Want to stick a survey on your website without tearing your hair out? You’re in the right place. This guide is for anyone—whether you’re a marketer, a small business owner, or just the “website person” your friends keep calling—who wants to use Survey Sparrow to collect feedback, leads, or just see what people actually think.
We’ll walk through the process step by step. You’ll get honest advice on what’s actually worth your time, tips for dodging common headaches, and a few pointers on what to skip. Let’s get your survey live—without the drama.
Why Embed a Survey on Your Website (and Why Use Survey Sparrow)?
Before we dive into the how-to, let’s cover the why—because embedding a survey isn’t always the answer.
Reasons you might want to embed a survey: - Collect customer feedback right where your visitors are. - Capture leads without sending people off your site. - Run quick polls, event RSVPs, or check-in with your audience.
As for why you might choose Survey Sparrow: - It’s one of the more approachable tools out there—clean design, drag-and-drop builder, and a few embedding options. - Their pricing isn’t the cheapest, but it’s not outrageous either. The free plan is limited, though. You’ll likely want a paid plan for real customization. - It plays well with most website builders (WordPress, Wix, Squarespace, etc.), but like any tool, it’s not magic. There are quirks. We’ll get into those.
If you want total design control or need something super lightweight, Survey Sparrow might not be your best bet. But for most small-to-midsize sites, it gets the job done.
Step 1: Build Your Survey in Survey Sparrow
First things first, you need an actual survey to embed—don’t skip this. The embed code only works if you’ve got a published survey to point to.
Log into Survey Sparrow
- Head to Survey Sparrow and log in (or sign up if you’re new).
- Free plans let you test the basics, but custom branding and limited responses come with paid tiers.
Create a New Survey
- Click the “Create Survey” or similar button in your dashboard.
- Pick the type of survey you want: classic forms, chat-style, NPS, etc.
- Pro tip: Chat-style surveys look slick and tend to get better response rates, but can be more distracting if you use the “pop-up” embed.
- Add your questions. Keep it short—anything over 5–7 questions and people start bailing.
Customize the Look and Feel
- Adjust logos, colors, and fonts under “Design” or “Themes.”
- Some design options are locked behind higher-tier plans. If you’re seeing a lot of “upgrade to unlock,” you know why.
- Preview your survey repeatedly. What looks good in the builder can feel awkward on your site.
Test Before Embedding
- Use the survey’s “Preview” mode and—crucially—fill it out yourself.
- Check for typos, broken logic, or anything that might annoy your users.
Don’t overthink this step. You can always tweak questions later.
Step 2: Get the Embed Code
Once you’re happy with your survey, it’s time to grab the code that’ll let you drop it onto your website.
Find the Share/Embed Options
- In your survey dashboard, look for a “Share,” “Distribute,” or “Embed” button.
- The wording may change, but it’ll be obvious.
- You’ll see a bunch of sharing options—direct link, email, social, and “Embed.” That’s the one you want.
Choose Your Embed Type
Survey Sparrow typically offers three main embed options:
- Inline Embed: The survey sits right inside a page or post, like a contact form.
- Popup (Modal) Embed: A button or link triggers a popup survey.
- Chatbot/Widget: A chat-style window pops up in the corner.
Which to use? - Inline: Best for pages where the survey is the main event (contact, feedback, sign-up). - Popup/Widget: Good for getting feedback without interrupting the main content—but can annoy people if overused.
Pick the format that fits your site and audience. Don’t use popups on every page unless you love high bounce rates.
Copy the Code
- Survey Sparrow will generate a chunk of HTML/JavaScript.
- Click “Copy” or grab it manually—either way, don’t edit it unless you know what you’re doing.
Heads up: Some old website builders or restrictive CMS platforms (like certain Wix or Shopify plans) don’t let you add custom code everywhere. You may need admin access or a plugin.
Step 3: Add the Survey to Your Website
This is where things get real. How you do this depends on your website platform. Here’s how to handle the most common scenarios:
WordPress
- Gutenberg (block editor):
- Add a “Custom HTML” block where you want the survey.
- Paste in the embed code.
- Classic Editor:
- Switch to the “Text” (HTML) tab, not “Visual.”
- Paste the code where you want it to show up.
Pro tip: Always preview the page before publishing. Some themes or plugins can mess with embeds.
Squarespace
- Edit the page where you want the survey.
- Add a “Code” block.
- Paste in your embed code.
- Squarespace sometimes warns about “unsafe scripts.” Ignore unless the survey flat-out doesn’t appear.
Wix
- Go to your site editor.
- Click “Add” → “Embed” → “Custom Embeds” → “Embed a Widget.”
- Paste your code.
- Wix’s free plan puts some limits on custom code, and the preview may not be perfect. Check on the live site.
Shopify
- If you want the survey on a product page, edit the product template.
- Use the “Custom HTML” or “Custom Liquid” section.
- Paste the code. Save and preview.
Plain HTML Sites
- Open your page’s HTML file.
- Paste the embed code where you want the survey.
- Save and upload.
Don’t overcomplicate this: The code from Survey Sparrow is meant to be pasted as-is. If you tinker and break something, just re-copy the code.
Step 4: Test It on Your Live Site
Don’t trust the preview in your website builder. Always check the real, published page.
- Open the page in a private/incognito window.
- Fill out your survey as a user would. See if it works, looks right, and doesn’t slow down your page.
- Try it on mobile and desktop. A lot of surveys look fine on desktop but turn into a mess on phones.
- If you’re using a popup or widget, make sure it doesn’t clash with other popups (chat, cookie consent, etc.).
If the survey doesn’t load: - Double-check you pasted the code in an HTML area, not a rich text area. - Make sure you didn’t accidentally break the code by adding extra tags. - Some ad blockers or privacy extensions can block embedded surveys—try disabling them to test.
Pro tip: Don’t just check if it shows up—actually submit a test response. Make sure it lands in your Survey Sparrow dashboard.
Step 5: Clean Up and Go Live
Now that it’s working:
- Remove placeholder text or old widgets near your new survey—don’t leave clutter.
- Adjust the page layout if the survey looks cramped or off-center.
- Limit the number of popups on any one page. Multiple overlays = a quick way to lose visitors.
- Announce the survey if it’s important. A simple banner or call-out can drive more responses.
What to ignore: Don’t get distracted by every advanced setting or integration right away. Focus on getting real responses before you start automating follow-ups or tweaking logic flows.
Common Pitfalls and How to Avoid Them
- Slow page loads: Embeds can add a bit of drag. If your site is already slow, test performance before rolling it out everywhere.
- Mobile weirdness: Always check the mobile view. Sometimes widgets overlap key navigation or get cut off.
- Too many questions: Long surveys = high abandonment. Trim the fat.
- Privacy and cookies: If you’re in the EU or care about privacy, mention that you’re collecting responses. Survey Sparrow usually handles data securely, but the legal responsibility is yours.
- Spammy placements: Don’t stick a survey in the middle of your sales pitch or checkout flow. Put it where it makes sense.
Keep It Simple and Iterate
You don’t need to launch with the perfect survey or the fanciest embed. Start small: one survey, one page, test how people use it, and tweak as you go. If you’re not getting responses, change the placement or wording—don’t just blame the tool.
Survey Sparrow makes embedding pretty straightforward, but no tool is set-and-forget. Keep things simple, watch how your audience reacts, and adjust from there. That’s how you get useful feedback—not just more noise.