To publish a survey, open it from Communications > Surveys and click Publish Survey. Then either email it with Send Communication, which gives each recipient their own link that takes one reply, or post one link that anyone can use as often as they like. Either way the replies are anonymous: your results don't show who answered.

Applies to: Org admins · Enhanced, Elite and Enterprise plans · Legacy content editor websites

Where: Communications > Surveys > View Survey (magnifying glass) > Publish Survey

Before you publish

• Every Single Selection question needs at least two answer values. Until it has them, or while the survey has no questions, the Publish button is grayed out, and the page names the question that "has less than two options."
• Check the questions and their wording first. Once the survey is published, the Surveys page no longer lets you rename it or add questions.
• If your organization's Editor 2.0 website is live, survey links open your new website's home page instead of the survey, so build a form on the new website for it. See CMS: Legacy Survey Feature Sunset: Why Your Survey Links Redirect and What to Use Instead.

Email a private survey (one reply per person)

1. Go to Communications > Surveys.
2. On the survey's row, click the View Survey icon (a magnifying glass). The page shows the survey as people will see it.
3. Click Publish Survey.
4. Under Publishing Method, choose "Use Send Communications to email a survey link - one reply per email". It's selected to start with.
5. Click Publish. Send Communication opens, with a red box at the top that says "Publish" and your survey's name.
6. Check the lists or people you want to send it to, and click Next.
7. Enter the Email Subject and your message. You don't need to add a link: TeamSideline adds each recipient's own survey link to their email.
8. Click Send Now, or click Next to choose your send options and then click Send.

What you'll see: the survey's status changes from Draft to Published when the email is sent. Each recipient's link is different. After someone submits the survey, opening their link again shows "You have responded to this survey already."

To stop before sending, click Cancel in the red box. You'll see "The publish of this survey has been canceled." and the survey stays a draft.

Post an anonymous survey link (any number of replies)

1. Go to Communications > Surveys and click the View Survey icon (magnifying glass) on the survey's row.
2. Click Publish Survey.
3. Choose "Use the Links function to post a survey link that can have multiple anonymous responses".
4. Click Publish.
5. Add the link where people will see it. In Content > Page Edit, Content > News Items or a Send Communication message, open the Links drop-down, click the plus sign next to Anonymous Surveys and click your survey.

What you'll see: "Your survey has been published. You can use the custom links feature to provide a link to the survey using any of the communication or content editing functions." The status changes to Published, and anyone with the link can reply, as often as they like.

To share the link somewhere else, such as in a text message, on social media or as a sidebar link, open it from a page or email where you've added it and copy the address from your browser.

Private or anonymous: which to choose

If you need to know who answered, ask for a name or email address in one of the questions.

Close or reopen a survey

A published survey's View Survey page shows the results so far, with Close and, once someone has replied, View Detail.

1. Click Close.
2. Click OK when asked "Are you sure you want to close this Survey and not allow any more responses?"

What you'll see: "This survey has been closed." People who open the link see "This survey has been closed." To take replies again, click Reopen Survey; you'll see "This survey has been reopened." Private links that haven't been used work again.

If it doesn't work

• The Publish button is grayed out. A Single Selection question has fewer than two answer values, or the survey has no questions. On Communications > Surveys, open the survey's questions and add values with the question's Add Value icon, then publish.
• Your survey isn't under Anonymous Surveys in the Links drop-down. It was published as a private survey, or it isn't published yet. Only anonymous surveys are listed there.
• People see "This survey has not been published." The survey is still a draft. Publish it first.
• People see "This survey has been closed." Click Reopen Survey on the survey's View Survey page.
• Someone sees "You have responded to this survey already." but didn't reply. Their private link was used, for example by someone they forwarded the email to. Each private link takes one reply, and a sent survey can't be sent again; copy the survey and send the copy, or publish a copy as an anonymous survey.
• "You must answer question" followed by a number. That question is required. Answer it and submit again.
• The survey link opens your home page. Your organization's Editor 2.0 website is live, and old-website pages, including surveys, now send visitors to it.

Good to know

• A private survey is emailed once, when you publish it. To reach more people later, use Copy Survey on the Surveys page and publish the copy. Its results are counted separately, so add the two together yourself.
• View Survey shows each question's answers with counts and percentages, and View Detail steps through the replies one at a time. See How do I view/export results of Survey?
• The survey link isn't added to text messages, so send a private survey by email.
• Watch the video: How to Create a Survey.

Related articles

• How to Create a Survey
• How do I view/export results of Survey?
• How do I resend a Survey?
• How to insert a link with the Links drop-down (legacy content editor and emails)
• CMS: Legacy Survey Feature Sunset: Why Your Survey Links Redirect and What to Use Instead