Why a long questionnaire needs sections
Twenty questions in one stream feel endless. The same twenty in four named parts («About you», «Your team», «Tools», «Wishes») feel like four short tasks. Nothing changed except that the respondent can now see the structure.
Sections also help you. When you read the results or export them, answers already sit in meaningful groups, and a colleague editing the survey sees where each topic starts.
For a survey of five or six questions a section break is noise. Start using it somewhere around eight questions or when the topic genuinely changes.
Put sensitive topics in their own section with a short subtitle explaining why you ask. «Salary and workload: answers are only seen in aggregate» gives people a moment to decide, instead of hitting a salary question between two harmless ones.
Sections pair well with branching. If one group of respondents skips a whole part, the section title makes the jump feel intended rather than like a glitch.
Naming sections so people keep going
- Part 2 of 3: your workplace
- A few questions about the event itself
- Almost done: two questions about next time
Numbered titles like «Part 2 of 3» work as a progress indicator. «Almost done» before the last block is honest encouragement, as long as it is true.
Title, subtitle and the look on screen
The block has a title (new ones start as «New section») and an optional subtitle for a one-line explanation. On screen it appears as a line across the page with the title and subtitle below it.
Like a text screen, a section break never stops the respondent: there is nothing to answer, so Next is always available.
Use the subtitle for what the section is about or how long it takes, not for decoration. «Three questions, all optional» is a subtitle that earns its line; a repeat of the title in other words is not.
What you can set
- subtitle