How to Make a Form for Your Facebook Page With Google Docs

Reduce the paper clutter and distribute your forms digitally.
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The Google Docs productivity suite is an effective solution for automating some of the tasks involved with managing a club, fraternity, team or other group of people. With a new "Forms" document, for example, you can create a variety of fillable forms -- like a volunteer sign-up, event survey or member registration -- and then configure it so responses are fed and tabulated in a separate Google spreadsheet. To ensure maximum exposure, add the form to your group's Facebook page and then invite members to contribute responses without ever leaving the social network.

Navigate your browser to Google Drive (link in Resources) and log in with your Gmail address and password.

Click the "Create" button and select "Form." Click "Create and Share" to launch a blank document.

Enter a title for your form and select your preferred theme. Enter an optional description or subtitle in the "Form Description" field.

Create your first question using the onscreen prompts. For example, select "Multiple Choice," enter optional instructions, then create a few possible answers in the "Options" fields. Click "Done" when you've finished formatting the question.

Select the down arrow next to "Add Item," select the format for your next question and complete the available fields as prompted. Click "Done" when complete. Repeat for additional form entries.

Select "Choose Response Destination" when your form is complete to configure the spreadsheet location for your form responses. You can opt to disable spreadsheet integration or tabulate entries in a new spreadsheet or a new page within an existing spreadsheet.

Configure your confirmation page -- which appears when forms have been completed -- using the "Confirmation Page" options at the bottom of your form. You can, for example, change the message that is displayed after submission or provide users with the option to edit answers.

Click the "View Live Form" button at the top to preview your form and make additional changes if necessary.

Select "Send Form" at the bottom of your form and click "Embed." Alternatively, you can click "File" and then "Embed" to accomplish the same thing.

Double-click in the text field below "Paste HTML to Embed in Website" to highlight it in its entirety. Press "Ctrl-C" on a PC keyboard or "Command-C" on Mac.

Launch a second browser tab or window and use it to log in to Facebook as the administrator for the group's page.

Enter "static html iframe" in the search box and select "Static iFrame Tab" from the available app options. You can also launch the app using the link in Resources.

Click "Install Page Tab." If you are the administrator for more than one Facebook page, select the page for your new tab. Click "Add Page Tab" to confirm.

Ensure the "HTML" radio button is selected and place your cursor in the text field under "Enter the HTML for Your Page."

Paste the HTML code obtained from Google by pressing "Ctrl-V" on a PC or "Command-V" on a Mac.

Modify the tab's optional settings using the onscreen prompts. You can, for example, change the form's visibility so it appears to friends of your friends or require form entry before visitors can access the rest of the page's content.

Enter a name for your new tab in the "Tab Name" field near the bottom and then click "Change Tab Image" to upload a graphic for the tab.

Scroll to the top of the page and click "View Tab" to preview your changes. Click the blue "Settings" link to return to the editor.

Click "Save Settings" at the bottom of the screen when your changes are complete. If you are prompted to do so -- and have not already -- grant the app permission to make changes to the Facebook page.

Allow the editor to reload and confirm your saved changes. Your form is now live on the Facebook page.

  • The "Static HTML: iFrame Tabs" and "Static HTML - Easy iFrame Tabs" are similar Facebook apps that can be used to configure an additional tab for your Google form (links in Resources).
  • You can monitor user responses while your form is active by logging in to your Google Drive and selecting the name of the form's associated spreadsheet from your list of stored documents.
  • If you use the Chrome browser, avoid Google Drive by installing the browser's free Google Forms extension and use it to create your form. Changes made using the extension are automatically and simultaneously synchronized to your Google Drive.

Based in Tampa, Fla., Danielle Fernandez been writing, editing and illustrating all things technology, lifestyle and education since 1999. Her work has appeared in the Tampa Tribune, Working Mother magazine, and a variety of technical publications, including BICSI's "Telecommunications Distribution Methods Manual." Fernandez holds a bachelor's degree in English from the University of South Florida.

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