Our customers range from the local hair salon to the German Aerospace Center.
A plausible reason: the professional features are convenient to use and suitable for organisations in any sector. You do not need to be a programmer or IT expert. You can create and run your own online survey yourself in just a few steps. Our survey tool offers simple yet versatile tools, such as the Design Editor.
Our questionnaire examples, guides and videos are always available to support you. Read on to find out how to create and run your survey in 6 steps:
Table of Contents
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The 6 steps to an online survey
Step 1: Create the survey homepage
The homepage is the first thing participants see. It briefly explains what the survey is about and why it is being conducted. It typically includes:
- a friendly welcome
- the purpose of the survey
- how long participation will take
- information on data protection and anonymity
- that participation is voluntary
The homepage provides orientation and builds trust.
IMPORTANT: Much of this information will usually already have been communicated in the invitation, by email or on a landing page. Avoid repetition. Most people who abandon a survey click the link and look only at the first page. Content, design and layout are therefore disproportionately more important here than on the closing page.
Step 2: Start the questionnaire
This is where it becomes clear how easy it is to get started. You have two options:
- simple opening questions to engage participants
- targeted filter questions to direct the questionnaire path
An easy start can significantly increase the completion rate.
IMPORTANT: Filter questions are often used at the beginning to direct participants along different paths. See our branching logic. You can use the first branches here to guide participants to different paths depending on their response.
Step 3: Main section and closing
In the main section, respondents answer the survey’s core questions. The important points are:
- word questions clearly, concisely and unambiguously
- ask only for relevant information, not “nice to have” information
- structure question groups logically and, where appropriate, divide them across several pages
Every question should have a clear purpose for the later analysis. If a response does not lead to a specific decision or action, question whether the item is needed. At the end, add a simple closing page with thanks and, if appropriate, a redirect.
IMPORTANT: Keep it concise and ask only what is genuinely useful. Always ask yourself: can I derive meaningful action from the results, or does this question merely satisfy my curiosity? Use branches and visibility settings so that every participant sees only the questions relevant to them.
Step 4: Invite participants
Now it is time to bring people to the survey, or the survey to them. There are several ways to do this:
- use your own contacts, such as employees or customers
- share the link by newsletter or social media
- use external participant panels
- publish the link, for example on a website or via a QR code
Several methods are often combined to reach more participants.
Step 5: Test the survey
Test the survey before you launch it. You can do this in two ways:
- review everything in a preview
- ask real people to complete the test
This helps identify errors and unclear questions early. Delete test responses after the test so that they do not distort the real results. Only then should you go live.
Step 6: Analyse the results
As soon as the first responses arrive, you can analyse them. The results are automatically displayed in clear charts. You can filter and examine them in more detail using different criteria. You can also export the data, for example to Excel or other applications, to process or present the results further.
Quick-start checklist
Before you start, you need:
- a short homepage with the key information about the survey
- an imprint and a privacy policy
- a clearly structured questionnaire
- a basic plan for the participant journey, for example branches or if-then logic
- ways to invite participants, or a plan for how to reach them
- a test run before launch
- a clear idea of which information really must be collected
- a survey objective: how and what will be analysed, as this affects the structure and question types
- to delete test data before the actual launch, where appropriate
FAQ: Creating an online survey
Customer surveys should be as short as possible, around 5 to 10 questions, as otherwise the abandonment rate rises considerably. Employee surveys can be longer, around 10 to 20 or more questions, because motivation is usually higher. The rule of thumb: ask only as many questions as necessary, not as many as possible.
Simple standard formats such as multiple choice questions and rating scales work best. Use open questions selectively to obtain qualitative additions. Some variation is useful, but simplicity remains the most important factor.
Good questions are unambiguous, concise and neutrally worded. It is important to test the survey with people outside your team. What is clear in your own mind may be difficult for others to understand.
The ideal duration is around 3 to 10 minutes. Customers are more likely to abandon longer surveys, while employees are generally more willing to invest more time.
You can never prevent abandonment completely, but you can reduce it significantly. Above all, the questionnaire should be clear, concise and logically structured. After launch, actively analyse where people stop, for example in the dashboard. Typical reasons for abandonment include:
- questions that are too long or complicated
- mandatory questions perceived as unnecessary
- unclear or ambiguous wording
- questions that are too personal or sensitive too early in the questionnaire
Analysing these points lets you make targeted improvements.
Participants are usually invited using a simple survey link. Like any other link, it can be shared freely, for example by email, newsletter, social media, chat or QR code. This requires no technical effort and lets you use the link wherever you can reach your target group.
A test run is essential for identifying technical and content-related issues early. It is not only about functionality, but above all about whether the survey is understandable and logical. Key points to test include:
- Are all questions worded unambiguously?
- Do filters, skips and logic work correctly?
- Is the survey easy to use on different devices, including desktop and mobile?
- Are there points where participants could get stuck or abandon the survey?
Ideally, do not test only by yourself. Ask people outside your team to participate too, as they will read the questions with fresh eyes.
Before going live, make sure that all technical and legal requirements have been addressed. These include in particular:
- test responses have been deleted or excluded
- the survey has been fully finalised, with no outstanding changes
- data protection has been addressed and a privacy policy is included
- an imprint is available where the survey is public or commercial
- the survey link is correct and works
Publish the survey only once these points have been addressed.
After launch, all responses are recorded automatically and are usually displayed in real time. Analysis typically takes place in several stages:
- an initial overview of overall distributions, for example frequencies and averages
- analysis of individual questions and response patterns
- filtering by target group or segment, where available
- identifying trends or notable findings
You can then export the data, for example to Excel or CSV, for further processing, visualisation or use in presentations.
Creating a survey with LamaPoll usually takes only a few hours. Similar to a PowerPoint presentation, you structure the survey, create the questionnaire and then test it. After the test, the survey can usually go live the following day.
Most responses arrive directly after the invitation is sent. Many participants respond within the first few days. A typical fieldwork period is around three weeks. After that, participation drops markedly and only a few additional responses arrive. For email invitations, sending a reminder about once a week can help increase the response rate.
Conclusion
Creating an online survey is not complicated when you divide it into clear steps: the homepage, questions, participants, testing and analysis. Each step has a clear purpose and helps you create an understandable, functional survey. The following video shows what this looks like in practice, step by step.
LamaPoll is an online survey tool for creating, conducting and analysing online surveys. Creating a survey is comparable to using the familiar presentation tool PowerPoint: you create individual pages, and on each page you can add text, images, shapes, as well as your own questions, responses or result charts. You can choose from a wide range of ready-made templates. With your account, our versatile survey tool also gives you free access to questionnaire examples and templates. Simply choose the topic that suits you, organised by target group, such as customer surveys and employee surveys, by survey objective, such as measuring satisfaction or optimising processes, or by project, such as surveys for education or questionnaires in healthcare.
