Website Usability Testing

Prior to launching a new website, usability testing is essential for correcting any problems that may exist with the site, and for ensuring the site’s effectiveness and functionality. Even though resources such as time, money and personnel are required when testing the usability of a website, less resources will be employed testing a site prior to its release than would be if undetected problems are required to be corrected after the site is in production.

Visitors to a web site have to be able to actually use the site and understand the content, otherwise the site is a waste of their time (Design Tip: Web Site Usability Checklist). Therefore it is essential that any potential problems with a web site be detected and resolved prior to the release of that site. Studies have shown that when done correctly, usability testing can uncover 80 percent of the problems within a web site (OJR’s ‘five guide’ to do-it-yourself website usability testing). Early detection of problems affecting the usability and functionality of a web site increases the likelihood that when the site is finally released for public use it will be a site that is easily navigated and enjoyable to visit, with the user returning to the site after their initial visit.

Usability testing has to be done properly in order to produce the desired benefits. The individuals who are to perform the testing are an extremely important component of the testing process. The subjects selected to perform the testing should be as similar as possible to the “real users” that will eventually be visiting the site. The subjects must have clear instructions on how to get to the testing location, be comfortable and at ease, be acclimated with the testing environment, and provided with an opportunity to familiarize themselves with the web site prior to the actual testing (8 guidelines for usability testing). Set up tasks for the subjects to perform when testing, making sure that the instructions for these tasks are clear, concise and easily understood. The tasks should be scenarios that are essential for the success of the new site and the subjects should be provided with an opportunity to suggest tasks of their own. Additionally, the subjects should be left alone during testing; staying out of site during the testing is a good idea so as to not make the subjects nervous or self conscious.

When to test is an important consideration when planning usability testing and smaller, more frequent testing is more effective than one big test of the site towards the end of the development process. Suggested times for testing would be at the conception of site, by testing a rough version of the site’s home page, repeatedly during development, as critical pages or sections are completed, and before planning a redevelopment of the site (Web site usability testing: recommended procedures). A good range for the length of the usability testing could be from 15 minutes for a single page to an hour for a whole site. Having the testing subjects examine a site for more than an hour at a single testing session could be counterproductive if the subjects start to tire or lose interest. Finally, have a feedback form ready for the subjects to document their impressions of the site at the conclusion of the testing. Prepare a list containing the testing subject’s comments and complaints, along with any detected problems with the site for use during the next phase of development.

Usability should be a major consideration throughout the web site development process. Usability should never be an afterthought since testing and fixing a web site after it has been built and released, is efficient and unlikely to produce good results (Usability First: Website Design). The ability of the end-user, who will eventually access the site to successfully use the site, understand its purpose, grasp the site content, and have an enjoyable experience while visiting the site, should always be in the mind of the developer while creating the site. Usability testing is an effective tool to ensure that the finished web site lives up to the expectations the developer had for it at its conception.


References

Design Tip: Web Site Usability Checklist
Retrieved September 09, 2007 from
http://www.netmechanic.com/news/vol7/design_no4.htm

OJR’s ‘five guide’ to do-it-yourself website usability testing
Retrieved September 10, 2007 from
http://www.ojr.org/ojr/stories/070802ruel/

8 guidelines for usability testing
Retrieved September 10, 2007 from
http://www.webcredible.co.uk/user-friendly-resources/web-usability/usability-testing.shtml

Web site usability testing: recommended procedures
Retrieved September 09, 2007 from
http://www.webpagecontent.com/arc_archive/124/5/

Usability First: Website Design
Retrieved September 09, 2007 from
http://www.usabilityfirst.com/websites/index.txl