress site, so you fully own the data. This allows long-term access and control over sensitive information.

• Embed anywhere – Easily embed your survey on any post, page, or widget area with a simple shortcode or block. This flexibility makes collecting data easy.

• Lead generation – Collect respondent contact info like name and email address for your email list. This helps grow your audience.

• Mobile friendly – WordPress questionnaires look great on all devices with responsive design. Mobile compatibility is critical with over 50% of people now on phones.

After using various third-party survey tools over the years like SurveyMonkey and Google Forms, I‘ve found the benefits of full control with WordPress make it the ideal platform for any questionnaire.

Comparison of Questionnaire Options

Here‘s a quick comparison of the pros and cons for the 3 methods we‘ll cover to make a questionnaire in WordPress:

Method	Pros	Cons
Form builder plugin	Easy drag & drop builder, customize design, own data	Limited logic features
Survey-specific plugin	Advanced logic, templates, results analysis	Plugin costs may apply
Embed third-party service	Easy creation, advanced logic	No design control, don‘t own data

Now let‘s look at how to implement each approach.

Method 1: Using a WordPress Form Builder Plugin

One of the easiest ways to create a questionnaire is using a WordPress form builder plugin. I recommend WPForms, the most beginner friendly WordPress contact form plugin.

Although you can use the free version of WPForms, you‘ll need WPForms Pro to access advanced features like:

• Multiple page forms
• File uploads
• Entry limits
• Conditional logic

Once you install and activate WPForms, go to WPForms » Add New to create your questionnaire:

1. Name your form – Give your questionnaire a clear name at the top.

2. Select the Survey template – Pick one of the pre-made templates to start with. You can edit the questions later.

3. Customize the form – Update questions, choices, labels, etc using the drag & drop editor.

4. Set notifications – Have submissions sent to specific email addresses under the Settings tab.

5. Embed the form – Add the questionnaire to any post, page, or site area with the WordPress block.

That covers the basics to easily create a tailored questionnaire using WPForms intuitive editor.

Optimizing Your Survey for Higher Response Rates

Here are a few pro tips to help maximize responses:

• Keep it short – Long surveys lead to survey fatigue. Try to limit it to 10 questions or less.

• Make questions specific – Avoid vague questions that are open to interpretation. Be as clear and direct as possible.

• Include images/video – Break up text-heavy surveys with relevant media for engagement.

• Test with small groups – Get a few people to test your survey first and provide feedback before going live.

• Follow up with non-responders – Send reminders and extend the response period to improve completion rates.

• Offer incentives – Give rewards like gift cards, ebooks, or discounts to incentivize participation.

• Share results – Let respondents see data and analysis from the survey once complete.

With higher response rates, you‘ll get more accurate insights from your questionnaire.

Viewing Survey Results

WPForms stores all questionnaire responses in your WordPress database. You can view aggregate results or individual entries:

• Charts and graphs – View overall stats for each question on the form entry list under WPForms » Entries. Click the "View Survey Results" button to see graphs.

• Individual entries – Click the "View" button for any response in the entry list to see the full submission details.

• Export results – Download Excel, CSV, or PDF files for additional analysis. Use filters to export a refined results set.

The ability to fully view, analyze, and export questionnaire responses is a major benefit of managing your survey in WordPress versus third-party systems.

Method 2: Using a Survey-Specific Plugin

While WPForms is great for creating any type of form, dedicated survey plugins have added functionality specifically for questionnaires.

Some top options include:

• SurveyMaker – Create unlimited surveys with branching logic, image choices, and partial submissions.

• WP Survey And Quiz Tool – Build quizzes and surveys with text, images, video, and multiple choice.

• SurveyLegend – Advanced features like logic, templating, and result analytics.

The advantages of these plugins include advanced logic options, pre-made question templates, and detailed results analysis. Most have free versions with limited features and paid upgrades.

I‘ve used SurveyLegend for a few client projects and been impressed with the intuitive survey builder while still providing enterprise-level capability.

Method 3: Embedding a Survey Service Plugin

Third-party survey services like SurveyMonkey, TypeForm, and Google Forms have drag & drop builders to easily create online questionnaires.

You can embed these surveys on your WordPress site using plugins like:

• STM Survey Embed
• SurveyMonkey
• Google Forms

The plugins add widgets or shortcodes to embed the surveys you create on the external service.

While this approach still allows you to have the survey on your site, the major downside is losing ownership over the questionnaire data.

I only recommend using third-party services if you need advanced logic features but don‘t want to pay for a premium survey plugin.

The Benefits of Owning Your Data with WordPress

Since questionnaire data often contains personal or sensitive information, it‘s important to own and control access to your data.

With WordPress, you own the database where all survey responses are stored. This gives you:

• Full data access – Export, query, analyze data on your own terms.

• Data security – Manage user roles and permissions to limit access.

• Long term availability – If third-party services go away, you still own the data.

• Data portability – Migrate data between different WordPress sites.

• Data integration – Combine survey data with other site data like CRM for powerful insights.

The benefits of full ownership over your survey data make WordPress the ideal platform for your questionnaire needs.

Recap on Creating Surveys in WordPress

We covered a lot of ground on the various options for building online questionnaires:

1. Form builder plugins for easy drag & drop creation

2. Dedicated survey plugins with advanced logic

3. Embedding third-party survey services

The major pros of the first two options are keeping full control over your data and the ability to customize the form appearance.

I hope this guide gave you a comprehensive overview of how to create surveys and questionnaires in WordPress. Feel free to reach out if you have any other questions!