Ever spent hours collecting survey data only to get stuck staring at a wall of numbers? If you’re using Alchemer (check it out here), you’ve got some decent tools to actually make sense of those survey results. But the reporting features aren’t always intuitive, and it’s easy to end up with generic charts that don’t tell you much.
This guide is for anyone who wants to ditch the default reports and build something custom—visuals that actually help you (and your team) get answers, not just more data. Whether you’re in research, customer success, or just the “person stuck with the survey,” here’s how to get it done without going down a rabbit hole.
Step 1: Get Your Survey Data Ready
Before you even touch the reporting tab, make sure your data is in decent shape. Reporting is only as good as what you feed it.
- Double-check survey completion: If you have a bunch of partial responses, decide upfront if you’ll include them. Alchemer lets you filter these out later, but it’s best to know your game plan.
- Clean up question logic: If you used skip logic, branching, or piping, make sure it worked as expected. Reporting on a question that half your respondents never saw is a recipe for confusion.
- Standardize answer options: For open text or “Other” fields, scan for typos or similar answers (e.g., "NYC" vs. "New York City")—messy data will mess up your charts.
Pro tip: Export a raw CSV first and scan it in Excel or Google Sheets. If things look weird there, they’ll look weird in Alchemer reports too.
Step 2: Find the Custom Reports Section
Alchemer has a few different reporting tools. Skip the “Standard Report” if you want more control.
- Go to your project dashboard.
- Hit the “Results” tab, then select “Reports.”
- Choose “Create Report” and pick “Custom Report.”
Don’t get distracted by the “Legacy Summary Report”—it’s fast but pretty basic, and you’ll outgrow it fast.
Step 3: Choose What to Show (And What to Hide)
Here’s where you pick which questions and data points show up in the report.
- Add only what matters: Nobody wants to scroll through 40 pie charts on demographic questions. Start with your key survey questions—the ones you actually care about.
- Group related questions: Alchemer lets you drag and drop questions into the order you want. Put similar topics together (e.g., all satisfaction ratings in one spot).
- Hide noise: Click the “eye” icon to hide questions you don’t need in the report. Don’t be afraid to exclude “Other (please specify)” fields if they’re a mess—you can always analyze them separately.
Honest take: If your report is over 10 pages, it’s too long. Be ruthless about what stays.
Step 4: Pick Your Visuals (Don’t Just Accept the Defaults)
This is where most people phone it in. Default visuals are often misleading or just plain ugly. Fix that.
- Click on any question in the report and hit “Edit.”
- Choose the chart type that actually fits the data:
- Bar charts: Good for comparing categories.
- Pie charts: Only use if you have 3–5 categories. Anything more is unreadable.
- Tables: Best for open text or detailed breakdowns.
- Column charts: Useful for Likert scales or ratings.
- Customize colors and labels: Don’t let Alchemer’s default blue-on-blue scheme make your report hard to read.
- Rename charts and questions: Use plain language, not your internal survey codes (e.g., “How satisfied were you with our support?” instead of “Q5_SAT_SUPPORT”).
Pro tip: If a chart looks confusing to you, it’ll confuse everyone else too. Simpler is better.
Step 5: Filter, Segment, and Compare
Here’s where custom reports get powerful. Don’t just show overall results—break them down so you can spot patterns.
- Apply filters: You can filter results by any question or metadata (like date, device, or custom variables).
- Example: Only show responses from “Customers” vs. “Prospects.”
- Use segments: Compare different groups side by side (e.g., how did people in different regions answer the same question?).
- Add cross-tabs: For more advanced analysis, cross-tabulate two questions (like satisfaction by age group).
Watch out: More filters = fewer responses shown. If you get too granular, you might end up with tiny sample sizes that don’t mean much.
Step 6: Tweak Formatting So It’s Actually Readable
Don’t skip this part. Even good data is useless if nobody can read it.
- Adjust fonts and sizes: Make sure your report is legible on a screen and when printed.
- Add headers and section breaks: Use these to make the report easy to scan.
- Write short summaries: Add text blocks to explain what matters (“Biggest drop in satisfaction: Product support in Q2”).
- Remove clutter: Hide charts, tables, or questions that don’t add value. Less is more.
Don’t waste time making it “pretty” for its own sake. Focus on clarity.
Step 7: Share or Export Your Report
Once your report actually tells a story, it’s time to get it in front of the right people.
- Use secure links: Alchemer lets you share a live link to the report. You can password-protect it or restrict access to certain people.
- Export to PDF or PowerPoint: The export tools work, but formatting can get wonky, especially with lots of charts. Always do a test export.
- Schedule automatic emails: If you need to send regular updates, set up automated report delivery. Just be sure the report is as evergreen as possible—if you tweak it, the emails update too.
Honest take: Don’t bother exporting to Excel unless you want to do heavy data analysis. Alchemer’s exports are clunky for that.
What Works (and What Doesn’t) in Alchemer Reporting
What’s Good: - Flexible filtering and segmentation. - Decent chart options for most survey questions. - Easy to share live, interactive reports.
What’s Not So Good: - Customization only goes so far—don’t expect full control over layout or advanced chart types. - Exports sometimes mess up formatting, especially with lots of visuals. - Open text analysis is weak—consider exporting that data for separate review.
What to Ignore: - Don’t get sucked into playing with every font or color scheme. - Skip “Legacy” reports unless you’re in a hurry and don’t care about presentation. - Don’t try to make Alchemer do what a real BI tool does—it’s for survey reporting, not deep analytics.
Keep It Simple—Iterate as You Go
Custom reporting in Alchemer isn’t magic, but it’s good enough for most survey projects if you take the time to set it up right. Start small: focus on the questions that matter, keep your charts readable, and don’t overcomplicate things. Once you get the basics down, you’ll spend less time fiddling with settings and more time getting real insights from your survey results.
If your first report isn’t perfect, that’s normal. Save your custom setup, get some feedback from your team, and tweak as you go. Less reporting, more answers—that’s the goal.