When you’re building a survey in Maptionnaire, it’s natural to want to know exactly how it will look to your respondents. While you can easily preview your progress on your computer, you might notice that we don’t include a built-in "mobile view" button on the desktop builder.
We know that some other survey platforms offer this feature, so it’s a fair question! However, we deliberately chose not to include it. Here is why we believe a desktop-based mobile preview doesn't give you the accurate picture you need—and what you should do instead.
The Desktop vs. Mobile Divide: It's About More Than Screen Size
A simulated mobile preview on a desktop screen only changes the width of the box; it doesn't change the human experience. Answering a survey on a smartphone is fundamentally different from answering it on a computer.
Clicks vs. Taps: A mouse cursor allows for pinpoint accuracy. A thumb on a touch screen does not. A desktop preview cannot simulate how easy (or frustrating) it is to tap a button, drag a slider, or interact with a map on a small screen.
The Map Interaction: Because Maptionnaire excels at map-based questionnaires, this distinction is crucial. Panning, zooming, and dropping pins with a finger on a real smartphone screen requires a completely different layout and cognitive effort than doing so with a trackpad or mouse inside a tiny desktop window.
Real-World Context: Mobile respondents are often on the move. They deal with outdoor glare, varying network speeds, and standard phone distractions. A pristine desktop simulation cannot replicate these environmental factors.
Ultimately, we believe that desktop-based mobile previews provide a false sense of security. They show you how elements stack visually, but they don't tell you how the survey feels to use.
How to Properly Test Your Survey on Mobile
We want your respondents to have the best possible experience, which means testing needs to happen in the real world.
Instead of relying on a simulation, we highly recommend testing your survey on an actual mobile device before launching. It only takes a few seconds:
Go to Publish.
Choose "Publish for testing".
Click "Publish for testing".
Scan the QR code with your phone and test the survey.
By testing on a real device, you ensure that your survey is truly optimized for the mobile world, leading to better data and happier respondents!