Question Types Explained
Drip Surveys supports four answer types. Choosing the right one makes your survey easier to complete and your data easier to analyze. This article explains what each type does and when to reach for it.
The four types
Dropdown — Shows a compact select menu with a placeholder. Shoppers pick one option from a list. Great when you have many options and want to save space (for example, "Which country are you shopping from?").
Radio — Displays all options as a single-select group of buttons. Best when you have a handful of options and want them all visible at once (for example, "How was checkout?" → Good / Average / Bad).
Checkbox — Lets shoppers select multiple options at once. Use it when more than one answer can apply (for example, "Which channels do you follow us on?"). Selected answers are recorded together.
Textarea — Provides a multi-line free-text box for open-ended feedback. Use it when you want shoppers to explain in their own words (for example, "What could we improve?").
Choosing the right type
Need one clear answer from a short list? Use radio.
Have a long list of options? Use dropdown to keep the form tidy.
Expecting multiple valid answers? Use checkbox.
Want open comments? Use textarea.
Placeholders
- Dropdown questions display a dropdown placeholder (the prompt text before a selection is made), which you set in your survey settings.
- Textarea questions display a text area placeholder as the field label, also configurable in settings.
Good to know
- Dropdown, radio, and checkbox all require at least one choice. You'll be asked to add options before saving.
- Textarea questions never use choices — if you switch a question to textarea, its choices are ignored.
- Placeholders support the
%customer_name% and %customer_email% personalization tokens.
With the right types chosen, head to the choices article to write clear, useful answer options.