A counsellor web design client recently enquired about adding a client questionnaire to her existing website. The current site has a form plugin installed but it saves entries to the database and is visible to web designer (me!) and the hosting provider. This isn’t ideal from a privacy perspective, so we added a Google form instead so all entries are private and only accessible by the counsellor.

Creating the form

I logged in to the client’s Google account – while on the phone with her to pass all the security checks on the Google login page. Google take logins very seriously and send PIN codes to the owner’s mobile phone if it’s from a new location or device.

Once logged in, I uploaded the questionnaire to Google Drive, and created a new Google form. Each question was then copied over and a test submission made.

Adding or changing questions is super easy using Google Forms, so no coding or help from a web designer is required on an ongoing basis.

Providing a link for clients to fill in

Once the form was complete, it provides a read only link that can be sent to clients. This isn’t linked from the counsellor’s website in this case, but could be sent over in an email. Not having it linked from the website stops any spam submissions to the form. If you have a contact form, you probably know how annoying those can be!

Viewing entries

All the form entries are available from the Google Forms page, so the counsellor can check out the combined responses without having to tot things up in a spreadsheet.

Summary

We added a privacy respecting, easy to edit form to a counsellor’s website to collect client feedback. All the data is presented in an easy to read format and it’s a time saving way to confirm we’re meeting our client’s expectations and receive anonymous feedback on our services.