When building a survey, one decision to make is how to administer the questions. You can either design a paginated or infinite scrolling survey. Pagination can serve as a strategic advantage by increasing response and break-off rates in surveys. In this article, we will explain what pagination means, its advantages and limitations, and how to use pagination in your surveys.

What is pagination?

Pagination is a way of separating online content onto different pages instead of placing it all on one webpage where the user needs to scroll. This type of web structure is typically accompanied by page numbers placed at the top or bottom of each page. Infinite scrolling, on the other hand, is when content appears as the user continues to scroll and functions as a bottomless webpage. Pagination allows respondents to navigate the entire survey by clicking on a page number to go from one question to the next. A paginated design allows one question per page instead of displaying the entire survey on one webpage where the user scrolls down until they finish.

Advantages of pagination in surveys

One benefit of paging surveys is that they can keep you more organized. For example, building a survey with one question per page compartmentalizes each question to stand out on its own. Arranging questions this way can offer a more user-friendly design allowing users to focus on one question at a time. This approach might be less overwhelming for respondents than one full page of questions.

Organizing a long list of questions on one page allows respondents to skim immediately. If you have a lot of questions, this might discourage users from completing the survey because they might feel it takes up too much of their time. However, spreading out lengthy survey questions onto separate web pages presents a less-intimidating task for the user. On the other hand, one-page surveys benefit fewer questions because they don’t require much scrolling.

Pagination offers better use of images

Pagination is useful for surveys with images and video. For instance, it might be beneficial to include photos for multiple-choice questions about certain brands. Photos offer color, texture, and design to a survey making it more pleasing to the eye. Respondents are more likely to stay engaged when online content is pleasing to the eye. When respondents remain engaged, they’ll more likely complete the survey, and you’ll receive the insights you’re looking for.

Customize your survey using Momentive, maker of SurveyMonkey and GetFeedback. See how pagination can work for you with our custom themes and colors.

Paginationation gives control to survey respondents

With paging, respondents can bookmark their page if they have to take a break and finish the questionnaire at a more convenient time. Providing respondents with a paginated survey allows them to see how long the survey is without needing to scroll down. This feature is especially useful for mobile devices. A smaller screen can make a short to medium-sized survey seem long. With the paginated feature providing page numbers, respondents can immediately assess how long it might take for them to complete the survey.

Pagination can collect more insights

Another benefit to paging design is that you can still collect insights if a respondent exits the survey. If a respondent doesn’t complete the survey, you can receive answers to any questions they have answered. When you submit a survey using the one-page infinite scrolling method, respondents must complete the entire questionnaire to receive feedback and insights.

Limitations of pagination in surveys

It’s always best to recognize the limitations of any feature when it comes to designing a survey. Your main business objective will reflect what kind of information you want from a survey. In some cases, a paginated survey could render some obstacles. Here’s a short list of them:

Requires users to click “Next” every time they finish a question: While pagination offers a clearer way to highlight each question, it also prompts respondents to click a box or page number to get to the next question. This extra step disrupts the ease of scrolling through a survey. It’s especially challenging for mobile-device users. The smaller screen may require respondents to the additional step of enlarging their screen to access the click button that takes them to the next page. The high number of pages might also discourage respondents from taking or completing the survey.

Potential for more technical difficulties: Pagination imparts more web pages within a survey. The more questions you have, the more pages the survey will need. More web pages means more work for you to ensure every page is optimized. If your online survey includes photos and video, you’ll have to make sure there aren’t any broken links and photos load quickly.

May provide lower satisfaction with the survey: Taking up too much of a respondent’s time could result in user dissatisfaction. If you have a lot of questions, you’ll also have a lot of pages and page numbers. A high volume of pages may cause user fatigue resulting in respondents exiting the survey prematurely or refusing to take it.

Learn more pros and cons of scrolling through multiple pages in surveys.

When to use pagination

In a survey, always make sure you’re asking the right questions in the right way. The use of pagination will depend on the type of questions you ask and how you ask them. Here are some useful tips that can help you determine if pagination is necessary for your next survey:

When the survey is longer: While paginated surveys may typically have one question per page, it is possible to put more than one question on a survey page. If you do this, it’s recommended to keep the questions somewhat related to one another. For instance, demographic questions can remain on the same page. Multiple-choice questions can go on another. Questions related to one photo or video can also go on one page. Also, organizing your questions by topic is recommended for better organization.
If the survey has skip logic, randomization, or question and answer piping: Tailor your questions so they speak directly to the respondent. The more responsive your questionnaire is to users, the more engaged the users will be. The more active users are, the more likely they are to complete the survey. Remember that’s your objective.
- Branch or skip logic can help customize surveys for each respondent. Here's how it works: You'll provide a series of answers to each question. Each of those answers leads to another specific set of questions relevant to the selected answer. Test question skip logic.
- Question and answer piping allows you to customize questions according to the user’s answer. For instance, if you ask what a respondent's favorite color is and the user answers 'blue,' then the next question could be: Why do you like the color blue? Watch how question and answer piping works.
- Randomization shuffles your questions for each user so that every survey asks the same questions in a different order. Watch this video about randomization.

Your surveys can be as short or as long as you want them to be. The number of questions per page is up to you. For example, this employee engagement pagination survey is presented in sections. It breaks up more than 40 questions into manageable sections like “Employee Information” and “Career Development”.