How respondents answer a questionnaire
Respondents answer a Pristo CX questionnaire in the web browser of a phone, tablet or computer. They need no Pristo CX account and no app. They open the questionnaire from a link, a QR code, a web page or a message, answer its pages and select Finish. This page describes what respondents see, so you can explain it to them and answer their questions.
How respondents open a questionnaire
Section titled “How respondents open a questionnaire”How a respondent opens the questionnaire decides whether opening it again starts a new response or continues the same one.
| How you share it | What the respondent opens | Opening it again |
|---|---|---|
| The public link or QR code on the Share tab | A link that starts with https://go.pristo.io/n/ |
Starts a new response |
| The embed code on your website | The questionnaire inside your web page | Starts a new response each time the page loads |
| An additional multi-use link | A link that starts with https://go.pristo.io/l/ |
Starts a new response |
| An additional single-use link | A link that starts with https://go.pristo.io/l/ |
Continues the same response until it is finished, then shows a thank-you page |
| An SMS or email from a distribution | A personal single-use link in the message. Reminders carry the same link | The same as a single-use link. After the link expires, it shows a page saying the survey has expired |
In a distribution whose Anonymity Level is not Full Tracking, the link does not remember an unfinished response. Opening it again starts a new response, until one of them is finished.
Links that you generate through the API are single-use or reusable, and behave like the additional links. See Share a questionnaire and the distributions overview for how to create each one.
Moving through the pages
Section titled “Moving through the pages”The header shows the questionnaire’s title and a button that switches between the light and the dark theme. A questionnaire with more than one page also shows its pages under the header. How respondents move between pages depends on the questionnaire’s Flow:
| Flow | What respondents do |
|---|---|
| Progressed | They answer one page at a time and select Next and Previous. The last page has Finish. The bar under the header marks finished pages with a check mark |
| Parallel | The pages are tabs that they open in any order. Every page has Finish |
Some question types ask for a file, a photo, an audio or video recording, or the current location. For a photo, a recording or the location, the respondent’s browser asks for permission to use the camera, the microphone or the location.
Required questions and error messages
Section titled “Required questions and error messages”A required question has a red asterisk. The first section with required questions on a page also shows Fields marked with * are required.
When a respondent selects Next, Pristo CX checks the answers on the page. Finish checks every page and first opens the page that has a problem. Each question with a problem shows its message under it, such as The field is required, and a dialog opens with the title Invalid fields found. When the respondent closes the dialog, the first question to fix gets the focus.
Other messages ask for a valid email address, phone number or web address, a text or number within limits, or a number of choices. Pristo CX does not check questions that a show condition hides.
Saving and coming back later
Section titled “Saving and coming back later”Pristo CX saves the answers when the respondent moves to another page or tab, when they select Finish, and every 60 seconds while a page is open. Reloading the page keeps the response.
- With a single-use link or a link from a message, the respondent can close the questionnaire and open the link again later. The response continues, except in the anonymous distributions described above. In the Progressed flow, it opens on the first page that is not complete.
- With the public link, the QR code, the embed code or a multi-use link, opening the link again starts a new, empty response.
- If you publish a new version while a respondent is answering, their response keeps the version they opened.
If the connection fails while Pristo CX saves, the respondent sees Network Error for a few seconds and stays on the same page with their answers. They can select the button again.
Language and theme
Section titled “Language and theme”The questionnaire opens in its main language. If it has translations, the header shows a globe button, Change language, that lists the languages. A right-to-left language, such as Hebrew or Arabic, switches the page to right to left. The globe button is hidden on phone-sized screens, so respondents on most phones see only the main language.
The theme button switches between the light and the dark theme. At first, the questionnaire follows the theme of the respondent’s device, and the browser remembers the respondent’s choice. The dark theme replaces the questionnaire’s background and button colors with dark ones.
The end page
Section titled “The end page”After the last page, or when an exit point ends the questionnaire, the respondent sees the end page. It shows your title and subtitle under a check mark, or it sends the respondent to a web address. While the address opens, they see Redirecting and a link to open it themselves. In a questionnaire embedded in a web page, the redirect does not happen by itself, so respondents use the link. The end page’s title and subtitle are always in the questionnaire’s main language.
After a respondent finishes, their single-use link opens a page that thanks them and says the form was sent. If they try to change answers in a response that was already finished, for example in a second browser tab, they see Already submitted.
When the questionnaire does not open
Section titled “When the questionnaire does not open”| What the respondent sees | Why |
|---|---|
| A page saying the survey has expired and is no longer available | The link expired or the additional link is turned off. On the public link, also when sharing is paused on the Share tab or the questionnaire reached the plan’s response limit |
| This survey is no longer active | Sharing is paused, or the questionnaire reached the plan’s response limit, and the respondent opened an additional link, a link from a message or a response already under way |
| A page that thanks them and says the form was sent | The single-use link’s response is already finished |
| Survey not found, or a page saying the page could not be found | The address is incomplete or wrong. Ask them to copy the whole link |
| Something went wrong | Something went wrong in Pristo CX. Ask them to try again later |
The pages that Pristo CX shows before the questionnaire opens, such as the expired page and the thank-you page, are in English or Hebrew. On additional links and links from messages, they follow the language of the link, and every language other than Hebrew gets English. On the public link, they are in English.
Unsubscribing from SMS and email
Section titled “Unsubscribing from SMS and email”Every message from a distribution lets the contact stop receiving questionnaires:
- An SMS ends with the questionnaire link, then a Hebrew word that means “to unsubscribe” and an unsubscribe link. The word is Hebrew in every language.
- An email has an unsubscribe link at the bottom, in English, Spanish or Hebrew. Some email apps show their own unsubscribe button, which unsubscribes the contact at once.
The unsubscribe link opens a page with an unsubscribe button, in Hebrew when the contact’s language is Hebrew and in English otherwise. After the respondent selects the button, Pristo CX marks the contact Unsubscribed in the population, and distributions send them no more questionnaires. The same page then offers a button to subscribe again.