Insights

User Testing: How to Get Started with User Testing

Whether you are an ecommece, financial service or mobile app company, user testing is a critical function in optimising your digital business. In a world where every interaction with your brand online can be tracked and measured, user testing allows you to hone in on this information to identify what works, what doesn't and what may need to be optimised in order to improve performance. 

User testing leads to insight. Insight leads to better designs and strategies. Which, in turn, leads to better results. It also allows you to spot any potential errors or oversights before diving straight into a new build or campaign. 

So, what is User Testing exactly? 

User testing refers to any number of techniques which are used in the design process - be it a website or advertising campaign copy - to evaluate how a user interacts with your product, feature, or campaign. 

There are a number of tactics that can be used in User Testing, including heat mapping, recording video of how users interact with the page, AB testing, or expert review. Which tactic you prefer may depend on what you're testing but what's most important is to know what it is you need to learn from these tests. Using a combination of all can go a long way in gleaning the insights you really need to get your product or page to its optimal performance potential. 

Top Insights to Glean From User Testing

The purpose of conducting user testing is to generate insights that are going to help you to improve your product or platform. As such, you want to observe: 

  • Do your users get stuck anywhere?
  • Does your platform or product meet its purpose? 
  • Do users flow through the steps you've designed for them to take?
  • How long does it take for users to navigate?What are the common behaviours of users?

Compiling this information helps you to learn if you have an element in your design that is distracting or not serving the purpose as it should. It also helps you to spot if there is something that is working, which you should expand on and improve. 

User Testing Tools 

There are a bunch of tools out there that can help with user testing. If you're testing a landing page, you should check out the 5 best landing page testing tools, but if your focus is specifically user testing, User Testing is one of the best tools on the market to get the results you desire. 

With the ability customise test creation to gather insight on any experience or product, User Testing gives you a full suite of services to get the answers and insights you need. The platform helps you to capture this information, understand it and share it with your team.

Other great user testing tools include Userbrain, UsabilityHub, userlytics, and Loop11.  All of which allow you to design custom tests, engage real users, track behaviour and understand what you see in this data capture so that you gain practical, tangible insights that can go toward the improvement of your platform, site or product. 

go  top