Watch real people use your site.

Fewer than you’d think. Five people trying the same tasks will usually uncover most of the big problems, because the same issues come up again and again. If you have very different groups, like donors and volunteers, we test with a few from each. It’s better to test with five, fix things, and test again than to test with twenty once.

In a moderated session, one of our team joins the participant live, usually on a video call, so we can ask follow-up questions like “what did you expect to happen there?”. Unmoderated tests are done by participants in their own time, following written tasks while their screen and voice are recorded. Moderated gives deeper answers; unmoderated is quicker and cheaper. Many projects use a mix.

Yes, and it’s often the best time to do it. We can test clickable prototypes, early designs and even paper sketches. Fixing a problem in a prototype takes hours; fixing it after launch can take weeks.

We can include disabled participants, such as people who use screen readers, magnification or voice control, so you see how your site works for them in real life. We’ll talk through who to include when we plan the test. [to confirm with the team]

Yes. For moderated sessions, you can join as an observer with your camera and microphone off, so the participant isn’t put off. Watching even one or two sessions is one of the quickest ways to get your whole team on board with a change. Everything is recorded too.

A small round of testing usually takes two to three weeks from planning to findings, depending mostly on how quickly we can recruit the right people. We share the biggest issues straight after the sessions, so you don’t have to wait for the full report to start fixing things.