Author: Neeraj Agarwal

Google Forms is a simple to use form builder tool that lets you create beautiful survey forms. It is not only preferred by individuals but also by organizations for conducting surveys.

The thing which makes this software a real delight is, it allows you to receive unlimited responses on surveys from the audience. Moreover, its “free of cost” tag is cherry on top.

Although the form creator provides the mentioned feature, but it has some restrictions which we are going to discuss further.

No doubt, Google Forms let you collect unlimited responses on your survey but it does not provide any option to keep track of the responses which is a huge disappointment for business with greater needs.

Keeping this in mind, we came across the best effective alternative of Google Forms which is Pabbly Form Builder. It lets you view the analytics and report of the submission in the software itself.

Besides, you can easily manage responses at your fingertips. The software is trouble-free and can be accessed by anyone.

Here, in this particular help guide, we will see how one can manage their responses in Google Forms.

1. How To View Google Forms Responses:

Step 1: Open A Form

To see the responses, open the particular form. Don’t forget to log in to your Google account before that.

Step 2: Responses Section

Further, click on the “Responses” on the top of the page to view the user responses on your form.

Step 3: Accepting Responses Option

If you want to conclude the survey and don’t want to receive further responses,  then disable the “Accepting responses” button.

2. How To Download Responses In CSV Format:

Step 1: Responses Section

In the responses tab, click on the three vertical dots icon to view the drop-down menu.

Step 2: Download Responses

To download the received responses of your form. Select the “Download responses(.csv)” option.

After clicking on that button, a zip file would automatically be downloaded on your system. Thereafter, you would be able to access the responses offline.

3. How To Use Google Sheets Integration:

Step 1: Google Sheet Icon

In the Responses tab, click on the Google Sheets icon beside the three vertical dots.

Step 2: Select Response Destination

You will have two options, which are either create a new spreadsheet or link the responses to an existing spreadsheet.

Check the radio button of the option you wish to choose and then click “Create” or “Select”.

Step 3: Choose Spreadsheet

If you choose to create a new spreadsheet, a new tab will open with Google Sheets displaying your responses.

On the other hand, the second option will ask you to select the existing spreadsheet you wish to link your responses with.

Subsequently, a new tab will open with the Google Sheets, that you just selected, displaying your responses.

4. How To Enable Email Notifications Of Responses:

Step 1: Response Section

Click on the three vertical dots icon in the Responses tab.

Step 2: Select Option

Further, from the drop-down menu, select “Get email notifications for new responses”.

Thereafter, email notifications would be enabled on your Google account.  Further, you will receive notifications in your Gmail inbox.

Restrictions of Google Forms in managing responses?

Google Forms has some limitations that you may not realize until you actually use it. Collecting responses is one thing but keeping track of your respondent form activity via Analytics is something Google Forms doesn’t offer. Further, you get to view the data in spreadsheets software but you can’t download specified month responses separately.

Besides that, this survey maker has only one integration – Google Sheets. As you have seen, this is used to export responses. Another thing you might have noticed is that the tool allows you to get email notifications only on one email address – that too, a Gmail account.

These are some pitfalls of using Google Forms, which may cause you to look for other survey makers available online.

Is there any suitable alternative to Google Forms available in the market?

Yes! One of the alternatives is Pabbly Form Builder, which has excellent response management features. It not only covers all the Google Forms limitations, but also offers additional features such as real-time reports and analytics tool in the software itself.

Moreover, it provides email notifications of responses on multiple email addresses. It also offers a convenient way of exporting responses as you can download specific month responses or whole responses submitted using the software itself.

Let’s understand how one can manage responses using Pabbly Form Builder.

1. How To View Responses:

Step 1: Submission Section

After you create your survey using Pabbly Form Builder, open the “Submissions” tab which you will see on the extreme left column.

Step 2: Form Submission Section

The following page will give you 5 options: ‘Unread Messages’, ‘On Hold’, ‘Resolved’, ‘Partial Submissions’ and ‘All Messages’. Choose accordingly to view responses in the respective categories below.

Alternatively, by selecting the “Submissions” button appearing on your form in the dashboard. The button also shows the number of new responses received on the survey.

2. How To Download Responses:

Step 1: Select Responses

You first need to select specific responses you want to download. Pabbly Form Builder allows you to download specific responses as well. Check the boxes of the responses you wish to download.

Step 2: Download Responses

Click on the “Export Submissions” button to download the selected responses. The file that would be downloaded on your system will only include the selected responses.

3. How To Enable Email Notifications For Responses:

Step 1: Setting Option

Open “Settings” from the dashboard, the button of which you can find on the extreme left column.

Step 2: Email Notification Section

Click on the “Email Notifications” button on the following page from the list of settings available.

Step 3: Add Multiple Email Addresses

Use the “Add” button to enter the email address you wish to receive notifications on.

Moreover, you can add multiple emails in a single survey form using Pabbly Form Builder.

4. How To View Analytics:

Step 1: Analytics Option

In the Submissions tab, click on “Analytics”.

Step 2: Showing Analytics Option

Now, choose the period you need to view the analytics of. Use the drop-down menu beside “Showing Analytics For:” to set the period.

Step 3: Apply Option

You can select ranges like the last 7 days, this month and the last 6 months. Alternatively, you can also create your custom range.

After selecting the time period, click on “Apply”.

The page will then display the analytics for the selected period. These include form visits and submissions.

Here you have it, follow these steps and you can see and operate every needed thing related to your form.

