Before building, decide what information is necessary, who may respond, and whether responses should be anonymous or tied to a Google Account. Avoid collecting passwords or unnecessary sensitive information. If the form belongs to an organization, use the account that should retain ownership.
2
Create the form
Sign in and open forms.google.com. Choose Blank form or an appropriate template, then replace the untitled name and description. The file name in Google Drive and the title respondents see can be edited separately, so make both recognizable.
3
Add and configure questions
Use the plus button to add a question, choose the correct response type, and enter answer choices where needed. Turn on Required only for information respondents must provide. Add sections for longer forms so questions are grouped logically rather than presented as one uninterrupted page.
4
Configure behavior and access
Open Settings and review response collection, sign-in restrictions, editing, confirmation, and presentation options. Availability depends on the account type. If collecting email addresses or limiting responses, make sure those controls match what you tell respondents and do not unintentionally exclude the audience.
5
Preview and test the form
Use Preview to complete the form as a respondent. Test required questions, branching, validation, and the confirmation message on both a computer and phone when mobile users matter. Submit a test response and check that it appears correctly before publishing the real link.
6
Publish and share the correct link
When the form is ready, choose Publish if Forms requires publishing, then use the available sharing control to copy the responder link or send it by email. Do not share the browser's editing URL. Open the responder link in a signed-out or private window to confirm access.
7
Review and manage responses
Open the Responses tab to view summaries and individual submissions, or link a Google Sheet for tabular review. Decide when to stop accepting responses and keep the destination Sheet's access restricted. Deleting a question later can make historical results harder to interpret, so export important results first.
