How to Remove a Question from the Intro Page in SurveyMonkey

Your intro page is the first thing respondents see. And if it’s loaded with a question that doesn’t belong there — you’re bleeding completion rates before the survey even starts.

Here’s a number that should wake you up: surveys with 1 to 3 questions achieve completion rates of up to 83%. Add unnecessary friction on the intro page, and that number tanks fast. Research from SurveyMonkey’s own platform data shows that respondents are 40% more likely to abandon a survey if it looks longer or more complex than expected at the very first screen.

The intro page exists to set context, welcome respondents, and earn their trust. Questions belong in the body of your survey — not on the welcome screen. The moment you blur that line, you create confusion, reduce trust, and lower your data quality.

The good news? Removing a question from the intro page in SurveyMonkey is straightforward. You just need to know where to look. This guide walks you through every scenario — whether you’re on the Classic experience, the New Design experience, or working with a legacy survey someone else built.

Let’s fix it.

What Is the Intro Page in SurveyMonkey?

The intro page — sometimes called the Welcome Page or First Page — is the optional introductory screen that appears before your actual survey questions begin.

It typically contains:

• A survey title
• A brief description or instructions for respondents
• Estimated completion time
• Any required consent language or disclaimers

What it should not contain: survey questions. The intro page is not meant to collect data. Its job is to orient the respondent and reduce drop-off, not trigger it.

Studies show that surveys under 7 minutes have a 40% higher average completion rate compared to those perceived as long. A cluttered intro page — especially one with a question embedded in it — signals “this is going to take a while” before the respondent has even committed.

When that question is sitting on your intro page by mistake (or by design from a previous team member), here is exactly how to remove it.

Why Removing That Question Actually Matters

Before the how-to, let’s be clear on the why — because this isn’t just a cosmetic fix.

Survey abandonment is a real, measurable business problem. According to research, the average survey response rate across industries hovers around 33%. For B2B surveys, it drops even lower — to around 24%. Every design friction point you remove nudges that number upward.

When a question appears on the intro page, here’s what happens psychologically:

• Respondents feel like the survey has already “started” before they agreed to it
• The perceived survey length increases immediately
• For consent-based surveys, there are potential compliance issues

Companies that streamline survey structure — removing intro page questions, reducing total question count, and improving mobile formatting — report 20–30% higher completion rates on average.

That’s not a marginal improvement. For a lead generation survey getting 500 views, a 25% lift means 125 additional completed responses. That’s 125 more data points, 125 more qualified contacts, 125 more opportunities to close.

Fix the intro page. It pays.

How to Remove a Question from the Intro Page in SurveyMonkey

Step 1 — Open Your Survey in Edit Mode

Log in to your SurveyMonkey account at surveymonkey.com.

From your dashboard, find the survey you want to edit. Click the survey name to open it, then select Design Survey from the top navigation tabs. This puts you in edit mode where you can modify pages, questions, and structure.

Step 2 — Identify the Intro Page

Once inside the design editor, look at the left sidebar or the page structure at the top.

The intro page is typically labeled:

• Page 1 (if no custom label has been assigned)
• Welcome Page
• Introduction

Click on that page to select it. You’ll see its full content appear in the editing canvas.

Important: SurveyMonkey’s intro/welcome page is typically not a standard survey page — it uses a different question type called a Descriptive Text or Image block in some plans. However, in many survey builds, actual survey questions (multiple choice, rating scales, open-ended fields) have been placed there incorrectly.

Step 3 — Locate the Question on the Intro Page

Once you’ve selected the intro page, scroll through the content block until you find the question you want to remove.

It will look like any other question in the survey editor — you’ll see:

• A question text field
• Answer options (if applicable)
• A question toolbar with edit, copy, and delete icons

Hover over the question block to activate the action toolbar.

Step 4 — Delete or Move the Question

You have two options at this stage depending on your goal:

Option A — Delete the question entirely

Click the trash/delete icon on the question toolbar. SurveyMonkey will ask you to confirm the deletion. Click Delete to confirm.

This permanently removes the question from the intro page. If you have collected responses that included an answer to this question, those responses will still exist in your data but the question will no longer appear in future collection.

Option B — Move the question to a different page

If you want to keep the question but place it in the correct part of your survey, use the Move function:

1. Hover over the question
2. Click the six-dot drag handle on the left side of the question block
3. Drag and drop it to the correct page in the left sidebar

Alternatively, click the Move Question option from the question menu (three-dot icon) and select the destination page.

This is the better option if the question is collecting important data — you’re simply relocating it to where it belongs in the survey flow.

Step 5 — Verify the Intro Page Looks Correct

After deleting or moving the question, click Preview (the eye icon at the top of the editor) to see exactly what respondents will see.