Conclusion

Surveys are becoming increasingly common. Usually, Google Forms is the first online tool that comes into our mind when we wish to create surveys. This is partly because most of us have Google accounts. Nonetheless, it lacks in some areas, including response management which has been discussed above.

If you do not find the drawbacks as limiting, Google Forms should be your top choice as it is free of cost too.

You May Also Like To Read:

• How To Receive A Payment With My Google Forms?
• How To Remove Confirmation Page On Submission In Google Forms?

Are you head over heels to develop payment forms for your website?

Frankly, you must be left puzzling over how to accomplish this task between third-party solutions or developing your own in-house payment forms!

As online websites become interwoven into our lives through smartphones or IoT devices, the potential to gauge payment acceptance on any website is an untapped opportunity!

So, if you want to create online forms to collect payment which can do beyond the basics then you should think over the righteous payment forms.

Now, you must be thinking about Google Forms, Right!

No doubt, Google Forms are trendy. But they can only create simple & rough forms that restrict you to take order and payments in a snap.

Google Forms is unable to collect payment in this period as it is not PCI compliant. It does not follow the set of security standards for the payment credentials. Also, Google Forms is incapable of offering a secure environment for processing, accepting & storing credit card information.

Therefore, here comes the need for a form builder that can offer a quicker and easier payment experience to your customers like Pabbly Form Builder. It’s very quick on the uptake for receiving online payments through your website.

If you want to collect payment with Google Forms then this will only allow you to create a custom confirmation text, which you can easily use to insert a link of the third-party payment website. This will redirect the customers from Google Forms to the 3rd-party website for payment.

Let’s discuss how Google Forms can be used to develop a basic checkout page to receive payment!

Step 1: Basic Checkout Form Creation by Google Forms

To frame out the payment collection form, you can use its pre-built templates. Also, you can draft your personal payment form by just tapping the “Blank” button from the Google Forms dashboard.

Step 2: Asking Payment Information

Now, you can add customized questions to your Google Forms for asking the essential information. For this, you need to click on the “Plus” icon.

This form builder comes up with multiple settings for adding multiple sections, images, videos, titles, etc.

Step 3: General Settings

After creating the form, you can collect email addresses of the payer and be able to send them response receipts via “Settings” option in the dashboard. Also, the settings for the respondents can be done so that they can edit the details after submit or can see their purchasing summary.

Step 4: Confirmation Message Setting

Now, go to the “Presentation” option where you can set a customized message and add the link of a third-party payment gateway for payment collection.

This is how you can frame up the basic payment form using Google Forms.

Why Is Google Payment Form The Stumbling Block?

As you know, for requesting payment we need to set a custom confirmation text in the Google Forms. But this link is visualized once the form gets submitted by the user. This means it will redirect the people away from your form to the third-party payment website. This will end up customers feeling as if they are paying to a business other than the one they are purchasing from.

Therefore, taking the turn for better business, there is requisite of the form builder that can keep their distractions to the minimum. Pabbly Form Builder is the must-have software for your business as it clears away all the payment issues that hinder your business. In addition, it allows you to collect payments through two different payment gateways such as PayPal and Stripe.

Let’s see how Pabbly Form Builder allows tailoring payment forms to fit your needs.

Step 1: Draft Customized Payment Form

Click on the “Create New Form” option to design a form that offers your customers a custom payment gateway.

Pabbly Form Builder also delivers the flexibility to choose predefined templates, keeping the customer payment experience intuitive and as easy as pie. Its ready-made templates are fully customizable giving you control over the look and feel of your payment form.

Step 2: Form Customization

It provides the collection of designing toolkit at its “Blocks” tab that will help you to plan out your own payment form for the website as you desire. You will be able to insert headings, image, captcha, payment, radio elements via its drag & drop feature.

Step 3: Infix The Payment Option

Now, by dragging the “Payment” tab from the blocks section, you can place it at any step in the form. This form builder will automatically showcase default options to add your products and their details as well as their total price.

Step 4: Organize Product Specifics

The setup provides the flexibility to add an unlimited number of products. You can showcase the product image, name, stock availability, pricing keeping your online shopping website design consistent.

Step 5: Selection Of Payment Gateway Option

Do you know, 56% of the website users expect multiple payment options on their payment form? Pabbly Form Builder helps to offer two payment gateways i.e. Stripe, PayPal or both. You can choose to depend upon which payment method your target audience mostly prefer.

If you want to understand how to select these gateways, visit the Stripe integration guide and PayPal integration guide.

Step 6: Billing Cycle Structure

As you will see, the next step will be to select the billing cycle type. The form builder is designed to support both single as well as the recurring payment cycle.

Step 7: Save Payment Settings

To raise the brand recognition of your business, the payment form is ready. Just, click on the “Save Payment Settings” button at the bottom and enjoy the seamless design of your payment page.

Congratulations! Your form is ready to go seamlessly with this form builder. Now, you can receive payment seamlessly from your online business website.

Wrapping Up!

Before making the decision!

Leading up to the judgment, you should consider a few facts.

First, whether you’re a small business or having technological resources, it will be wise to go with the best payment form builder. Because, it ensures flexibility in its modification and management. That way, you don’t have to worry about online payments as your processes or business evolve.

Second, examining the cost, upfront setup fees, and security, Pabbly Form Builder is supportive through thick and thin.

No matter what you implement, payment forms mean big step-up and growth for your online business website!

You May Also Like To Read:

• How To Duplicate A Google Forms?
• How To Remove Confirmation Page On Submission In Google Forms?