Are Free WordPress Survey Tools Enough?
What makes a free WordPress survey tool worth using?
- A simple and easy-to-learn user interface
- Survey types and data management
- Data analytics and exporting
WordPress is an incredibly powerful content management system that has revolutionized the way companies structure their websites. This once humble blogging platform transformed itself into the best CMS for nearly all applications in a span of a few years—however, it’s still used primarily for its seamless blogging that is very adaptable. When you’re using WordPress, survey tools are easy to find and embed to your blogs, making it fairly easy for you to incorporate a customer satisfaction survey to all of your web pages!
WordPress in itself is free and open-source. All of its features don’t cost anything, making it something that anyone can acquire and learn anytime! What might cost you though, are the plugins that you would want to use for your blogs. One of the most common plugins that people incorporate to their website are WordPress survey plugins. And something to take note of is that these plugins come in free and paid versions.
There are usually a number of significant differences between the free and paid versions of certain survey plugins. However, depending on the features you want and which survey tool you’re using, you can usually decide on staying with the free version, or upgrading to the paid version! All you have to do is to keep in mind these considerations when asking yourself whether or not staying with the free version of a WordPress survey tool is worth it!
Simple and Easy-to-Learn User Interface
An essential part of any WordPress plugin is its ease of use. Nobody would want to patronize a very technical and complex plugin no matter how comprehensive its features are. When it comes to survey plugins, aim for those with clean dashboards and easy to search features. These plugins are supposed to make your life easier by classifying, differentiating, and providing features that are helpful for you!
With that being said, free and paid versions of these survey tools typically have the same interface. Seldom will you see any difference in the user interface when you upgrade to the paid version. And when there are, they’re usually just an increase in buttons to press or a favorites and shortcut feature.
Survey Types and Data Management
Probably the most common reasons why companies use the paid version of survey tools. An increase in the types of surveys you can use and an upgrade on how you manage your data is very appealing to people who want an all-in-one plugin for certain things!
In most cases, free survey tools would only give you so much—usually just 3 to 5 types of surveys, a limited amount of times it can be embedded onto your website, and a relatively simple data sheet for all the results. With that being said, you should also take note that this isn’t always the case, some survey tools provide more than that while restricting only a particular part of their products such as their Google doc integration, their data analytics, or their comprehensive list of survey types with an unlimited number of results!
Paid versions of survey tools are—of course, usually the complete product. They provide everything that the free version gives, and more! But sometimes the paid version of survey tools gives a little bit too much for your company’s needs.
In that regard, small businesses that don’t have a large following might be okay with using the free versions. But companies that have a large social media presence can get more with the paid version!
Data Analytics and Exporting
Usually restricted for the paid version of survey tools, analytics and the option to export your data into Google Docs or Excel are two of the most useful features that can be used by a company that takes surveys seriously. Particularly for quantitative data gathering, data analytics will make your job easier by doing all of the prior studying and quantifying for you!
Analyzing data can be a tedious process, even if all of the data is organized in a spreadsheet. This is because humans can understand graphics and pictures better than straight up statistics in a PowerPoint presentation. That being said, being able to present your analyzed data in a simple way such as graphs and pie charts can do a lot for a company.
And of course, the option to export all of these data, analyzed or not, in a spreadsheet for easy documentation and recording just makes archiving and comparing data from previous sources that much easier.
Although both analytics and the option to export are mainly part of the paid features of WordPress surveys, keep in mind that there are still exceptions to the norm—survey plugins that include either analytics or the export option with their free version, though they are not very common nor as effective.
Key Takeaway
In making a customer satisfaction survey for your blog or website, WordPress survey plugins are probably your best option! Using the free versions of these survey tools are enough for small businesses and small projects. However, the added features of the paid version just straight up outclass and overwhelm the free versions and even the user! When choosing between the free or paid version of a survey tool, always put into consideration what you need and how big your sphere of influence is!