Quick start guide - LimeSurvey 2.50+

Introduction - what is LimeSurvey?

LimeSurvey is a free and open source online survey application written in PHP, and distributed under the GNU General Public License. The software enables users to develop and publish online surveys, collect responses, create statistics, and export the resulting data to other applications. You can either install LimeSurvey on your own server (LimeSurvey CE) or you can directly start utilizing it via one of our hosting services (LimeSurvey Pro).

The following start guide relies on the usage of LimeSurvey Pro. To read more about LimeSurvey CE, check our installation section from our manual.

Create a free LimeSurvey account

LimeSurvey allows every user to create a free account in order to test its features and core functions. To try it out, hover the mouse over Editions & Pricing that is located on the top toolbar of LimeSurvey website) and look for the Editions & Pricing button located under the LimeSurvey Pro option.

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Check the following link for a short comparison between LimeSurvey Pro and LimeSurvey CE.

Four options will emerge: free, basic, expert, and enterprise. Click on the Register Now from the FREE option box:

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The next step includes filling in the following fields:

• Username:
• Email:
• Password:

As you hover the mouse over each field, a text box will pop up with further details about each field. Optionally, you could also subscribe to the LimeSurvey newsletter in order to get help, tips & tricks, latest news, and service discounts.

You can unsubscribe at any time by accessing your profile menu and un-ticking the LimeSurvey newsletter option from your mailing list, located under your community profile.

For a faster registration process, LimeSurvey allows each user to sign up via their own Twitter, Gmail or GitHub account. LimeSurvey will gather the basic information we require from your selected source.

After creating your LimeSurvey account by clicking on the sign up button, you will receive an e-mail. This e-mail contains the activation link you should click on to access your newly created account.

Once activated, your web browser will re-direct you to your LimeSurvey profile. To access your survey link, you have to first create an installation.

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You will be asked to:

• type in the Domain name (the URL link of the questionnaire);
• choose the Server location – you can pick up one of the four server locations that will suit most of your needs.

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Once the domain-related fields are completed and saved, the installation process will start. This will take up to 10 seconds. After, LimeSurvey will display the settings of your installation:

Now, you can access your server by clicking on the administration URL. To sign into the administration panel of your survey account, use the same credentials from your LimeSurvey account.