Form Modes: Open Canvas vs Survey Mode

WittyForm gives you two distinct modes for creating forms. Each mode changes how respondents experience your form and how you build it in the editor. Understanding the difference helps you pick the right mode for your use case from the start.

Open Canvas Mode

Open Canvas is the traditional form layout where multiple fields are visible on the screen at the same time. Respondents scroll through the form and fill in fields in any order they choose.

How it works

• All fields are displayed on a single scrollable page (or across multiple pages if you add page breaks).
• Respondents can see the full form and jump between fields freely.
• The layout supports multi-column arrangements and field grouping.
• A submit button appears at the bottom of the form.

Best for

• Registration forms: Where respondents need to fill in name, email, phone, and other details in one view.
• Order forms: Where users select products, quantities, and shipping details together.
• Application forms: Where applicants need to see all required fields upfront to gather the right documents.
• Contact forms: Short forms with just a few fields that do not benefit from a one-at-a-time experience.

Survey Mode

Survey Mode presents one question at a time in a focused, full-screen experience. Respondents advance through questions sequentially, similar to the experience you might know from tools like Typeform.

How it works

• Each question takes up the full screen with large, readable typography.
• A progress indicator shows how far the respondent has progressed.
• Respondents navigate with Enter to advance, Shift+Enter to go back, or by clicking navigation arrows.
• Transitions between questions are smooth and animated.
• The form auto-advances after single-choice selections for a faster flow.

Best for

• Surveys: Where you want respondents to focus on one question at a time for more thoughtful answers.
• Quizzes: Where presenting one question at a time prevents respondents from looking ahead.
• Feedback forms: Where a conversational, step-by-step experience feels more engaging.
• NPS and satisfaction surveys: Where simplicity and focus lead to higher completion rates.

How to Choose

When creating a new form, you select the mode on the creation screen. Here is a quick decision guide:

• Choose Open Canvas if respondents need to see multiple fields at once, if the form is short (under 5 fields), or if field order does not matter.
• Choose Survey Mode if you want higher completion rates, if each question deserves focused attention, or if you are building a quiz or survey with many questions.

Switching Between Modes

You can switch modes after creating a form, but be aware of what changes:

1. Open your form in the editor and go to Settings.
2. Under Form Mode, toggle between Open Canvas and Survey Mode.
3. Click Apply to switch. The editor will reorganize the layout to match the new mode.

What changes when you switch

• Canvas to Survey: Each field becomes its own screen. Multi-column layouts are flattened to single-column. Page breaks are removed because each question is already its own page.
• Survey to Canvas: All questions are placed on a single scrollable page. You may want to add page breaks or rearrange the layout after switching.

Your field configurations, validation rules, and conditional logic are preserved when switching modes. Only the presentation changes, not the data structure.

Mode Comparison

Here is a side-by-side comparison of the two modes:

• Layout: Open Canvas shows all fields at once; Survey Mode shows one at a time.
• Navigation: Open Canvas uses scrolling; Survey Mode uses keyboard or button navigation.
• Progress indicator: Open Canvas does not show progress by default; Survey Mode always shows a progress bar.
• Completion rates: Survey Mode typically achieves higher completion rates because the focused experience reduces drop-off.
• Best for short forms: Open Canvas, because one-at-a-time feels slow with only a few fields.
• Best for long forms: Survey Mode, because breaking a long form into individual questions makes it feel manageable.