How do I preview and test my survey?

Before you send a survey, take it yourself. A run-through catches confusing wording, missing answer options and logic that sends people to the wrong place, which are much easier to fix before anyone has responded.

Open the preview

In the editor, click Preview in the top bar. The survey opens full screen, one section at a time, the way a respondent moves through it. The button is greyed out until your survey has some content.

Use the switch at the top to choose how you view it:

• Computer shows the survey at desktop width.
• Mobile shows it at phone width.

Switching between them starts the preview again from the first page. Click Back at the top left to return to the editor.

Nothing you enter in the preview is saved, so you can test as many times as you like. When you reach the end, click Restart preview to go again.

What to check

Work through this list on every survey, including ones Surbee's AI drafted.

Wording and options

• Read every question out loud. Would someone outside your team understand it?
• Check that every choice question has an option for each likely answer, and an "Other" or "None of the above" where one is needed.
• Look for questions that ask two things at once, such as "How fast and reliable was the service?"

Required questions

• Try to move on without answering. Required questions should stop you with a message, and optional ones should let you through.
• Make sure you only require answers you truly need. Each required question is a reason for someone to give up.

Branching

• Take each path through the survey. If a question sends people to different sections depending on their answer, answer it each way and check where you land.
• If an answer ends the survey, check that you reach your ending page.

Phone layout

• Switch to Mobile and scroll through. Grids such as Likert and Matrix questions stack one row at a time on narrow screens, so check they still read well.

Ending

• Check what respondents see when they finish. See Create an ending page.

Test the live survey

The preview is built for checking content and flow. To see the survey exactly as respondents will, with all of your survey settings in effect, open the live link after publishing:

1. Publish the survey. See Share your survey.
2. Open the link in a private browser window, or on your phone.
3. Complete the survey once and submit it.

This is the best way to check settings that only apply on the live survey, such as a time limit, sign-in, a redirect after submitting, and questions that show or hide based on earlier answers.

Ask someone else

You know what every question means because you wrote it. Before a large send, ask one or two people from your audience to take the survey and tell you where they hesitated. Their confusion is the clearest sign of a question that needs rewording.