The Netpreneur Blog

I recently came across a service called UserTesting.com which offers low-priced online user testing via the web.  For a fee, you receive a 15 minute video of a tester undertaking specified tasks on your website, whilst providing commentary about the site’s useability.

I thought I would give the service a go by trialling it on my newly redeveloped website, Getaroom.com.au.  I ordered two videos for $38 and within about half an hour I received my videos.

Now, I wouldn’t say that the tester were the world’s most ’switched on’ people, but they probably did fit the profile of everyday, ordinary punters that would use a website like mine.  In that regard, the findings were very useful.

Both testers found different ways to book hotel accommodation in Brisbane, as per the provided script, and that goes to show how website users think and act differently.

It’s great to see how they ‘think’ through the process of undertaking the actions required – you can see where their focus is and where the mouse pointer travels, as they explain their thought processes.

All in all, I gleaned some useful feedback that I have channelled back to the developers for rectification.

I would recommend doing some cheap user testing on http://www.usertesting.com.

Of course, you could also ask your friends to spend some time on your test site and to suggest fixes and enhancements – it’s cheaper and the testing is likely to be more thorough.