How to Create a Survey on WordPress (3 Easy Methods)

Survey response rates are often low. In many cases, most people who see your survey never complete it.

When surveys fail on WordPress, the issue is rarely the questions. It’s usually the setup. Bad timing, the wrong format, or no clear reason for visitors to care drops response rates fast.

In this guide, I’ll show you how to create a survey on WordPress in a way that actually gets completed.

I’ll start with the approach that usually gets the most completions, then cover other options depending on the kind of feedback you need.

Create a Survey With Higher Response Rates (RafflePress)

Most surveys fail because there’s no incentive to finish them. RafflePress solves this by tying your survey to a giveaway. Visitors answer your question to earn entries.

This method works best for quick surveys where you want fast, high-volume answers. If you need detailed responses with open-ended questions and reporting, skip to Method 2.

Here’s how to set it up.

Step 1: Install RafflePress

First, install and activate the RafflePress plugin on your WordPress site. You’ll need a Pro plan or higher to access the Polls and Surveys feature.

If you need help with installation, see this guide on how to install RafflePress Pro.

Once activated, go to RafflePress » Settings and enter your license key.

Step 2: Create a New Giveaway

Go to RafflePress » Add New to create a new giveaway campaign.

Give your giveaway a name and choose a template. The Classic Giveaway template works well for survey campaigns.

Next, configure your prize. This doesn’t need to be expensive. A gift card, free product, or exclusive discount is enough to motivate responses. The goal is to give visitors a reason to complete your survey.

Set your giveaway start and end dates, then move to the Actions tab.

Step 3: Add the Polls and Surveys Action

In the giveaway builder, click the Actions tab on the left.

Find Polls and Surveys in the action list and click to add it.

Now configure your survey question:

1. Enter your question in the Question field
2. Add your answer options (you can allow multiple selections if needed)
3. Set how many entries completing the survey is worth

The entry value matters. If your survey is the main thing you want people to do, make it worth more entries than other actions.

Step 4: Publish Your Giveaway

Click the Publish tab and choose how to add the giveaway to your site. You can:

• Create a new giveaway landing page
• Embed it on an existing page or post
• Add it to your sidebar with a widget

For surveys, a dedicated landing page usually works best. You can link to it from your navigation, email list, or social media.

Once published, visitors will see your survey question as one of the entry actions. They must submit an answer to earn entries.

Step 5: View Your Survey Results

To see how people responded, go to RafflePress » Giveaways and click on your campaign.

Click the Poll Results link to see a summary of all responses. You’ll see how many people chose each option, which gives you a clear picture of where your audience stands.

Why this method works

Tying a survey to a giveaway can lift completion rates because people have a clear reason to finish. The tradeoff is simplicity. You’re limited to multiple choice questions, so this isn’t the right fit for detailed customer research.

Use RafflePress surveys when you need:

• Quick feedback on a single decision (which product to launch, which feature to build next)
• High volume responses from your audience
• An engagement boost alongside your survey

If you need open-ended questions, Likert scales, or detailed reporting, the next method is a better fit.

Create a Detailed Survey With Reporting (WPForms)

When you need more than a quick poll, WPForms is the better choice. It supports multiple question types, conditional logic, and generates visual reports from your responses.

This method works best for customer research surveys: satisfaction scores, product feedback, NPS surveys, or any situation where you need to ask several questions and analyze the results.

Here’s how to set it up.

Step 1: Install WPForms and the Surveys Addon

Install and activate the WPForms plugin. You’ll need the Pro plan or higher to access the Surveys and Polls addon.

After activating your license, go to WPForms » Addons and find the Surveys and Polls Addon. Click Install Addon, then Activate.

Step 2: Create Your Survey Form

Go to WPForms » Add New to create a new form.

Give your form a name, then select the Survey Form template. This gives you a starting point with common survey fields already in place:

• Name and email
• Star rating
• Likert scale
• Open-ended text field

You can use this as-is or customize it for your needs.

Step 3: Customize Your Questions

To edit any field, click on it in the form builder. The settings panel will open on the left.

For rating fields, you can:

• Change the scale (2 to 10)
• Swap stars for hearts, thumbs, or smiley faces
• Make the field required

For Likert scale fields, you can:

• Edit the row labels (these are your questions)
• Edit the column labels (these are the response options, like “Strongly Agree” to “Strongly Disagree”)
• Add or remove rows

To add new fields, drag them from the left panel onto your form. WPForms supports multiple choice, checkboxes, dropdowns, and paragraph text fields for open-ended responses.

Keep your survey focused. Every question you add reduces completion rates. If a question isn’t essential, cut it.

Step 4: Enable Survey Reporting

To collect data you can actually analyze, you need to turn on reporting.

Go to Settings » Surveys and Polls in the form builder. Check the box for Enable Survey Reporting.

This tells WPForms to track responses and generate visual reports for your survey fields.

If you only want reporting on specific fields, leave this unchecked. Instead, click on individual fields and enable reporting under Advanced Options.

Step 5: Add the Survey to Your Site

Click Embed at the top of the form builder.

Choose whether to create a new page or add the form to an existing page. If you select an existing page, WPForms will insert the form block automatically.

You can also add surveys to your sidebar using the WPForms widget, or embed them manually with a shortcode.

Publish your page and test the form to make sure everything works.

Step 6: View Your Results

Once responses start coming in, go to WPForms » All Forms and hover over your survey. Click Survey Results.

WPForms displays your data in bar charts, pie charts, or line graphs. You can toggle between views depending on what’s easiest to read.

