I have no programming experience and want to create a website or application for entering data through a questionnaire with many conditional questions and possibly repeating sections. The questionnaire should be able to populate answers based on earlier responses, skip questions, and dynamically add questions when needed.
The destination Excel file already exists and was originally designed for a paper questionnaire. I cannot change its structure. After someone completes the questionnaire, I would like their responses to populate that Excel file and allow them to download a report in PDF or Excel format.
I tried using Google Forms, but its conditional logic is not flexible enough for what I need. I am currently considering SurveyJS, although I am open to other recommendations. What would be the best approach or tools for building this, and what should I plan before getting started?
2 Answers
Before choosing a library, write down the requirements in detail and define a small first version. List every question, which answers cause questions to be skipped or displayed, which sections can repeat, how the existing spreadsheet is structured, and exactly what the PDF or Excel output should contain. A short technical design document or workflow diagram can make the project much easier to understand and expose missing details.
This is more than just creating a form. You’ll need a questionnaire interface, conditional-logic handling, storage for responses, mapping from each answer to the correct cells in the existing workbook, and a PDF or Excel export process. SurveyJS may handle the form and branching, but you’ll likely still need JavaScript code and possibly a server-side component for safely generating files. Since you’re starting from zero, build a very small prototype first—perhaps five questions and one export path—or consider a low-code consultant if the workbook and branching rules are complex.
That makes sense. I’ll try documenting the questions, branching rules, spreadsheet fields, and desired output before deciding on the implementation.