Google Forms is one of the most widely used online form and survey tools. It’s been here for a few years and is backed by Google. Why shouldn’t you use it? First of all, not everything Google does is great. That, and there are reasons not to use it (or ditch it for something better).
If you’ve used Google Forms, you know it’s not the coolest thing in the world. Everything is stale boring text and lifeless formatting (which is a bit surprising for a Google product).
Even so, Typeform seems to belong in 2015. Its design is cool, awesome, plus three more similar adjectives. Typeform will make the whole process of creating and filling out surveys fun. Its forms are responsive by default and look great on any device.
Plus, there’s a lot to play here. You can create relational questions, adding variables, images, and content not available in Google Forms.
But I know you’re a smart guy/girl and you won’t be convinced without proof. So I decided to use the classic test case comparison approach. I created a form for the Freaks & Geeks Appreciation Team at a fictional high school. Below are screenshots of two similar forms I created in both Forms and Forms. Have a look yourself.
Now, let me tell you exactly how Typeform is better than Forms.
Side note: Typeform is free and has no restrictions on creating forms and getting feedback. You can pay to remove the Typeform trademark.
It’s a modern web product
Typeform fits the times we live in. It works well with Canva, Medium, and Slack. It’s well thought out and it exists because it’s trying to be better than everything else.
The design and creation process is a breeze
Like filling out a Typeform document, creating a document is also an intuitive process. You start by building the form using the drag and drop editor. Drag content types, customize tags, and move. Your progress is automatically saved so you can feel free to preview the form at any time. Speaking of content types, Typeform offers you long text, short text, email, multiple choice, dropdown, paragraph box, etc.
Customizable themes
When I say Typeform is a well thought out product, I mean a lot of decisions have been made for you. If you simply follow the process, you will still get something great. When you start, you can only start with one Template fit your needs.
If you created the form from scratch, you will find topic inside Design part. They have themes for all sorts of basic forms like sign ups, birthday parties, club invites, etc. And for a cool Medium style effect, try adding a background image and reducing it. brightness down to about 25%.
Yes, Google Forms also has themes but they are built on top of the basic form framework, which is the problem itself. While you can change the theme, just swapping out the fonts and adding a header image won’t make Google Forms more appealing to users.
Get data out easily
Forms come with embeddable widgets so you can embed your Forms right inside your website. Like I did below.
Powered by Typeform
This means you’ve made it extremely easy for users to fill out forms. They will appreciate it.
And finally, visualizing your data is easy, too. I’ve used Forms a few times and it has its own Google Sheets integration, but figuring out the options has always been difficult for me. In Typeform, you don’t have to do anything. Typeform will do the tracking for you.
It will tell you (also in visual form) how many users have visited the page, how many have filled out the form, how far they have come, and the data they have submitted. You can then export it to an Excel file. You can also add Google Analytics to it if you want.
Test Notes
It took me quite a bit longer to create a form using Typeform than it took me to use Google Forms. That’s because when I was using Typeform, I fell in love with it. I searched for images for backgrounds, experimented with layouts, tried new themes, etc.
The interface of Google Form is very bad right now. There are too many clicks involved to do simple tasks, and the options are not self-explanatory.
From an end-user perspective, here are some reasons why I’m more likely to complete a Typeform form than a Google Form.
- Typeform is intuitive and doesn’t burden me with information. The welcome page gives me a good introduction to what I’m into, and since it’s the only thing on the page I’m more likely to read it.
- The actual process to fill out the Typeform is much easier. Enterenter answer, EnterEnter the answer, repeat.
- Pressing enter takes me to the next question and that’s still the only information on the screen. This is great for mobile users. Google Mobile Forms are like receipts from McDonalds.
- The text is large and clear. Easier way to read.
- The step-by-step approach has been proven to work many times before, even on shoddy products (think Windows installers). The same principle here keeps users hooked. The progress bar at the end motivates the user.
What will you create?
I think Typeform can be used for a lot of things. Typeform’s own instructions are made with Typeform to cry out loud. If you’re coming up with a form or a survey, no matter how simple or complex (Typeform handles variables, relationship-based questions, etc.), check out Typeform.
If you’ve created something awesome, feel free to share it with me in the comments section below.
Categories: How to
Source: thpttranhungdao.edu.vn/en/