From here you can:

• Export results as a CSV file
• Print reports directly from WordPress
• Filter by date range

Why this method works

WPForms gives you flexibility that RafflePress can’t. You can ask follow-up questions, branch based on answers, and see patterns in your data over time.

The tradeoff is completion rates. Without an incentive, expect more people to abandon your survey partway through. Keep it short, and consider offering something in return (even a discount code helps).

Use WPForms surveys when you need:

• Multiple questions in a single survey
• Different question types (ratings, scales, open text)
• Visual reports and CSV exports
• Conditional logic to show different questions based on previous answers

Create a Popup Survey (UserFeedback)

Sometimes you don’t want visitors to leave what they’re doing to fill out a survey. You want to catch them in the moment.

UserFeedback shows short surveys as popups on specific pages. A visitor reads your blog post, a small widget appears in the corner, they answer one or two questions without navigating away. That’s it.

This method works best for contextual feedback: asking readers what topics they want more of, asking shoppers why they didn’t buy, or asking users how easy your documentation was to follow.

Here’s how to set it up.

Step 1: Install UserFeedback

Install and activate the UserFeedback plugin. There’s a free version that works for basic surveys, or you can upgrade for unlimited questions and advanced targeting.

After activation, you’ll see a setup wizard. You can follow it or skip straight to creating your first survey.

Step 2: Create Your Survey

Go to UserFeedback » Surveys and click Add New.

Choose a template or start from scratch. The templates cover common use cases:

• Website feedback
• Content engagement
• Post-purchase feedback
• NPS score

Select one and UserFeedback will pre-fill your questions. You can edit everything from here.

Step 3: Configure Your Questions

Each survey can have multiple questions. For each one, choose a question type:

• Radio buttons for single-select multiple choice
• Checkboxes for multi-select
• Star rating for satisfaction scores
• Text field for open-ended responses
• Email capture to follow up with respondents

Keep popup surveys short. One to three questions is ideal. Anything longer and people will close the widget without finishing.

Step 4: Set Targeting Rules

This is where UserFeedback stands out. You can control exactly who sees your survey and when.

Under the Targeting settings, you can show the survey:

• On specific pages or post types
• To logged-in users only
• After a time delay
• After a visitor scrolls a certain percentage
• On exit intent (when they move to close the tab)

For example, you could show a “Was this article helpful?” survey only on blog posts, only after someone scrolls 75% of the page. That catches readers who actually engaged with your content.

Step 5: Publish and View Results

Set your survey to Published and it will start appearing based on your targeting rules.

To see responses, go to UserFeedback » Results. You’ll see each response with the page it came from, which helps you spot patterns across different content.

Why this method works

Popup surveys meet visitors where they are. There’s no extra page to visit, no form to seek out. The friction is low, so response rates are higher than you’d expect for unprompted feedback.

The tradeoff is depth. You can’t ask ten questions in a popup without annoying people. This is for quick pulse checks, not detailed research.

Use UserFeedback surveys when you need:

• Feedback on specific pages or content
• Quick, low-friction responses
• Contextual data tied to where visitors actually are on your site

Which Method Should You Use?

Method	Best For	Question Types	Completion Rate	Price
RafflePress	Incentivized surveys tied to giveaways	Multiple choice	Highest	Pro plan
WPForms	Detailed research with reporting	All types (rating, Likert, open text, NPS)	Medium	Pro plan
UserFeedback	Quick popup feedback on specific pages	Multiple choice, rating, open text	Medium-high	Free + Pro

Quick decision guide:

• Choose RafflePress if getting responses is your biggest challenge. The giveaway incentive makes a measurable difference.
• Choose WPForms if you need to ask multiple questions, use conditional logic, or export data for deeper analysis.
• Choose UserFeedback if you want feedback tied to specific content without sending visitors to a separate page.

You can also combine methods. Run a RafflePress survey to get quick volume on a big decision, then follow up with a WPForms survey to dig deeper with the people who showed interest.

FAQs on Creating a Survey in WordPress

Is there a free survey plugin for WordPress?

Yes. UserFeedback has a free version that lets you create basic popup surveys with unlimited responses. If you need a free form-based survey, WPForms Lite works for simple forms, but the survey-specific features (Likert scales, reporting) require the Pro plan.

How do I increase survey response rates?

The most effective way is to offer an incentive. Tying your survey to a giveaway with RafflePress typically doubles or triples completion rates. If you can’t offer a prize, keep your survey short (five questions or fewer), show it at the right moment (UserFeedback’s targeting helps here), and tell people how long it will take upfront.

What’s the difference between a poll and a survey?

A poll is a single question with predefined answers. A survey is multiple questions and can include open-ended responses. Polls are faster to complete and work well for quick audience input. Surveys give you deeper insight but take more effort from respondents.

How many questions should a WordPress survey have?

As few as possible. Every question you add reduces completion rates. For popup surveys, stick to one to three questions. For standalone surveys with an incentive, you can go longer, but anything over ten questions will see significant drop-off. Only ask what you’ll actually act on.

Can I see who responded to my survey?

It depends on your setup. WPForms can collect names and emails if you include those fields. RafflePress ties responses to giveaway entries, so you’ll have contact info for respondents. UserFeedback can capture emails optionally, or you can keep surveys anonymous. Anonymous surveys often get more honest answers.

Creating a survey on WordPress takes minutes once you pick the right format. If you want the most completions, start with the RafflePress giveaway-based approach.

Ready to create your first survey? Get started with RafflePress and see the difference an incentive makes.

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