UX SURVEYS GUIDE
This is an ultimate UX survey guide that is supposed to give you a clear picture of this UX research method and make sure you are ready for your first study.
What is a UX survey?
User experience survey is one of the most popular UX research methods for gathering both qualitative and quantitative feedback from a user. The data collected during these surveys is often used as a base for digital product improvements and further research.
UX surveys are rather insightful as such surveys have an anonymous feel to it, therefore users can be more honest and thoughtful.
There are 3 types of UX surveys:
On-site UX survey
A small window that slides into the bottom right side of the page when you get on a website. It asks the user if they are open to answer a few questions and then proceed to the survey. The widget shouldn’t block any content and has nothing to do with annoying pop-ups. This type is very quick and easy to complete.
External link UX survey
A UX survey that opens via link. It can be just as well located on the website. Or you can share a link on social media, through a newsletter etc. The users just need to click the link that takes them to a survey page. This gives them more time to think about your questions which means you can get deeper qualitative insights.
Pop-up UX survey
This is an old-fashioned way of creating a questionnaire. The survey form pops up on the homepage of the website as soon as the user gets there. Such pop-ups are annoying and confusing so I recommend to stay away from this type and just choose one of the options above.
When do you need a UX survey?
UX survey is not only useful in itself, but can also become a great foundation for further UX research.
It is a great way of gathering user insights at any stage of the development process. You can be creating a brand-new product, adding a new feature to an existing one, testing a demo or just a running project, whatever it is, the quantitative and qualitative data from the surveys can be used in many different ways.
Let’s dive in the process of creating a good survey.
How to create a UX survey?
Define your goals
Defining a clear goal is half the success of your survey. What information do you expect to get from your ? Where will you use the gathered data? Be specific, it will help to avoid asking wrong questions. Moreover, setting a clear goal allows you to focus on important things and leave out the extra questions.
It’s also good to set some expectations about the number of completed surveys. You should understand that the high abandonment rate is quite normal as people have different expectations towards such polls, therefore may find it too long or just stop answering questions half the way. We will talk about the ideal length later, but just be aware that abandonment is completely normal.
Prepare the UX survey questions
There are a couple of nuances you should keep in mind while writing your questions. We talk a lot about them on our UX survey Questions page.
It always depends on the goal of your study and the data you’re looking to gather, so there is no set formula for a perfect questionnaire. However, here are the things you should follow, in order to get great insights:
1. Be simple and direct with your questions
2. Avoid too professional language
If you are not sure whether or not the user will understand a specific word or the context, paraphrase it. Keep your questions comprehensive, short and easy to read.
3. Leave a way out
There is always a possibility that the answer options you’re offering are not relevant or do not cover everything a user has in mind. In the case of multiple choice questions, make sure to add “other” and a text box in case they’ll want to specify their opinion.
4. Don’t ask more than you need
Do not add any extra questions, keep it as short and fast as possible. Users will appreciate you for saving their time so focus on your goals.
5. Ask if they are open for a little survey, don’t just go straight to the questions
This will lower the abandonment rate of your survey. Moreover, you’ll know for sure that their answers are real and thoughtful.
6. Offer a reward
Come up with some kind of benefit to motivate your participants. It can be a useful piece of information, a discount code etc.
7. Show progress
At the beginning, tell how many questions a participant should expect and how long it will take. During the survey, show them a progress bar and the number of each question.
Test your UX survey
Before launching your questionnaire, find somebody to help you test the pilot version. It can be anybody who was not involved in the question writing process. Test it with 2-3 people and see how it goes. This will uncover any possible issues, such as non-comprehensive questions or poor answer options.
Write a screener
Do this in order to make your ux survey more targeted or for the sake of segmentation. Screeners make the results more detailed and insightful. Moreover, it can help you get closer to the users and don’t waste the time of the people outside of your target audience.
Get the respondents
There are many ways to do that. Add a widget to your website asking the visitors to participate in a small questionnaire. Or share a link to your study via your social media channels and email. Another option is to recruit people from the respondent pool that many online UX survey tools offer.
What is the ideal length of a UX survey?
There are no set standards for a perfect length, however you should understand that not many people are ready to take a 30 min questionnaire. Keep it as short as possible, 10 min is a maximum. Think about how much time you would be ready to invest in such a survey. Most of the time 2-7 min are more than enough to get all the important information, depending on your goals.
What is the perfect number of UX survey questions?
Once again, there is no magic number. A 5-10 question survey can get you all the basic data you need. You can, obviously, increase the number but then be ready to face the rising survey abandonment rate.
Where can you create a UX survey?
The best and the easiest way to do that is by using an online UX survey tool. There are many modern platforms to choose from, suitable for any budget. You can check them out on our best UX survey tools page.