If you want to know how this widget looks like without reading this entire article, just click on the 'Survey' tab on the right side of this blog and you will see a live survey form sliding out into view.
This widget is based on Google Forms, which allows you to create a survey containing a series of question of various types, such as text, multiple choices, yes-no question, scale, etc. If you have some HTML knowledge you definitely can incorporate such a form directly into your website or blog without using the widget mentioned here. However, if you take the approach here then you will also get the following benefits:
- The Google Form instance that you created is wrapped in a floating panel that can be docked to one side of the page as a non-intrusive tab. Aside from the cool animation effects that come with it, this also allows you to add the survey form without having to alter the layout of your current page.
- You also get a QR Code for this survey form, so that you can do things such as posting a printed copy of this QR Code in your brick-and-mortar store, and your customers will then be able to fill the survey form on the phone right there and then by simply taking a picture of the QR Code with their smart phone .
- You can configure this survey to be displayed as soon as the page is opened. This is useful when you really really want your users to take the survey (but at the risk of annoying your users).
- You don't need any coding skill to in order to use this widget, just like other widgets from deepwidget.com.
Do the One-time Setup
You can skip this section if you are already a registered user of deepwidget.com and have already completed the one-time setup for your website or blog.
Otherwise you will need to do an one-time setup of your target webpage or blog following the 'Do the one-time setup' section in this tutorial. This will allow you to add all kinds of widgets (not just the one mentioned in this post) to your website or blog from inside the deepWidget Sandbox in a WYSIWYG manner with just a couple of clicks.
Create the Survey Form
Here is an excellent tutorial on how to create a survey using Google Forms. After you have created your survey, do the following:
- With the form opened inside Google Docs, click on 'Form' in the menu bar.
- Click on 'Go to live form'
- Copy the URL displayed there for use in the next section.
Add the Survey Form to Your Website or Blog
In order to add the survey form that you just created to your website or blog, you will need to use the deepWidget Sandbox for this. If you are not familiar with the deepWidget Sandbox you can find a tutorial here.
Do the following from the Sandbox:
- Navigate to your website or blog by entering its URL to the text box on top. Your website or blog will then get displayed inside the Sandbox.
- Click on the 'Add' button on the left side. A gallery containing many widgets will be displayed.
- Select the 'Survey with QR Code' widget from the gallery. As a result you will find a 'Survey' tab showing up on the right side of your page. If you click on this tab you will find a survey form sliding into view containing a sample survey in it.
- Click on 'edit' icon right under the 'Survey with QR Code' icon at the left side to bring up a widget editor.
- Enter the survey form URL you got in the last section into the field 'Go to live from' URL from Google Forms in the widget editor.
- Adjust other parameters in the widget editor to suit your needs.
- Click on the 'Survey' tab now to see your very own survey and make sure that everything looks good to you.
- Click on the 'Publish' button on top and confirm your action when prompted.
And there you have it! If you visit your live website or blog right now, you will then see the survey form right there. To find out how the survey turns out, just log onto your Google Docs account and open your survey form there, and you will find the survey result collected there neatly in a spreadsheet. From there you can then do the typical spreadsheet tricks to analyze the result, creating charts, etc.
Using the QR Code
In case that you are not familiar with QR Code, it is a kind of advanced bar code that when scanned with your smart phone you can make things happen on your phone, such as making a phone call, navigate to a certain website, etc.
Clicking on the 'QR Code' link at the header bar of this widget will bring out a display of the QR Code that links to the survey form. But why would you need a QR Code linking to the survey form when you already have it right in front of you? In fact you don't. This QR Code is intended to be posted somewhere else, so a good practice here is to print out this QR Code along with some simple instruction (e.g., "Take our survey here with your smart phone and win free dinner!") and put it up somewhere where your target customers will see it (e.g., inside the premise of a store, on a physical bulletin board, etc.). This way you can also get some mobile users to take the same survey.
Other Usages
What's described above is useful for many purposes beyond just doing surveys. Here are some ideas:
- Collect a list of subscriptions to your periodic publication, such as a newsletter, etc.
- Conduct a simple poll and optionally showing the result to your site visitors.
- Use it as a virtual sign-up sheet of some sort.
- Use it as a feedback form to collect your customer's input regarding your services.
- Use it for your site visitors to leave a message for you.
- Use it as a quiz.
