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I think most people will agree that user testing will improve your website, however, it is often overlooked as non-critical and overally expensive.  I would like to convince you otherwise.

User Testing is Expensive

There are many methods to evaluate your user experience, some may be easier to obtain than you think.

Web Analytics ($0.00)

If your not using analytics yet go get yourself Google Analytics, its free! Website analytics are a gold mine of information and provide the very basics of good User Testing. Once you have enough data collected I would recommend evaluating the sources of your traffic and the paths users take through your site. Some metrics that come into play are bounce rates by traffic source, page views per user, exit pages and time on site. Document the main paths that users follow throughout your site, and ask yourself… Are people finding what they came for? What’s driving most of my traffic? What can I do to make that bounce rate go down?

Real Life Rser Reviews ($19.00)

Now that you know how people are navigating your site, lets find out why. I’m sure you’ve heard about all the super cool user testing methods, like; eye tracking, user surveys, focus groups and clinical usability testing. Depending on your product, this stuff may be outside of your budget and time frame.

May I introduce… UserTesting.com, it’s a web based user testing website. It’s easy to use, relatively affordable, and mostly accurate. It’s actually quite cool, you give them a url and a few use cases that you would like evaluated such as “go to my site and figure out how to find X”. Usertesting.com hires real life users to go through your use cases and verbally document their experience. For $19, you get both a video with verbal commentary and a written document. Some users are obviously better then others and I would recommend getting a few going, spend $100 and get 5 users going through your site.

User Testing is Non-Critical

Do you represent your websites target audience and demographic? If you don’t, you most likely have no clue how your visitors interpret your site. Most likely, you are way to deep in the details of your site to really view it in the way your users do. Very much like viewing a painting, you must step back and allow for a critical evaluation to achieve a user friendly site.

Delivering on your visitors expectations will solidify your brand, improve your users experience and potentially lead to additional conversions.

Don’t do User Testing

If you don’t want to improve on your users experience and make more money, by all means, don’t do it. However, if your looking to make a kick ass, ninja worthy site, check with your users . Knowing how your users interact with your website is invaluable.