A survey with every good question in it is a survey nobody finishes. You have to choose. Each question below tells you something different about an article, so pick by the decision you want to make: update it, expand it, rewrite it or write a follow-up.
For each question you get the wording, the answer type and what the answers tell you. At the end there are ready-made combinations for different kinds of article.
The short answer
Start with "Was this article useful?" and add one or two questions that explain the answer, such as "What was missing?" or "Is anything on this page out of date?". Choose them by the decision you need to make, and ask no more than three on the same article.
Questions that tell you whether the article worked
Use one of these first. They are quick to answer, and they give you a figure you can compare between articles.
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"Was this article useful?"
Yes / No. The general check, and the one to use when you want to compare every article on your site with the same measure.
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"Did this answer your question?"
Yes / No. Stricter than "useful", and better on how-tos and explainers, where readers arrive with a question.
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"How would you rate this article?"
A rating from 1 to 5 stars. It shows how strongly readers feel, which suits long reads and reviews, where a plain Yes or No hides too much.
Questions that tell you why
Use one of these second. They turn a low score into something you can change.
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"What was missing?"
Multiple choice with options such as "An example", "More detail", "Clearer steps" and "Something else". Shows what to add.
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"Was anything unclear?"
Free text. Readers often quote the sentence or step that lost them.
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"Is anything on this page out of date?"
Yes / No. For evergreen guides, price lists and anything with dates. A rise in Yes answers tells you it is time to update.
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"How much of this was new to you?"
A percentage slider from 0 to 100. Low answers mean the article told readers what they already knew; very high answers on a beginner guide can mean it went too fast.
Questions that tell you what to do next
Use one of these last, and make it optional.
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"Would you like more articles like this?"
Yes / No. Shows which kinds of article readers want more of, which page views alone can't separate from a good headline.
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"What should we write about next?"
Free text. Topic ideas in readers' own words, which often make good headlines.
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"How likely are you to recommend this article to a friend or colleague?"
The 0 to 10 Net Promoter Score question. Useful for professional and B2B content, where readers share articles with their team.
Combine them into one short survey
Take one question from the first group, one from the second and, if you like, one from the third. These combinations work for common kinds of article:
| Kind of article | First | Second | Third (optional) |
|---|---|---|---|
| How-to guide | Did this answer your question? | What was missing? | What should we write about next? |
| News explainer | Was this article useful? | Was anything unclear? | Would you like more articles like this? |
| Evergreen guide | Was this article useful? | Is anything on this page out of date? | What should we write about next? |
| Long read or feature | How would you rate this article? | How much of this was new to you? | Would you like more articles like this? |
| B2B article | Was this article useful? | What was missing? | How likely are you to recommend this article? |
Example
Example: a software company blog
Say your company blog publishes tutorials and opinion pieces. On tutorials you ask "Did this answer your question?" and "What was missing?". On opinion pieces you ask "How would you rate this article?" and "Would you like more articles like this?".
After two months, most tutorials get a clear Yes, but readers who answer No usually pick "An example". Opinion pieces get good ratings, yet few readers want more of them. So you add code examples to the busiest tutorials first, and publish opinion pieces less often.
Mistakes that make the answers hard to use
- Changing the wording from one article to the next, so the answers can no longer be compared.
- Asking two "why" questions in a row. One is enough, and a second makes the survey feel long.
- Putting the free-text question first. Readers skip it, and then skip the rest.
- Making every question required. Let readers skip, or many won't answer at all.
- Asking about the website when you want to know about the article.
Where Asklet fits
Every question above uses an answer type Asklet has: Yes / No, star rating, multiple choice, free text, percentage and NPS. Questions you write go into a shared question bank, so the same wording runs on every survey that uses it, and path patterns give each section of your site its own combination.
A survey can have up to 3 questions on the Free plan, which covers the combinations above.
Your next steps
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Write down the decision you want to make
Update, expand, rewrite or follow up. The decision picks the questions.
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Pick one question that tells you whether the article worked
Use the same one for every article of the same kind.
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Add one question that tells you why
Multiple choice for a quick answer, free text for detail.
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Add an optional question about what comes next
Only if you will read the answers.
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Review once each article has 10 answers
Compare articles of the same kind, then act on the reasons readers give.
Try these steps on your own site. Asklet adds the questions to every page with one snippet. Free plan, no card needed. Compare the plans.
Start freeCommon questions
What is the best question to ask about an article?
"Was this article useful?" with Yes and No, or "Did this answer your question?" on how-tos. Both take one tap and give you a figure you can compare between articles.
How many questions should an article survey have?
Two, or three at most: one that tells you whether the article worked, one that tells you why, and an optional one about what comes next.
Should article survey questions be required?
No. Let readers skip questions. Readers who feel forced to answer often stop, and you lose the answers they would have given.
Can different sections of my site ask different questions?
Yes. In Asklet, give a path pattern such as /guides/* its own survey. Articles that match no pattern show the website's default survey.
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