Top tips for incorporating User Testing into your web budget

You need a website for your business, but what do your customers need? By putting yourself in your customers’ shoes (your users) you can design, build and deliver a website that works for them. Get that bit right, and it’ll work for you.

Is user testing essential? Absolutely. And at some point, you’ll deliver it (albeit maybe a light version) without even realising. The process of sharing visuals with internal stakeholders and customers; launching a site and collecting feedback post launch – it all comes under the umbrella of testing.

User testing is a process of validating and gathering insight into how you can improve your website. It can save money in the long term and ensure you get results right from launch.

There are lots of ways to conduct user testing, and today, we’re focusing on how you can deliver more formal, structured user testing that’s considered throughout the web design and build process. Here are some top tips as to how you can factor testing in to your budget, whatever that may be.

1. Start early

You don’t have to wait until you have a functioning website to test. Starting early can help you make sure your project is on track and limit the amends needed in the later stages of delivery. Have a set of wireframes to illustrate the blueprint of your site templates? Test them! A good place to start is building a prototype using a free tool such as InVision; you can set up simple journeys and test your navigation with a select group of willing customers or project stakeholders.

There are lots of online testing platforms that you can use for different types of tests, from testing that your navigation structure works, to gaining insights into which approach or creative concept users prefer. My favourite is Usability Hub – the five second test and the preference tests are great ways of verifying your ideas and ensuring they work for genuine users.

2. If it’s too late to start early, don’t let that put you off

If your website is live and you’re thinking about user testing now, it’s not too late. If you’ve allocated a budget for site development and improvement, user testing is a great way to make informed decisions as to what that development should be. You might want to step into the realms of user research and gather feedback on user’s experience via online surveys, telephone interviews and the like. Or, you could run moderated testing with users in a test lab or via screen share where you can observe browsing in real time. There’s lots of approaches you can take to the delivery of testing – all of which will give you evidence based recommendations, ideas and real issues that need to be resolved by further design, development and content improvement.

3. Be prepared to make changes, it’s not personal!

We use our knowledge, expertise, creativity and team-power to craft beautiful and functional websites. Blood, sweat and tears sometimes. But if a majority of users stumble on – or even miss – a part of the site, you should make changes. Sometimes, this might mean writing off some parts of your work. Ultimately, the changes you make will make the site better – that’s why we test after all. The earlier you test your prototypes, the less likely to you are to have to write-off large chunks of development.

4. Make use of free and low-cost tools

There are so many tools to help you prepare for and deliver your testing. My firm favourite is InVision – not only is it super-quick to build a prototype using a set of jpeg wireframes or visuals, you can create responsive versions for thorough mobile testing too. It’s not just helpful for me, but for clients to review, feedback and track iterations too. It’s a winner.

Some of my other low-cost tools include:

Balsamiq (for wireframing and quick sketching)
UsabilityHub
Good old guerrilla testing – identify where your customers hang out and buy them a coffee in return for some testing. There are lots of apps to record the testing, so if you’ve got the confidence, it’s a great option to pursue for some clients!

5. Be organised

If you’ve the budget to run moderated testing in a dedicated test lab, hooray! (Expect to spend a couple of thousand including your incentives). It’s a fascinating, stimulating and nail-biting process. To make the most of your time, and that of your users, you need to be organised. Here’s a snapshot of my own to-do list when planning user testing:

Book the test lab, but be sure the website will be ready for testing and always have a contingency plan in place. Stuff happens, and when the site we tested recently went down for reasons beyond our control, we tested a visual prototype with users instead.
Send out a pre-testing questionnaire – whether an online form or a simple email, take the opportunity to gather data about each of your users. From their device usage (type and frequency) to their age and demographic.
Book your devices! Don’t assume that the test lab will provide mobile devices for testing, you often have to pay a fee for the device hire and the mobile recording device. It’s worth noting that if you need to test on a few different devices (IOS and Android) you’re likely to have to pay a small hire fee per device.
Get your consent forms ready. Are you recording the sessions? We recommend this, so make sure you include this on the consent to testing form, or have a separate form for recording consent. The usability.gov site is a great reference point for templates.
Take multiple copies of your test scripts with you. Although you’re likely to have the security of the video recordings to help you with the write up, if you’re anything like me you’ll want something to scribble lots and lots of notes and ideas on. Take one per user so that you can trace successful completion of the tasks you observe.

So, if you’re interested in user testing and are convinced of the long term value, you can make a start right away. Firstly, review your budget and work out what your priorities for testing are and what delivery mechanisms you can afford. The delivery of testing does depend on the format, but the results are always fascinating, enlightening and – more importantly – evidence based, so that you can confidently progress your project to ensure you get the right results. If you’re interested in user testing and want some help, contact us at [email protected]

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