12 Tips for Web Site User Experience Testing
Web site usability and user experience (UX) go hand-in-hand, and have a huge impact on how well your web site performs. You can do this yourself, although hiring a specialist is well worth the spend, as they’ll spot things you never though of, guaranteed. A colleague who specializes in this area recently scanned the first page of a client’s site and found 10 things that I hadn’t even noticed in my overview.
I’ve listed some of the basics here:
General Overview
- The most basic testing includes checking the basics like spelling errors, redundancies, load time, etc.
- The most important information must be above the fold. Get your visitor involved in your site right away. Don’t make them scroll down to find out what your site is about.
Navigation
- Major navigation should be easily found, without the visitor having to scroll down. It should be simple and intuitive. Keep it consistent on every page.
- Use the site as if you were a first time visitor, and check for any areas that may confuse them as to where to go next or what action to take.
- The site should be set up so the visitor is directed where to go next. If it’s too confusing they may leave.
Content
- Review the content for adjectives that are meaningless to the visitor, such as unique, superior, interactive.
- Delete any fluff aka marketing copy. It’s meaningless and takes up valuable space.
- Use font size help the visitor focus on the most important parts of the page. Make sure your text is readable – don’t use a tiny or pale gray font.
Consistency
- Don’t be unconventional in the basics. People expect navigation to be in certain places, for example the RSS feed button the upper right, and the logo in the upper left.
- Make sure there is consistency of design throughout the site, including fonts, colors, etc. The visitor experience should flow…they should not have to readjust at each new page.
Call to Action
- Make sure you have a “call to action” on every page. The visitor needs to know what you expect them to do. A call to action can be a phone number, contact page, button to click, or form to complete.
- Fill out and submit your contact form and make sure it works; where does the site redirect after the form is submitted – is there a thank you or confirmation page? Did you get an email with the information or did it float go off into the Ethernet?
This is just the beginning; it will give you a start in usability testing, but you can (and should) go much farther with it.
My next post will review some of the available Accessibility and Usability tools you can use to analyze your website.
I like the idea of not being unconventional in the basics. One of my clients is constantly trying to get special features done to things like RSS and social links. All that does is confuse the user.
Exactly!
i think a lot of webmaster have understood that and a lot of website are now designed to be user-friendly and simplistic
that’s a good thing if you ask me (just take a look at facebook and you’ll be convinced)
Yes, they’re getting better, but so often important areas are overlooked.
Hello Diva,
Thanks for your post.
I will follow your last point ie call to action.
I never thought of it but now going to take it seriously.
Diva recently I found some prob with your site….One day your server was down and today my browser got hanged for 2 minutes while your site was downloading….
Anyway thanks
Neo, thanks very much for letting me know. I’ll do some checking on this.
I think a good rule of thumb is to have important parts bigger then the least important parts of your content. Adding a little color, bolding, or underline to important pieces of your content will make your site “pop” a little more. Great piece!
Hi Lisa – yes, bolding, bullet points, headers, etc. all help.
I too believe in hiring a specialist.All the points mentioned here are of great importance and value.Got to learn a lot of things.The post has certainly increased my knowledge.Look forward to more such posts.
Great – I’m glad you found it helpful!
Good Stuff Diva, however, just to throw a spanner in, I definately agreee with the call to action, but is one enough… If we funnel people into one course of action we will only ever get those that it suits!
Tully, I agree, and I usually give visitors more than one option. It means putting some thought into what people are looking for when the reach your site.
Thanks seo diva for the suggestions, i need to learn more about. Since you made this post im interested on get more knowledge about, so i can save a lot of money and make my custom changes on the websites.
These are all great, basic points that everyone should follow. These would all appear to be common sense; unfortunately dealing with a variety of stakeholders I’ve found that “common sense” is not so common. My favorites are Navigation and Consistency with deference paid to Call to Action.
Looking forward to your next post on Accessibility and Usability tools.
Thanks,
Dena
Thanks for your tips!as usuall they are great and usrful!Once again loads to learn from you!Thanks fro your teaching and sharing!
Great advice on how to ensure the quality of my site. Thanks for sharing. For the content, it is also important to verify the facts you menioned, especially if your blog is informative. Do you agree?
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