Who Do You Test in User Testing?

When it comes to web design, usability testing is very important. Whether it is in pre-production, during production or looking at the final product, user testing can help make small but big changes to how your target audience views and uses your site.

This has been said time and time again, yet how do we know who to test and what to make of their feedback. Firstly you need to make sure you are testing your target audience.

This will benefit your site more as you can work out from their feedback how they use and perceive the site structure. However to increase the amount of users who come to your site it is also important to test a wide range of people.

Don’t just dismiss older people or non web savvy users as this could potentially narrow your audience. They can give you a better idea of how to make your site structure simpler and easier for the user to find where they want to go.

Remember not all people who use the internet are computer whizzes.

A common aspect of usability testing is that the subject may feel that they are being tested rather than the webpage. This can lead to a long drawn out process as the user starts to address other areas but doesn’t answer the original question if they don’t know the answer.

Although this can get very irritating when the subject goes way off topic to the original question it is important to listen to everything that they say as often it can value the site. Instead of getting irritated when non web savvy users critique a site it is sometimes useful to see how your site is seen through their point of view.

Everyone’s opinion counts as it’s not just our opinion but the users who we need for a site to be successful.