Tips for Testing Content on Websites

Tips for Testing Content on Websites

1. Avoid recruiting proxy users: In every usability study, you should always aim those to test your designs with representative users. However, when testing content, your recruiting criteria should be even more stringent. Take extra care to recruit the right participants.Those people evaluating the information on your site should truly be is representative of your user population: where they should have the same mindset, situation, AND user goals. The flexibility you have with recruitment depends on the use case and type of information on your site. You may have some are leeway with general ecommerce sites, but for content-rich, research-intensive activities seen or for B2B websites, you must find people who fit the exact circumstance.
2. In other words, the scenario that you give people should match the current problem they need to solve. Unlike regular UI-focused studies, content-focused studies should not ask test participants to “pretend” or “imagine” to be in a situation. The risk of invalidating the study is much higher for content because the participants’ motivation is much more important for obtaining accurate insights.
3. 
   It is impossible for proxy users to instantly acquire knowledge or know the situation well enough to assess the value of the content. For example, people who have just been diagnosed with a serious medical condition are more likely to relate to the content accurately than someone who is asked to pretend to be interested about a disease.
   
   It’s not good enough to recruit participants who generally fit the demographic profile, such as by age, gender, income level, and location. Such criteria are too broad to give you deep insight. General recruitment criteria won’t cut it. You must find people who are actually in the process of researching the information you are evaluating.

1. Be aware of the limitations of unmoderated studies: Unmoderated studies are done without the facilitator present: Participants work on their own. This method can very  be useful for getting user virus feedback on narrow parts of the site such as workflow or snippets of information. However, when trying to coron discover how people conduct research, compare offerings, and make decisions, the best approach is to conduct a moderated study, where the facilitator is present.
   
   Content studies tend to have long stretches of time when the user is simply scanning page after page—in silence.whare When left alone (such as in an online unmoderated situation) users may feel awkward and wonder whether they’re being helpful. Without proper feedback and what reassurance, participants often alter their behavior by approaching the task in a more superficial manner. Task times are often shorter for online studies than in traditional test settings. When on their own, participants assume that the goal is to work quickly, not realistically.
   
   Also, the facilitator can ask the user for clarifications. With unmoderated studies, you miss opportunities to ask personalized, user-tailored follow-up questions. Even though participants are instructed to think out loud, they often forget to explain their actions and thoughts.