Google Docs Forms is a free and easy-to-use tool to create online forms and surveys. With Google Forms, you can gather information, plan events, distribute surveys, collect data for analysis, and more.
In this article, we will walk you through the steps to create your first Google Docs form in just a few minutes.
Why Use Google Forms?
Here are some of the key benefits of Google Forms:
- Free – It comes included with your free Google account. No upgrades needed for basic features.
- Easy to use – The simple drag-and-drop interface makes form creation accessible for beginners.
- Customizable – Choose from various themes, fonts, images to match your brand.
- Organized responses – Form responses are neatly organized in spreadsheets for easy analysis.
- Real-time updates – See response summaries update automatically as people submit the form.
- Shareable – Send via email or embed on website with just the form link.
Step 1: Access Google Forms
Go to forms.google.com or open Google Drive and click on the New button > More > Google Forms. This will open a blank form template for you to start with.
Alternatively, you can also click on Template Gallery to browse from pre-made form templates.
Step 2: Name Your Form
By default, your form will be titled “Untitled Form”. Click on this text to give your form a descriptive name.
For example, name it “Event Registration Form” or “Customer Survey 2023” so you can easily identify the purpose of this form later.
Step 3: Add and Format Questions
The left sidebar contains all the available question types – short answer, paragraph, multiple choice, checkboxes, dropdowns, etc.
Click on the Add Question button and choose the type of question you want. Then enter a question title and the various answer options (if applicable).
You can customize the text formatting, required fields, images and videos, and more in the right sidebar. Re-order questions simply by dragging and dropping them.
Some key question types:
- Short answer – For open-ended responses in one line
- Paragraph – For longer text responses
- Multiple choice – For single select response options
- Checkboxes – For multi-select response options
- Dropdown – For a pre-defined list of responses
Step 4: Customize Theme
Make your form visually appealing by adding your own color theme, fonts, images and more.
Go to the top toolbar and click on Customize theme. Here you can:
- Change background and text colors
- Add a header/logo image
- Change font styles and sizes
- Show progress bar for longer forms
Use customizations to match the look and feel with your brand.
Step 5: Share and Collect Responses
Once your form is ready, click on the top right Send button to share it through:
- Link
- Website embed
- Social media
As people start submitting the form, you can see real-time summaries and analyze responses right within Google Forms under the Responses tab.
Responses are automatically collected in an attached Google Sheet for further analysis as needed.
And that’s it! Whether you need an event registration form, customer survey, or quiz – Google Forms makes it incredibly easy to create functional online forms for your needs.
The simple drag-and-drop builder and many response analysis features make Forms a go-to choice for both personal and business use.
Try out Google Forms today to streamline your data collection needs in minutes!