Check for the following:

• The intro page shows only your title, description, and any consent text
• No question prompts or answer fields are visible on the intro page
• The Start Survey or Next button leads directly into the first real question

Pro tip: Preview the survey on both desktop and mobile. SurveyMonkey data shows that over 40% of surveys are now completed on mobile devices. Mobile respondents are especially sensitive to intro page clutter — a crowded first screen on mobile causes immediate drop-off.

Step 6 — Save and Publish Your Changes

Once you’re satisfied with the preview, click Save in the top right corner of the editor.

If your survey is already live and collecting responses, your changes will take effect immediately for all new respondents. Existing partial responses will not be affected.

If you’re using the Collect Responses phase and have already distributed the survey link, no new link is needed — the same URL will now reflect the updated intro page.

What If You Don’t See a Delete Option?

There are a few scenarios where the standard delete flow won’t work:

Scenario 1 — You’re not the survey owner

If you’re collaborating on a shared survey, you may only have View or Respond access rather than full Edit access. Contact the survey owner to request Editor permissions, or ask them to make the change directly.

Scenario 2 — The question is in a locked template

Some SurveyMonkey team accounts use locked templates for compliance or brand consistency. If the question is greyed out and non-editable, it’s part of a locked section. You’ll need administrator-level access or need to contact your team admin to unlock it.

Scenario 3 — You’re using a legacy survey format

Older surveys built before SurveyMonkey’s 2020 editor update may have a slightly different UI. In that case:

1. Go to Design Survey
2. Click on the question
3. Look for the Delete link beneath the question options panel (not the toolbar)
4. Confirm deletion

Scenario 4 — The question appears embedded in a Descriptive Text block

If someone embedded a question inside a Descriptive Text field (using HTML formatting tricks), it will appear as a text block rather than a formal question. In this case, click the text block to edit it, remove the question text manually, and save.

Common Mistakes to Avoid After Removing the Question

Don’t leave a blank first page. If you remove the only content from the intro page and nothing else exists on it, delete the entire intro page rather than leaving an empty screen. An empty page creates a jarring, broken experience.

To delete the entire page:

1. Click the page in the left sidebar
2. Click Page Options or the three-dot menu
3. Select Delete Page

Don’t forget to re-number your questions. SurveyMonkey usually handles automatic re-numbering, but if you’ve customized question labels or use logic jumps, double-check that your branching logic still works correctly after the removal.

Don’t rely only on desktop preview. As mentioned, 40% of surveys are completed on mobile. Always preview across device types before confirming your changes are clean.

How Intro Page Structure Affects Your Data Quality

Here’s something most people miss: intro page questions don’t just affect completion rates. They affect data quality.

When respondents answer a question before they’ve mentally committed to the survey, their answers are less considered, less thoughtful, and statistically less reliable. Research on survey design consistently shows that questions answered in the first 30 seconds of a survey have lower accuracy compared to questions answered after an established rhythm.

The intro page sets the tone. If it feels rushed or confusing, that cognitive state carries into the rest of the survey.

SurveyMonkey’s own research found that surveys with a clear, clean intro page see 15–20% higher data quality scores (measured by consistency of responses, lower “straight-lining,” and fewer abandoned mid-surveys).

This is why professional researchers, HR teams, and market research agencies follow a consistent principle: keep the intro page minimal. Title, one-sentence purpose, time estimate, start button. That’s it.

Tips to Optimize Your Intro Page After Cleaning It Up

Now that the question is gone, take 10 more minutes to optimize what remains. A clean intro page isn’t just about removing the wrong things — it’s about making the right things work harder.

Keep your description under 50 words. Research shows that intro pages with descriptions longer than 50 words have a 12% lower click-through to the first question. Get to the point fast.

Add an estimated completion time. Surveys that display a time estimate (“This takes about 3 minutes”) see up to 14% higher completion rates. Respondents need to know the commitment before they start.

Use plain language. Avoid corporate jargon or technical language on the intro page. Your respondents span different backgrounds and contexts. The simpler the intro, the more universally accessible the survey becomes.

Test your survey with at least 3 people before sending. Internal testing catches layout issues, broken logic, and confusing instructions that you’ve become blind to after staring at the survey for too long. Fresh eyes catch problems in 30 seconds that you’ve missed for days.

Conclusion

Removing a question from the intro page in SurveyMonkey is a 2-minute fix with a measurable impact on your survey performance.

The intro page has one job: make respondents feel comfortable enough to start. Questions don’t belong there — they belong in the survey body where they’re expected, contextualized, and answered with full attention.

With completion rates dropping by up to 40% when surveys appear longer or more complex than expected at the first screen, every unnecessary element on your intro page is costing you data. Clean it up, preview on mobile, verify your logic still works, and re-launch.

Better survey design means better data. Better data means better decisions. And better decisions — whether in product development, customer research, or sales targeting — compound over time into real competitive advantages.

If you’re using surveys as part of a broader lead generation or customer research strategy and want to connect that data to a systematic outbound pipeline, that’s exactly what Salesso does. We turn targeting precision and campaign design into booked meetings — so your data-gathering work feeds directly into revenue.