Surveys are a core part of almost every test type on BetaTesting. You can use the survey builder to collect UX feedback, run market research, or verify that testers actually did what you asked. A well built survey is the difference between a pile of vague comments and a result you can act on.
This article walks through the features of the survey builder that have the biggest effect on quality: choosing the right question types, adding context with attachments, reusing questions, and using logic so each tester only sees the questions that apply to them.
Types of Survey Questions
The left pane of the builder holds two lists. Base Question Types are blank types you write yourself, such as short text, long text, multiple choice, ranking, scale, and matrix.
Core Question Bank entries drop in a ready made question you can edit, such as NPS, CES, CSAT, or a star rating. What type of survey questions can I add? describes every type and when each one is worth using.
Which entries you see depends on your test type. Matrix, Product Perception, and UI Impression also require the Matrix Questions feature, so they may not be available on your account.
Base Questions
Base Questions include:
Short text
Long text
Multiple choice (checkbox multi-select, radio)
Ranking
Sliding scale
Matrix / Semantic Differential
File upload
Dynamic data
Core Question Bank
The Core Question Bank includes:
Net Promotor Score (NPS)
Customer Effort (CES)
Customer Satisfaction (CSAT)
Star Rating (1-5)
Product Perception
UI Impression
In the Multi-day test workflow in Advanced Mode, there are also tasks, participation verification, video uploads, and more that can be added from the Core Question Bank to create custom instructions and workflows for more unique or complex testing scenarios.
How to write questions that get usable answers
Lead with a small number of quantitative questions, such as scale or multiple choice, so you have numbers you can chart and compare.
Follow each rating with one open text question that asks why. A score on its own rarely tells you what to change.
Ask one thing per question. If a question contains "and", it usually needs to be two questions.
Use a matrix question when you would otherwise ask the same rating about five or six different things in a row. It is far quicker for testers and keeps the answers on one consistent scale.
Turn on Randomize order on multiple choice and ranking questions so the order of your options does not bias results.
Preview the survey before you launch. Click Preview at the bottom of the builder and answer it as a tester would.
Some question types and features are only available on specific plans, like the Matrix and Semantic Differential questions.
How to copy and delete questions
Hover over a question and use the icons on its left side.
The trash icon deletes the question.
The copy icon duplicates the question along with its answer options. The duplicate is fully editable, which makes it the quickest way to build a run of similar questions.
Deleting a question that another question's logic depends on will remove that logic, and the builder warns you before it does.
How to add attachments to a question
You can attach images, videos, mock ups, landing page screenshots, or PDFs to any question, so testers see exactly what you are asking about.
Click the image icon on the question
Upload your files. You will see thumbnails in the builder once the upload finishes.
Add a description to an attachment if the file name alone is not clear.
Testers can click any attachment to expand it while taking the survey, and attachments stay visible alongside the question in your results.
Choose if you want to show an image or video in full-size by default
By default, uploads show as a thumbnail that can be expanded to full size with a click. When building your survey, you can optionally hover over an image or video upload and choose to "Show full-size to tester". We recommend Previewing your survey to get the right look.
You can choose to add multiple attachments to each question:
How to use logic to keep surveys short
Two kinds of logic are available, and they solve different problems. Show/hide logic makes a question appear only for testers who gave a particular answer to an earlier multiple choice or scale question, which is the right tool for follow up questions. Skip logic sends a tester forward past questions that do not apply to them, which is the right tool for whole sections. Both are set up from the gear icon on a question, and Create branching, show/hide, and skip logic in survey questions walks through both in full.
Things to know
Your changes save automatically as you edit, and you can also click Save at any time.
Each test type comes with its own set of survey templates, so the templates you are offered depend on the type of test you created.
Editing a question after it has been distributed and answered mixes old and new answers in the same results, so avoid major edits once responses are in.
Moving questions around after setting up logic can break that logic. Review your logic after a large reorder.
If your access level is read only, the builder opens in a read only state and you will not be able to edit questions.