Usability is such an important factor for the success of your website that it should be on your mind from the beginning on. The rule for the usability test is: The sooner the better. The best is to start testing website usability before you start working on your website: Ideas, concepts and drafts are easier (and cheaper) to change than existing websites. But, of course, it is never too late to start optimizing your website and make it more user-friendly. The only things you need to conduct the usability test are five test persons and some time.
5 Methods to check usability:
- Card Sorting for user friendly navigation and menu structures. Write the name of each of the main items (products, topics) of your website on paper cards. Give each user a set of cards ask him to sort them thematically. This will help you find out which topics belong together in the eyes of your users and tells you where they expect to find the information they’re looking for. Use this information to determine the menu and navigation structure of your site.
- Paper Prototyping helps you test if your site structure makes sense. Draw your website on paper. Do not concentrate on design issues, but only on the structure: How are website pages organized hierarchically and how are they linked to each other? Let your test users perform real tasks with the paper prototypes and watch their reactions. Ask them also for feedback and suggestions.
- Interviews to find out more about user-experience. Ask your test persons about one aspect of your website. If you conduct written interviews, it is recommended to use closed questions with predefined answers (yes/no, I agree totally/ I agree partially/ I disagree). If you interview your test users personally, you can use open questions where users can reply freely. Interviews will give you important feedback and will help you look at your website through the eyes of your users.
- Thinking aloud will give you high quality feedback during testing. Let your test user perform a task and ask him to explain his decisions. What is he doing? Why did he choose this option and not another one? How is he feeling? What is his opinion? Thinking aloud will give you important information about the user’s mental and emotional interaction with your website and can give you many good ideas for improvement.
- The Five-Second-Test is a fast and easy way to test the functionality of your website. Here, you let your test user perform a certain task again (for example, if you sell products, ask the person to tell you how he would go about buying a certain product). Let the person look 5 seconds at your website without scrolling or clicking on links (you can also use a screenshot). After that, ask the person to tell you what he remembers from the website. This will show you what catches the user’s eye and tells you if your images, titles and banners are sending the right message to the users. On the next step, ask the test person to perform the task. If he has difficulties or takes too long, this means your site is confusing and needs restructuring.
