Before we create a survey, let's get familiar with the layout of the survey creation flow in Freshsurvey, and the different survey statuses.

Creating a survey

Beyond creating a "Survey from scratch", a survey can be created by 


Copy and pasting the questions


Typically in most teams, the survey questions are processed in a document. The document goes through multiple rounds of review and finally, gets the node to send to the customer or employees. 


This survey creation option gives the flexibility to copy-paste the question from the document to Freshsurvey directly. Freshsurvey understands the questions and builds the survey for you. 


By default, the system recognizes two question types: 'Multichoice - Single answer' and 'Long text answer.' No advanced tags are required for these types; simply separate each question with a blank or new line. For 'Multichoice - Single answer' questions, list the choices one below the other without any blank lines in between.


If you want to introduce other question types or specify configurations, you can do so, by adding the type and configuration as tags following the question in the same line. Refer to this article to learn more formatting options.


Duplicating an existing survey a.k.a cloning

It is possible to duplicate an existing survey from the survey list, having said that, this action can even be invoked from the new survey creation screen. 


  1. Select the "Duplicate a survey" option, in the left pane search or select the survey you wish to duplicate.
  2. Once you select the survey, you can preview them in the right pane. 
  3. To choose a specific survey to copy, click on the "Use this" button below the survey name in the left pane. This will lead you to the survey builder by copying all the survey questionnaires, design, and language settings.


Template Gallery lists a collection of sample and your company-saved survey templates to choose from. The experience is similar to the above sample, with more options to filter the template you wish to use. 

  1. Select the "Template Gallery" option, 
  2. In the left pane, you can see options to toggle between the "Templates gallery" and "Saved templates" in your Freshsurvey account. you can also search or filter the templates. You can filter templates by 
    1. Theme (NPS, CSAT, CES, or Others), 
    2. Function (Marketing, Customer Experience, Product, HR, or Sales), or
    3. Industry (Retail, Service, or Technology).
  3. Once you select the survey, you can preview them in the right pane. 
  4. To choose a specific survey template, click the "Use this" button below the survey name in the left pane. This will lead you to the survey builder by copying all the survey questionnaires, design, and language settings.


Importing a Freshworks Survey Questionnaire file  (*.fsq)

Freshworks Survey Questionnaire (*.fsq) file is a proprietary file format supported by Freshsurvey to migrate a survey from one Freshsurvey instance to another. A Survey admin can export any survey from the "Survey Builder" screen and import them to a new instance using the "Import Survey" option. 


  1. Choose the "Import survey" option from the survey creation screen
  2. Give your survey a name and description
  3. Choose the *.fsq from your system to import into the account.


This will lead you to the survey builder by recreating all the survey questionnaires, design, and language settings using the *.fsq file.




Survey creation 


Once you've selected a template and given your survey a name, you can edit your survey. Let's run through the various elements:


This is what your survey builder screen should look like.




1. At the very top of the survey screen is the logo. If you've added a logo while creating your account, that logo will be displayed here. Click on the logo to change it.




2. Below the logo is the welcome text. Click on the text to edit it.


3. The first question in your survey is displayed based on which template or survey you choose (NPS, CSAT, or CES). You can click on the question to edit the text and customize it as per your requirements.



4. Add new questions by clicking on the '+' button that's shown after the questions



5. The very last card is the thank-you message. This is displayed when the survey is complete. Click on the text to edit it.


Survey settings panel

The right pane of your screen, lets you edit the question-specific configuration. Beyond the question settings, you can also spot 3 little icons. These enable you to configure the survey language, survey design, and overall survey settings. 


Learn more about survey question customization here.


Once your survey has been created, you can save it as a draft or click on 'Publish' to activate it. Use a collector to send it out and collect responses.

Survey status

Once created, there are three statuses for a survey:

Draft: A survey is in the draft stage when all edits and configurations haven't been set live. A draft is also not visible to the public. You can make multiple changes to a draft survey without worrying about your audience.

Active: An active survey is currently live and running. These surveys are being sent to your audience at the moment and can be paused if the need may arise.

Paused: An active survey is paused to make certain changes or edits to the questions or other configurations. While paused, recipients will not receive the survey.