Usability testing is at the core of optimizing user experience and can significantly level up your website views. Unfortunately, 53% of customers today feel that brands fail to meet their expectations. In comparison, 87% of brands think they are doing things right.
Something Doesn’t Add Up
Today, most product teams have it wrong. They’re convinced that they know all there is to know about the audience and product; viewing their efforts as highly successful. Yet, they don’t have a realistic impression of the experience users have with that product.
After all, people can’t just imagine what the experience of the user looks like, or get into their heads and see what they think about the product – although this would be a great superpower. So, to obtain this information, you need data.
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That’s Where Usability Testing Comes Into The Picture.
Let’s put it this way. The ROI on UX investments can go up to 9,900%, which is amazing, right? This equals $100 for every dollar you invest! Essentially, if you offer users the experience they expect, they’ll keep visiting your website and you’ll get more leads.
However, this number doesn’t work for everyone. It can only work if you invest in the right things i.e. if you know what your users think and what they expect.
Here is what this article will do for you:
- Help you better understand usability testing
- Tell you how to conduct these tests for optimal results
- Show you what benefits you’ll get from this and how it will lead to more website views
So, let’s get started.
Why Usability Testing?
There are plenty of tests you can conduct to gather information about your audience, so why is usability testing a key way way to level up your website views?
The Nielsen Norman Group analyzed the effects of usability test data on conversion rates. The results were tremendous – an 87% increase in conversions for businesses that optimized their websites thanks to data from usability tests.
It’s rather obvious, really. If you test your users, this will help you highlight potential issues with your website. You will learn why people aren’t visiting your pages and can fix this. Using data to improve the UX means that you can resolve and improve issues from website navigation to signup to onboarding to checkout; covering all stages of the buying journey.
The end result?
You get an improved experience for your targeted audience and more website views.
Doing Usability Testing The RIGHT WAY
There’s a right and wrong way when it comes to testing your users. Different methods can give you different results. The data you collect has diverse uses. By designing and administering usability tests, you can do the following – and more:
- Analyze the person’s behavior
- See how they interact with your website
- Identify issues and deficiencies you missed
- Eliminate wrong assumptions
- Get accurate data on the UX of your website
Before we go deeper into the benefits this form of testing can bring to your website, you should know how to do usability testing the right way. Rather than writing a list of steps for conducting these tests, we wanted to share some advice on how to execute it quickly and efficiently.
Invest in a Tool That Facilitates Different Types of Usability Testing
Most product teams these days use tools to make testing simpler and more effective. There are 4 main benefits to using software for this:
- It allows you to reach a broader audience
- Gives you a chance to work with users remotely
- You can customize ready designs and save valuable time
- You’ll get accurate reports and in-depth analysis of the results
On top of this, you should be looking for a tool where you can conduct the different types of usability testing and implement them where needed. Maze, a leading testing platform will help you back up your product design decisions and create better experiences with quantitative user insights.
How Usability Testing Will Give You More Website Views
Now that you know how to conduct this type of test, it’s time to explore how it can increase your number of website views.
1. Get Feedback Before You Launch Your Website
If you haven’t launched your website yet, don’t rush to do this. Test its usability with users first! This will give you insights into how people will respond to your design and your content once the website goes live. You can expose it to users without releasing it to the public, limiting your current design to only the test participants.
How does this help you?
Fixing the glitches afterward will cost more.
Your website won’t rank highly if it’s not optimized. So, you automatically get fewer website views.
If you launch a website that isn’t optimized, people will leave it and you’ll lose conversions. You can fix it afterward, but those leads will already be long gone.
If you want to optimize the user experience for conversions, you should start at the very beginning. Testing at this stage will reveal:
- The ease of use of your website
- If your CTAs are easy to find – and if they work
- The level of intuitiveness of different functions on your website
- The clarity of your content
2. Find and Fix Onboarding Issues
Getting more people to your website is only the first step. You probably want to convert them afterward. You need people to subscribe to your newsletter, make a purchase, opt for your free trial, etc.
Use usability testing to identify issues with the onboarding process. For example, test to see if your tutorials are easy to follow and if they help the user understand how your product works.
The sooner you find – and fix those problems, the better. This will lead to more site visits and keep users on your website for longer. Eventually, it will boost your retention and conversion rates. It’s a win on so many levels!
3. See What Issues Users Have With Completing Tasks
People don’t like to go to websites that are hard to navigate or use. They won’t waste time trying to figure out the best path to purchase. Half of them will leave your website if your pages take longer than 6 seconds to load. No one likes a site with complicated signup forms or download buttons that don’t work.
Do you know if your site has these issues?
There’s one sure way to find out – test it!
This will help you make sure that users can complete all the tasks on your website with minimal effort and no issues. It’s how you’ll keep them longer and attract more people to your website.
4. Understand Your Target Audience Better
User-centered design is the gold standard for websites today. If you don’t know what the target audience wants and expects, how can you design a successful website that attracts more visits?
Those customer personas you’ve created are a good start, but they can’t solely be based on assumptions you make about your audience. By testing users, your team can gain a better understanding of the target market and learn what they need.
By finding the flaws in your current designs, you will see what’s missing. Adjust and refine in order to attract more visitors and even retain the ones that already landed on your pages.
Time to Level Up Your Website!
Usability testing is very simple these days. The benefits we listed here are tremendous, so the question here is – why aren’t you testing? It is much easier – and cheaper to make small, innovative changes throughout the lifespan of your website than to invest a fortune in fixing the errors only after you’ve lost so many potential leads.
You have nothing to lose and everything to gain, so test early and often. With data in your arsenal, you can improve the user experience, get your site to rank higher, and ultimately level up your website views!
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Understand your customer journey, find drop-offs, and receive actionable insights with AI.
FAQ
What is usability testing?
Usability testing is a design technique focused on the user where you evaluate your website or product by testing it on people without prior exposure to it.
How many participants do I need to include in my testing?
There’s no golden rule for this. According to the Nielsen group, you should run many smaller tests instead of a few big ones. The ideal word count is 5 to 10 users.
How is this form of testing conducted?
There are different ways to conduct usability testing. This can range from remote tests with surveys you send to a group of people to recorder user sessions to extensive laboratory tests with a user psychology expert.
About The Author
Nadica Metuleva is a freelance writer who’s passionate about creating quality, original content. She holds a Master’s degree in English teaching and a Bachelor’s degree in translation. With 8 years of experience in the freelance writing industry, Nadica has become proficient in creating content that captivates the audience, drives growth, and educates. You can find her on LinkedIn.
