Survey design best practices
Short, opinionated rules from researchers who run surveys for a living. Follow these and your response quality jumps before you change a single question.
Start with one decision
A good survey makes a decision easier. Write down the decision first ("Should we change the onboarding flow?") and only keep questions that move it.
Keep it under 5 minutes
Completion rates fall off a cliff past 5 minutes. Aim for 8–12 questions max. Cut anything you wouldn't act on.
Screen early, screen hard
The first two questions should disqualify the wrong audience. A small sample of the right people beats a large sample of the wrong ones every time.
Ask about behavior, not opinions
"How often did you use feature X last week?" beats "How much do you like feature X?". People remember what they did far better than what they think they feel.
One idea per question
Double-barreled questions ("Was the feature fast and easy?") force a compromise answer. Split them.
Avoid leading language
"How much did you enjoy our improved dashboard?" tells the respondent the answer. Use neutral phrasing.
Use video for the "why"
Video and voice answers capture nuance closed-ended questions miss. Use one near the end, after rapport is built.
Always pilot
Run the survey on 5 people you know before sending it wide. You will find at least one broken question every time.