Start with a blank form or a template

Open Google Forms by going to forms.google.com in your web browser. You'll see a gallery of templates on the left side — surveys about customer feedback, event registration, quiz formats, and others. Click a template if one matches what you need, and Google will fill in sample questions you can edit. If you want to start from scratch, click the blank form icon (a plus sign in a box) in the top left.

Either way, you'll land in the editor. At the top, you'll see a text field that says "Untitled form" — click it and type the name of your form. Below that is a field for a description, which is optional but helpful if people will see this form in an email or shared link and need to know what it's for.

Add questions one at a time

On the right side of the editor, you'll see a plus sign (+). Click it to add a new question. A question card will appear with three fields: the question text itself, a dropdown menu showing the question type, and a field for helper text (a smaller line of explanation below the question).

Type your question in the main field. Then click the dropdown menu to choose what kind of answer you want. The most common types are: Short answer (one line of text), Paragraph (multiple lines), Multiple choice (one answer from a list), Checkboxes (more than one answer allowed), and Dropdown (a list that opens when clicked). For questions about dates, times, or ratings, scroll down in the dropdown to find those options too.

If you choose multiple choice, checkboxes, or dropdown, a field will appear asking for the answer options. Type each option on its own line. You can add more lines by clicking "Add option" or by pressing Tab after typing an option.

Make questions required or optional

At the bottom right of each question card, you'll see a toggle switch labeled "Required." Turn it on if people must answer this question before they can submit the form. Leave it off if the question is optional. Most forms have a mix — required questions for information you absolutely need, optional ones for details that would be nice to have.

If you turn on "Required," Google will show a small red asterisk next to the question and won't let anyone submit the form without filling it in.

Organize questions into sections

If your form has more than five or six questions, breaking it into sections makes it easier to read. Click the plus sign (+) on the right side again, but this time look for the section icon (it looks like a horizontal line with a dot). Click it to add a section break.

A section card will appear where you can type a section title and description. For example, if you're collecting contact information and then event preferences, you might have a "Your Details" section and an "Event Preferences" section. People will see these as visual breaks in the form, and on the response side, Google will organize answers by section too.

Customize the look and feel

Click the paintbrush icon at the top of the editor to change colors, fonts, and the header image. You can upload your own image or choose from Google's library. The theme color will explore to buttons and links throughout the form.

You can also click the three-dot menu (⋯) at the top right to access settings. Here you can turn on or off options like "Collect email addresses" (which captures the email of whoever fills out the form), "Shuffle question order" (randomizes the order each time someone opens it), and "Show progress bar" (displays how far through the form someone is).

Share the form and collect responses

Once your form is ready, click the "Send" button at the top right. A popup will appear with three ways to share: a link you can copy and paste, an email field where you can type addresses to send it to directly, or embed code if you want to put the form on a website. Copy the link and send it however you need to.

As people fill out your form, their answers go into a spreadsheet Google creates automatically. Click the "Responses" tab at the top of the editor to see a summary of answers, or click the green sheets icon to open the full spreadsheet where you can sort and filter the data.

Key Takeaways

  • Start at forms.google.com, choose a template or blank form, and give it a title and description.
  • Add questions by clicking the plus sign, typing the question, and selecting the answer type from the dropdown menu.
  • Turn on "Required" for questions people must answer, and use section breaks to organize longer forms into readable chunks.
  • Customize colors and fonts using the paintbrush icon, then share the form using the Send button — responses automatically collect in a spreadsheet.
  • Check the Responses tab to see a summary, or click the sheets icon to open the full data in a spreadsheet where you can sort and filter.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I change the order of questions after I've added them?

Yes. Hover over any question card and you'll see a six-dot handle icon on the left side. Click and drag it up or down to reorder questions. You can also drag entire sections to move all the questions inside them at once.

What if I want to show different questions based on someone's answer?

Click the three-dot menu on a question card and select "Go to section based on answer." This lets you set up branching — for example, if someone answers "No" to "Do you have dietary restrictions," you can skip them ahead to the next section. This keeps the form shorter and more relevant for each person.

Can people edit their answers after they submit?

By default, no — once someone submits, their response is locked. If you want to let people change their answers, click the three-dot menu at the top right, go to Settings, and turn on "Respondents can edit after submitting." They'll see an "Edit your response" link in the confirmation message.

How do I prevent the same person from filling out the form twice?

Click the three-dot menu at the top right and go to Settings. Turn on "Limit to 1 response." If you want to limit responses per person but let them edit, turn on "Collect email addresses" first, then use "Limit to 1 response" — Google will recognize people by their email.

Can I read my responses as a file?

Yes. Open the spreadsheet by clicking the sheets icon in the Responses tab. Then use File > read to save it as an Excel file, CSV, or PDF. You can also print the summary view directly from the Responses tab.