Skip to main content
Skip to article
  • Qualtrics Platform
    Qualtrics Platform
  • Customer Journey Optimizer
    Customer Journey Optimizer
  • XM Discover
    XM Discover
  • Qualtrics Social Connect
    Qualtrics Social Connect

Themes Tab

Was this helpful?


This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

The feedback you submit here is used only to help improve this page.

That’s great! Thank you for your feedback!

Thank you for your feedback!

About the Themes Tab

The Themes tab of the Admin page allows Brand Administrators to create branded dynamic themes for their whole brand to use. With this tool, administrators can create an unlimited number of branded themes, and then restrict who has access to individual themes using permissions. This makes it easier than ever to create beautiful custom themes that comply with your brand’s personal sense of style.

Choosing admin from the top-level navigation in the top-left of every page of the website

Second to topmost row of screen, Theme selected, towards right

Qtip: Division Administrators do not have access to this theme-building tool.
Qtip: The top-most theme will be the default theme across your organization. If your organization has a branded static theme defaulted and you would like to change this to a dynamic theme, contact the Qualtrics Support team.

Creating a New Theme

  1. In the Themes tab, select New Theme.
    New Theme button in dark gray to upper-left
  2. Name your theme.
    Name field to the left
  3. Go to the General section.
  4. If desired, create a header. You can click edit beneath the field to open a rich text editor and add font effects, images, and basic HTML.
    In General section, options are explained going down the left

    Qtip: Instead of adding a logo here, wait until you reach the Logo section in Step 13.
  5. If desired, create a footer. You can click edit beneath the field to open a rich text editor and add font effects, images, and basic HTML.
  6. Choose whether the progress bar is on the top, the bottom, or whatever the default is for the layout the user selects.
    Qtip: A layout determines the visual style of questions and buttons in a survey, and is chosen by the survey builder when they customize their look and feel. You can see what your theme looks like using different layouts by using the dropdown in the upper-right.
    Dropdown on the upper-right highlighted
  7. Go to the Style section.
    In Style section, options are explained going down the left
  8. Select a primary color. This affects different features based on the selected layout, but is generally the color applied to the selected answers, progress bars, and back / next buttons.

    Attention: In order to have an accessible survey (with a visible focus indicator that is not only indicated by color), you must use a dynamic theme with the “Classic” layout. You will also need to ensure that your primary theme color has a high enough contrast with the focus indicator in the classic layout. If it doesn’t, you will either need to change your theme’s primary color or use custom code to change the indicator color.

  9. Choose a font.
  10. Choose the level of contrast between the colors in the foreground (text, buttons, borders, etc.) and the colors in the background.
  11. Choose question spacing.
  12. If desired, add custom CSS. You can click edit to open a larger CSS window to work in.
    Qtip: Custom CSS requires programming knowledge to implement. Qualtrics Support does not offer assistance or consultation on custom coding. You can always try asking our community of dedicated users instead.
    Qtip: Custom CSS added to a theme in the Admin tab is implemented separately from custom CSS added to a survey in the Look & Feel menu. When you apply a dynamic theme to your survey, you won’t see styles from the Admin themes editor show up, but they are still being applied. This also applies to headers and footers.
  13. Go to the Logo section.
    In Logo section, options are explained going down the left
  14. Upload or select a logo.
  15. Determine whether this logo is floating (shows exactly as the image is uploaded), or if it is a banner (adding a block of color behind the image).
  16. Choose the placement of the logo.
  17. Choose the max height of the logo.
  18. Determine how the logo will scale on mobile.
  19. Go to the Background section.
  20. If you select a Background Type of Color, you will be able to select or enter the hex code for a particular color.
    Background Color is selected, making the survey have a gray background
  21. If you select a Background Type of Photo, you will be able to upload a photo, decide if there’s an Overlay of color over it, and decide the opacity of the overlay.
    Photo is selected and an image of a forest with a light overlay makes for a pleasing but still readable theme
  22. Select the Foreground Contrast. This can make text more readable or images appear sharper.
  23. Go to the Icons section.
    Favicon indicates the real thing right on the window tab
  24. A Favicon is the icon that appears on a tab when the theme is opened.
  25. The Apple Touch Icon is what will appear if someone bookmarks a survey with this theme, or adds the survey to their home screen.
  26. The Open Graph Image will appear when texting the survey’s link on some iPhones and Androids, and when sharing the survey link on social media such as Facebook or LinkedIn.
  27. When finished, click the save icon.
    Green save icon that looks like a floppy disc

Qtip: You can add more themes by clicking the plus sign ( + ) on the leftmost menu.

There is now a plus above the existing theme

Qtip: This tool allows you to create a dynamic theme. You can request that the Qualtrics Themes Team build a branded static theme for you. Static themes are hard-coded with CSS and HTML and generally do not offer as many customization options (e.g., logo, layout) as dynamic themes do.

Deleting Themes

You can delete a theme by selecting it from the menu on the left, and then clicking the Delete button on the menu.

Delete button last in list of menu options to left

Previewing Themes

While building a theme, there are a few options to help you understand how the theme will appear when in use.

Using the dropdown in the upper-right, preview the theme with different layouts.

Layout selected from dropdown in upper-right

To see the theme on a desktop vs. mobile device, toggle the icons on the top of the preview.

Mobile selected from icon on top, showing the theme on a survey in an iphone or android

Qtip: If you’d like to see the theme on a specific survey, save the theme and test it using your survey’s look and feel and preview options.

Setting a Default Theme for the Organization

The default dynamic theme used for new projects can be set by adjusting the order of your themes. The first theme in the list is the default theme for any new project created in your Qualtrics organization.

To make a theme the default, click it, then use the arrows to move the theme to the top of the list.

arrows next to a theme

Only new projects are affected when you change the default theme. Existing projects whose themes haven’t been edited will have the previous default theme.

You can use permissions to determine what themes a user, group type, or division has access to. If the organization’s default theme is disabled for someone, that person’s default theme becomes the next theme in the list. There is no other way to set a different default theme for users, groups, or divisions.

dynamic themes permissions in a division

Theme Permissions

Once your theme is saved, you can determine who is allowed to use it by applying permissions on a user, user type, or division level.

  1. Go to General permissions.
    General is first option bottom-left row of options
  2. Navigate to Theme Permissions.
    Themes section
  3. Look under Dynamic Themes.
    The dynamic themes section lists themes we created as examples on this support page
Qtip: If the brand’s default theme is disabled for a user at any level, their surveys will be affected as follows:

  • Already existing surveys that use the theme will continue to use the theme unless manually changed.
  • Newly created surveys will not have access to the default theme and must use a different available theme.

Applying a Branded Theme

Branded themes are applied just like any of the Qualtrics preset themes, using the Look and feel menu.

Branded themes can be added to just about any project you may have access to, including:

Please note that not all of these projects are included with every license.