Are you guilty of not testing your website?

Your website exists for a purpose – to provide information to visitors in an easy to access fashion. Given that it is the user that uses the website, it is surprising how few websites are actually tested on target users before they go live!

Why wait for complaints from angry users after the event? The damage will be done by then. Are you guilty of delaying the necessary with one of these common excuses?
We're too busy

You will never have time to do anything you haven't planned for. As the old adage says, there is no time like the present! Make the time, allocate the task to someone capable and just do it. Don't make it a big deal. Simply find a few people who will give an hour of their time and schedule these hour-long meetings into your working week.
It costs too much

It can be expensive as you want it to be. You have the option of hiring a sound lab from a professional company with witness booths and the lot, or you can operate a DIY system with a camcorder. How you approach the volunteers is another way you can cut costs. You can offer cash for their time, give vouchers, possibly ones already to hand, or offer free products or services to existing customers. This will keep your cash flow in check.
We're not experts in this

You don't have to be. Simply allocate a member of staff with a calm demeanor – a people person and let the hour run its course. They only thing I would advise is to be careful that the interview doesn't ask leading questions that would receive a response the test subject thinks you want. Make it clear you want their honest feedback and that they are doing you a huge favor by providing this. Any response will not be taken as a personal criticism of the member of staff conducting the interview.
The feedback will be too confusing to deal with

What you will probably find is that you will get similar responses from each person if there is a flaw to the website. If one person has a problem then most likely everyone will. If out of eight tests you get one person who identifies a problem the other seven didn't you will need to evaluate whether to act on this feedback. Remember you don't have to take action on all feedback, just the ones that indicate a problem that definitely needs to be addressed. It should become apparent as the interviews progress.

In summary, don't let budget or time stop you from testing. Do it on a shoe string if you have to, but do it! You'll be glad you did.


About The Author
Angela's sixth form teacher once made the following prophetic statement: I can quite see Angela alone in an office all by herself, scribbling away. She formed Proof Perfect, a team of Copywriters in Singapore back in 2003.