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6 Tips on Creating Great Surveys

I just filled out the second annual A List Apart web design industry survey. While I can’t keep track of how many poorly designed survey’s I have taken, I can tell you that this is one web survey that is extremely well crafted (and enjoyable to fill out). Here is why:

  1. Layout - The survey is not made to fit within the confines of the ALA website. This means there is less clutter, less noise, and less distraction.
  2. Design - Like the layout, the design (font type and size included) is very simple and easy on the eyes, which increases usability. One could argue that once a user has started taking the survey they won’t back out due to bad design, but why make them suffer through when they can enjoy it?
  3. Multiple Pages - Rather than the 50 or so questions on one loooooong page the web survey is split into 18 pages with one to five questions per page. Now this might sound like a lot, but the questions are so well organized and flow so seemlessly I proceeded through without realizing there were that many.
  4. Numbered Pages - It is nice to give your users a clue as to how many pages they are committing to, even if it is a short one to three page survey.
  5. Well Crafted Questions and Answers - Many times questions or answers are haphazardly thrown together leaving the user guessing as to how they should answer. Not once did I want to choose two answers when I could only choose one. Both questions and answers had clarity.
  6. Follow-up - How often have you taken time out of your day to fill out a survey, yet never see the results? ALA does a fantastic job processing and putting together survey findings (last year there were 30+K surveyors), making them available for all to see, and blogging about the results.

Bonus tip: This survey is going to provide results that will give me a better sense of the industry I am in. It is relevant, timely, and it will provide value for both my business and others like it over the next year. Because of that, I am happy to spend eight minutes.