How to Use Google Docs as a Form for a Web Page

Google Docs provides a simple form creation tool for websites.

Google Docs is a Web-based suite of productivity applications that can be accessed and edited from Internet-connected devices including computers, smartphones and tablets. The spreadsheet application within Google Docs can be used to create Web forms that you can embed on your Web page or blog. Information submitted through the form will be recorded to the Google Docs spreadsheet, enabling you to easily view and analyze the data you receive.

Instructions

1. Navigate to docs.google.com and log into your account.

2. Click the "Create new" button and select "Form."

3. Enter a name and description for the form in the text boxes at the top of the page.

4. Enter the question text in the "Question Title" text box and optional explanatory text in the "Help Text" text box.

5. Select an option from the "Question Type" drop-down menu. Google Docs offers open-ended, single choice, multiple choice, rating and matrix questions.

6. Click the check box beside "Mark this as a required question" if you require respondents to answer the question before submitting the form, then click "Done" to save the question.

7. Click the "Add Item" drop-down menu at the top-right and select a question type to create a new form item. You may add as many form items as needed.

8. Click the "Theme" button to choose a style for your form.

9. Click "More Actions" and select "Embed" when you are finished creating your form to find the embed code that will be used to display the form on your Web page.

10. Copy the embed code to your clipboard by selecting the text, right-clicking and selecting "Copy."

11. Paste the embed code within the HTML source of your Web page or in a new blog entry to embed the Google Docs form on your website.

12. Save and upload or publish the document containing the embed code to include the form on your website. When a visitor submits the form, the data will be recorded to a Google spreadsheet saved within Google Docs.

13. View the form data by visiting Google Docs and clicking the form title listed in the Google Docs document folder.

Tips & Warnings

• Google Docs form creation tool includes a number of question types. "Text" and "Paragraph Text" are open-ended question types that allow the user to enter any text they want using a free-form text box. "Multiple Choice" is a closed-ended question type in which the user must select one option from a list of available options that you program. "Checkboxes" is similar to "Multiple Choice" except that users can select multiple options. "Scale" and "Grid" are both rating type questions, the difference being that "Scale" asks respondents to rate a single item while "Grid" is used to ask respondents to rate a variety of different items at the same time.

References

• Google: Creating Forms