How to create a poll in Google Docs: everything you need to know (2023)

Google Docs has long been the number one choice to create Word documents online. The service is free and available to any Google user, and while it's bundled with features, once you start expanding your creative ideas, Google Docs' limitations will catch your eye. Creating surveys in Google Docs is one such task and here's everything you need to know about it.

Can you create a poll in Google Docs?

No, you cannot create surveys natively in Google Docs. However, if you prefer, you can create survey forms manually and format them to your liking.

The problem mainly arises when you decide to share it with your audience. Google Docs is collaborative by nature, so changes to a document can be made by anyone when the document is shared with them.

You can of course restrict this behavior, but this in turn will prevent your target audience from filling out their forms.

If you decide to give them editing rights? Well, everyone will be able to see and edit each other's answers. How do you prevent this? You can use the workarounds mentioned in the following section.

Related: How to superscript and subscript at the same time in Google Docs: step-by-step guide

Creating a survey in Google Docs: How does it work?

Creating a survey in Google Docs mainly consists of the following two steps.

• Step 1:Create your form
• Step 2:Share your form with the audience

As discussed in the section above, the real problem arises once you decide to share your form. You can bypass the limitations of Google Docs and share your survey form in two main ways, either by asking users to return with a completed copy, or by assigning specific placeholders that users can then use to enter comments or their choices hold true.

The only caveat is that this can only work for small surveys. If you have an audience that's 10 or fewer, asking them to reach out to you with a completed copy of the survey form is your best option. Use the instructions below to create polls in Google Docs.

Related: How to insert footnotes in Google Docs: step-by-step guide

How to bypass the problem and still create a survey in Google Docs

Here's how to create and share your survey using Google Docs.

Step 1: Create your survey form

You can create the following types of survey forms in Google Docs. These are outlines, of course, and you can use Google Docs' built-in tools to create your custom survey forms. Follow one of the sections below based on your current needs.

Table overview

You can create a tabular survey form by adding a table to your document and then formatting it to suit your own needs.

Tabular survey forms can come in handy when you have a lot of yes/no questions to answer. It can also be useful when you have multiple questions for multiple users in a selected group.

Each user can have their own individual column which can then be used to fill in the required details.

Such forms allow you to share your survey with your audience with permission to comment. To add a spreadsheet to your Google Docs file, go toInsert > Tableand then select the desired size of table that best suits your needs.

Text-based survey

Text-based surveys are fairly basic with simple questions and placeholders for answers. You can fill in your questions and use Google Docs to make your text survey form more attractive.

We recommend using the following tools to your advantage in Google Docs.

• watermark
• Headings (text style)
• Images/Brand Logos
• page numbers
• delimiter

Text-based polls are also relatively easy to share with your audience by giving them comment rights. You can just leave a line with the name of the person who should fill in their answer. See the image below for more information.

Multiple Choice Polls

Multiple choice polls are much more compatible polls that make it easier for you to reach a wider range of audiences. However, this works better if you share via email instead of allowing everyone to comment.

However, you can always create individual checklists for each participant if necessary to bypass this restriction. Just type the question in your poll and then go toFormat > Bullets & Numbering > Checklists.

You can now add your answers to the checklist and repeat the process for all questions in your survey.

Related: How to draw in Google Docs: step-by-step guide

Now comes the tricky part, sharing your survey. As discussed above, you can either share a non-editable poll that can be duplicated and sent back to you, or send out a poll with placeholders for your audience. Depending on your choice, use a relevant section below to share your survey.

Open the survey you created and click "Share" in the top right corner of your screen.

Now click on “Switch to someone with the link”.

A shareable link will now be created for your survey. Click the Permissions dropdown menu and ensure Viewer is selected for your survey. This allows your audience to only view and duplicate the document.

Click "Copy Link" to copy the link to your clipboard. Once copied, you can now share the link with your email list via the desired service.

Here's how you can share a non-editable survey created in Google Docs.

instructions for your recipients

If you think your audience will have trouble navigating and completing the survey, you can add instructions similar to the one below to your email to assist them in the process.

Click and open the link shared with you, then click "File" in the upper-left corner of your screen.

Select "Make a copy".

Enter a name for your copy.

Now choose a location for the copy of your survey by clicking on the next option.

When you are finished, click "Ok".

An editable copy will now open on the screen. You can now fill out the survey as needed.

Related: How to track changes in Google Docs: step-by-step guide

Once you've created a poll with placeholders, you can share it with your audience with comment rights. This allows them to post their replies in the doc without having permission to edit the doc or other replies.

Open your poll inGoogle documentsand click "Share" in the top right corner of your screen.

Click and select "Change to anyone with the link".

Click the Permissions dropdown menu and select Comment.

Now click on "Copy link" to copy the link to your clipboard.

You can now paste the link and send it to your audience through whatever medium you want.

Other ways to create and share surveys online for free

We recommend using Google Forms as you probably have a Google account at this point. The service is free and you can use the guide below to help you with this process. Google Forms is an online survey management tool. Here's how you can create one using your own Google account.

Visit Google Forms in your desktop browser and click "Blank" at the top to create a survey from scratch. You can also use the template gallery provided by Google to choose a relevant template for yourself. However, we will be using the Blank template for this guide.

Click the title above and choose a title for your survey.

In the next section, enter a description for your survey so your users can learn more about it.

Click and enter your first question in the next section.

Click the dropdown menu next to the question and select the answer range you want to make available to your users.

You can now click the image icon and add an image for your question or answer section if you want.

Also, turn on the Required toggle below if you want to make the question mandatory.

If you think the question needs a description, you can enable it using the 3-dot menu icon in the lower-right corner.

You may have noticed the "Go to section based on View..." option. This option allows you to direct your audience to a specific section in the poll based on the answer they chose. Click and select the same if necessary.

Once selected, use the dropdown menu next to the answer to select a section to redirect the user to.

You can now format the question as needed. When you're done, click the "+" icon in the right sidebar to add another question. Let's get acquainted with the sidebar so that you too can finish creating your survey.

• Plus-Symbol (+):Add a new question

• File icon:Import questions from another Google form into your survey.

• Text/Font Symbol:Let's add an additional title and description in the same survey. Useful when you have different subsections in your survey.

• Icon:Add an image to your poll.

• Videosymbol:Add a video to your poll.

• Separator:Adds another custom section to your survey.

You can now use the sidebar and finish creating the poll. When you're done, use the "Send" option in the top right corner to share with your audience.

frequently asked Questions

Here are some commonly asked burning questions about creating surveys using Google services to help you get up to speed.

Is Google Forms free?

Yes, like most Google Workspace tools, Google Forms is free. You only need a Google account to sign up and access this service.

Which third-party services should you use?

There are tons of third-party survey form services out there. Some offer free plans, others offer comprehensive unique features as part of a paid subscription. If you're looking for third-party services to create your survey, we recommend checking out the following as well.

• SurveyMonkey
• HubSpot
• SurveySparrow
• TypForm

We hope this post helped you create a poll in Google Docs easily. If you encounter any problems, you can leave us a comment below.

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