Collect open-ended responses

Let visitors explain what they need in their own words. A Short text or Long text question asks everyone on a flow path for an explanation. An Other write-in gives people an alternative when none of your listed choices fits.

You'll need editing access to your project. To show the question on your site, you'll also need a flow, a widget that can appear there, and the RightMessage snippet. Connect an email platform only if you'd like to save the answers to contact records there too.

Ask for an explanation

1. Open Questions, choose New question, then Long text for paragraphs or Short text for one line.
2. Write your prompt under What do you want to ask? and add a helpful Placeholder.
3. Leave Required off if people should be able to skip.
4. Enter an Internal name, then choose Create question.
5. Open your flow, add a Question node, and choose the saved question from the library.

Creating a question in the library doesn't add it to a flow. For a relevant follow-up, put it on the matching single-answer branch. WorkForge (opens in a new tab) could ask which growth problem matters most, then ask for an explanation only when someone chooses audience understanding.

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Growth Challenge question preview with four business-growth answersOriginalOriginal

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Long text follow-up question asking how audience understanding holds back business growthOriginalOriginal

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Understanding my audience better answer branch leading to a long-text follow-up questionOriginalOriginal

Visitors use the next button to submit, or skip if the question is optional. Enter submits a Short text answer but adds a line break in Long text. Both types start optional with the placeholder Type your answer. Neither has a question-level minimum or maximum length setting. The Short text and Long text references cover their field settings.

Offer an Other answer instead

If you want an explanation only when the listed choices don't fit, add an Other write-in to the choice question.

1. Open the question's Setup tab and turn on Add an "Other" write-in.
2. Set Label to wording such as "Something else".
3. For a single-answer question, choose Short text or Long text under Answer box, then write the Follow-up prompt.
4. Set the optional Placeholder and button-label override.
5. If you've connected an email platform, choose a separate Save write-ins to destination so you can use the explanation in your follow-up.

Don't use the same destination for the structured choice and its write-in. The editor warns if they conflict. Shared question settings explains how Other appears with radio buttons or multiple answers.

Read what visitors tell you

1. Preview the text and try the skip or Other path.
2. Publish your changes.
3. Submit a test answer on your site.
4. Open Responses and filter to the question.
5. If you've mapped the answer, check the contact's field in your email platform too.

Platform limits can mean the field contains less text than the full write-in saved in RightMessage. A saved response alone doesn't tell you whether the visitor was identified or whether your platform accepted the update.

It's working when you can read the submitted explanation in Responses and, if mapped, in the expected contact field. Next, review your responses before changing your choices. Themes summarize a sample, and adding a useful Other theme as a new answer affects future visitors, not earlier write-ins.