Dropdown Questions

Dropdown questions present options in a compact menu that expands when clicked. Respondents select one option from the list.

When to Use

Dropdown questions are ideal for:

• Long lists - Countries, states, industries
• Space-saving - When page real estate is limited
• Reducing clutter - Many options that would overwhelm as radio buttons
• Standardized inputs - Dates, times, predefined values

Adding a Dropdown Question

1. Click Add Question in the survey editor
2. Select Dropdown
3. Enter your question text
4. Add options to the list
5. Configure default selection (optional)

Configuration Options

Adding Options

Manual entry:

• Type each option
• Press Enter to add more
• Drag to reorder

Bulk import:

• Paste list from spreadsheet
• Import common lists (countries, states)
• Copy from another question

Pre-built lists:

• Countries
• US States
• Canadian Provinces
• Months
• Years

Default Selection

Placeholder text:

• “Select an option…”
• “Choose one…”
• Custom placeholder

Pre-selected value:

• Set a default option
• Useful for most common answer
• Can be changed by respondent

Search/Filter

For long lists, enable search:

1. Toggle Enable search
2. Respondents can type to filter
3. Matches highlight in list

Required Response

When enabled, respondents must select an option (not just the placeholder).

Best Practices

When to Use Dropdown vs. Multiple Choice

Use Dropdown	Use Multiple Choice
7+ options	6 or fewer options
Standardized lists	Custom options
Space is limited	All options should be visible
Alphabetical lists	Logical/ranked order

Option Organization

Alphabetical: Best for long reference lists (countries, names)

Logical order:

• Frequency (most to least common)
• Chronological (earliest to latest)
• Size/scale (smallest to largest)

Grouped: Use optgroups for categorization:

-- North America --
United States
Canada
Mexico
-- Europe --
United Kingdom
Germany
France

Placeholder Text

Good placeholders:

• “Select your country…”
• “Choose a department…”
• “Pick a time slot…”

Avoid:

• Empty placeholder
• Misleading text
• Options that look like placeholders

Advanced Features

Cascading Dropdowns

Show dependent dropdowns based on selection:

1. First dropdown: Country
2. Second dropdown: State/Province (filtered by country)
3. Third dropdown: City (filtered by state)

Setup:

1. Create parent dropdown
2. Create child dropdown with display logic
3. Set “Show if [parent] equals [value]“

Skip Logic

Route based on selection:

• If “United States” → show US-specific questions
• If “Other” → show text input
• If specific value → skip to section

Piping

Use selected value in later questions:

You selected {{Country}}.
How long have you lived there?

Validation

Custom validation:

• Exclude certain values
• Require specific format
• Cross-field validation

Analyzing Results

Charts

Best visualizations:

• Bar chart (horizontal for long labels)
• Table with counts/percentages

For many options:

• Show top 10 with “Other” grouped
• Filter to specific values
• Use search in results

Metrics

• Selection distribution
• Most/least common choices
• Comparison across segments

Filtering

Use dropdown answers to segment data:

1. Filter by country
2. Compare regions
3. Analyze by selection

Common Use Cases

Demographics

Country:
[Select your country... ▼]

Age range:
[Select age range... ▼]
○ Under 18
○ 18-24
○ 25-34
○ 35-44
○ 45-54
○ 55-64
○ 65+

Date Selection

Birth month:
[Select month... ▼]

Birth year:
[Select year... ▼]

Industry/Category

Industry:
[Select your industry... ▼]
○ Technology
○ Healthcare
○ Finance
○ Education
○ Retail
○ Manufacturing
...

Time Selection

Preferred appointment time:
[Select time slot... ▼]
○ 9:00 AM
○ 10:00 AM
○ 11:00 AM
○ 1:00 PM
○ 2:00 PM
○ 3:00 PM

Product Selection

Which product do you own?
[Select product... ▼]
○ Product A - Basic
○ Product A - Pro
○ Product B - Basic
○ Product B - Pro
○ Product C

Mobile Considerations

Native Pickers

On mobile devices:

• iOS shows native picker wheel
• Android shows native dropdown
• Touch-friendly interface

Optimization Tips

• Keep option text concise
• Test on mobile devices
• Consider search for 20+ options
• Ensure touch targets are adequate

Troubleshooting

Respondents Skip Question

• Placeholder may look like valid option
• Make placeholder clearly different
• Set as required if needed

Wrong Selection

• Option list may be confusing
• Add search for long lists
• Group related options
• Improve option labels

Accessibility Issues

• Ensure proper ARIA labels
• Test with screen readers
• Provide keyboard navigation
• Use clear option text

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Related articles:

• Multiple Choice Questions
• Matrix of Dropdown Menus
• Question Types Overview