What is user testing in UX design?
User testing (or usability testing) is a testing method in UX design that measures how easily your end-users can use a website, webshop, application, or other software.
It is an important step in presenting your customer base with not only a functional product but one that can even exceed their expectations. Even if your designers and developers fully understand your product, it doesn’t necessarily mean that your users will as well. Even steps that seem utterly simple at first might end up confusing for users that will see your product for the first time.
How does a UX design agency handle user testing?
A professional UX design agency doesn’t just apply user testing to get companies a list of bugs (although these are also important). It is also about seeing how users feel about your product, how they word their opinions, what kind of body language they have during testing, which may all help you finalize the design of your product based on their expectations.
It is especially important to ask well-targeted questions and to let users share as much information as possible.
The most common types of usability testing methods UX design agencies use are:
- Moderated user testing
- Online moderated user testing
- Online unmoderated user testing
Why is user testing important in UX design? What potential benefits can I expect?
User testing in UX design has many benefits. Here are just a few examples of the potential benefits you can expect if you choose to invest in user testing:
- Discover hidden issues in time
All online platforms and software need to be tested for bugs before launch, which is much easier to fix before and during development, and allows you to avoid high bounce rates that stem from technical issues. But aside from minor errors like broken links, you can also detect other issues, such as why users choose to ignore certain key elements and improve your UX design based on that.
- Understand your users’ needs through testing and meet their expectations
Designers and developers should always keep their users in mind. User testing allows you to better understand what your users need from a product such as yours, and confirm whether your product aligns with their expectations. Essentially, you can create a better, more user-focused product that will have a much better chance of success on the market.
- Save time for your users – and your business
Some may think that user testing only stretches out the development process needlessly, but is actually quite the opposite. Skipping usability testing may lead to a lot of overlooked issues, which will only raise development time and cost.
As for the modern-day user, everyone wants to find the best solution possible in the fastest way possible. If your website or software doesn’t load quickly enough and is filled with glitches, your users will immediately look for an alternative.
- Gain an advantage over your competitors by investing in user testing
Users can choose from a huge amount of options on the digital market. With user testing, it is much easier to exceed the expectations of your customer base and convince them to choose your product or service over the competition.
- Improve overall UX design and your conversion rate with user testing
One of the main goals of UX design is to increase the number of your conversions (sales, subscriptions, contact forms, calls, etc). The more time users spend on your platform, the better the chance of them converting from a simple visitor to an actual customer. If your app or webshop provides an enjoyable user experience, they may even become repeat buyers instead of searching for other options.