How 3-4 hours of user testing can reveal what visitors are really thinking about your website. Plus webinars are back!

Dear website champions,

Have you done any user testing of your homepage lately? If not, you might be surprised by both how straightforward it is to do testing and what valuable insights you can gain in just 3-4 hours total.

If you've never conducted user testing before, it can be eye-opening to see just how quickly visitors scan a website and how easily they overlook elements that seem obvious to you. Can they understand what your nonprofit actually does? Can they complete a few typical tasks – including, say, donating?  

Here’s how you can go about it:

• Start with just 4-5 participants. Recruit people who can spare 20 minutes of their time. Ideally, choose typical users of your website, but friends and family unfamiliar with your organization will also work. (Yes, 4-5 people really is enough, and you'll identify the majority of issues. Here is one of the most respected user researchers in the field confirming that "elaborate user tests are a waste of money.")

• Keep the format simple. Meet in person or via video conference. Show them your homepage or ask them to share their screen while viewing your site.

• Create a comfortable environment. Thank participants for their time and start with a bit of small talk to help them relax.

• Ask key questions:

• Based on the homepage alone, what does our organization do? (Don't skip this question—it almost always provides valuable insights!)

• How would they complete 1-2 specific tasks? Pick a few things that you want everyone to be able to easily do and ask them to navigate while thinking aloud. Phrase questions carefully—don't make the answer obvious or use the same words that appear in your navigation.

• If they were considering making a donation, what would they look for? Ask them to go ahead and look. You’re not likely to get good information about whether they would *actually* donate (with you there, many more will say they would), but you can hear some interesting things about why they might or might not. Listen for any hesitations or concerns.

• Watch what they do, not what they say. People aren't great at predicting what they'll use or not, but what they do, and how they're thinking about what they do, tells the real story. Listen for what confuses them rather than focusing on their subjective opinions about colors or layout. 

• Observe more than you speak. Ask your question, then allow silence. Give them time (up to 60 seconds) before gently helping. Yes, 60 seconds of silence can feel like an eternity—you might start hearing your own heartbeat—but resist the urge to jump in too soon! If they ask you questions, encourage them to think about what they'd do if you weren't there.

• Show appreciation. Of course, to close out, thank them again for their valuable time and insights!

Once you see how easy and informative user testing can be, it's great to make it a regular practice. For more ideas, check out "Building a Habit of Tiny Website User Studies in Your Nonprofit" where I outline seven different user studies you can complete—from start to finish—in eight hours or less.

To better websites and fewer confused visitors,

Laura