A Complete Guide to Mobile Responsive Design

A Complete Guide to Mobile Responsive Design

Feb 22, 2022 | UX Guide, UX Design | 0 comments

Web development has progressed by leaps and bounds since the beginning of the World Wide Web. In the early days, website designers did not need to worry much about how their sites appeared to different clients. 

This was because most users would access websites from standard desktop computers with similar screen resolution ranges.

However, today web technologies are upgrading exponentially as different devices are being used and developed to access the internet. 

As a result, websites currently being developed and designed by web programmers are viewed and accessed by a large number of devices with disparate screen resolutions, orientations and views.

For instance, modern users can access the same website from desktop computers, laptops, iPhones, iPads, Notebooks, feed readers, and even smart TVs. Essentially, each platform presents the same page, with a unique feel from the others, depending on its size and viewing capabilities.

What is mobile responsive design?

Mobile Responsive design is a set of techniques and technologies that enable website creators to design websites that provide a desirable viewing experience for different device types.

In principle, mobile responsive design ensures that websites can automatically reshape themselves depending on various screen sizes, orientations, and resolutions. From the largest devices like smart TVs to the smallest ones like mobile devices.

Furthermore, mobile responsive design ensures a seamless flow of content based on the amount of device display space available. This helps to maximise brand impact while not dictating the development of a completely different site, or set of sites to accommodate new device makers that may come up with in the future.

Benefits of a responsive site

SEO friendliness

For the longest time, Google has prioritised responsive websites as most of its traffic comes from multiple mobile devices with dissimilar screen sizes. The search engine took this prioritisation further when they introduced a “Mobile-Friendly” label for sites that are responsive.

Generally, websites that are responsive typically emerge on the top of smartphone’s search results queries. This means that mobile responsiveness is a critical ranking factor for Google as they actually penalise sites that aren’t mobile responsive.

Reduced bounce rate

Bounce rate is a metric to represent the proportion of visitors to a particular website who navigate away from the website after seeing only one page. In practice, the goal of a responsive website is to ensure that visitors with different devices stay longer on the website. 

A responsive website also makes it effortless for visitors to be more willing to click through and explore other pages on your website. This, in turn, decreases your bounce rate.

Better user experience

A responsive website results in a better overall quality of user experience. Whenever users find it challenging to navigate, or utilise your website because they’re forced to pinch and zoom-in continuously, they become frustrated. 

However, if your site scales and reacts to the changes in screen size adaptively, visitors won’t have issues accessing menus, links, buttons or forms. 

Increased mobile traffic

Statistics show that nearly 55% of all global web traffic emerged from mobile devices in 2021. With this statistic, it is clear that one cannot afford to compromise with responsive web design. 

To substantiate this claim, consider examining just how many of your visitors come from phones, and how much time they spend on your site. Then subsequently, implement responsive design and critically compare the two statistics. 

Afterwards, once your website adjusts to the viewport width, you will notice a significant amount of traffic increase from mobile devices.

More conversions

As we alluded to earlier, the more time users spend on your site, the lower the bounce rate. Responsive sites improve the user experience of your traffic, and thus help build good relationships and trust with users. 

This optimal user experience and confidence results in better conversion rates, for newsletter subscriptions, product purchases, or even bookings. 

Less loading time

Responsive websites load faster on all devices. However, for smartphones and tablets, they load fastest. Because of fluid grids and responsive images, responsive websites take a lot less time to load pages. And in turn, sites that load faster enjoy more conversions. For every second delay in mobile page load, conversions can fall by up to 20%.

loading time

Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

Easy maintenance

There was a time when programmers were required to maintain two separate websites: one for desktops and another for mobiles. Consequently, this dictated maintaining two sites, which necessitated more resources. 

With a responsive website, this effort is dramatically reduced as it takes less time to maintain and build a website. As such, companies can focus on more important tasks such as customers service, A/B testing, marketing, product, and content development. 

How to achieve a mobile responsive website design?

Responsive websites maintain adaptive design to respond accordingly to visitors’ devices or technology. However, en route to a functional responsive website, there are critical steps one must follow.

Scoping 

This step involves understanding user objectives on different devices. In the past, many assumed that most mobile users were task-driven, for example, desiring to order a meal, or book a restaurant table quickly.

However, nowadays, users on any mobile device are as likely to leisurely browse the Internet before completing a task quickly. Basically, once you carefully understand user objectives, you can easily define and prioritise content for your site, regardless of the device a visitor is employing.

Scoping can help you make technical considerations regarding functionality and content. For example, if a complicated functionality only works on particular devices. 

Though a responsive site only changes the CSS depending on the width, if it contains complex elements that rely heavily on JavaScript. Then they may not translate well on smaller devices, and it could be worth hiding these.

User Research

User research is a highly critical stage in the design process. This means that it’s worth a little extra consideration to research people who will be employing different devices. 

Exploratory research can help extrapolate your assumptions on how different users may want to use your website on various devices. This, in turn, will enable you to decide what the priorities are for your project.

Wireframing 

A wireframe is fundamentally the skeleton of a web page assembled using basic shapes, lines, colours, and styles. The central objective of a wireframe is to guide the design of a layout conducive to the content placement. 

At the same time, wireframing helps developers to figure out functionality and navigation problems in an easily adjustable format. 

For years web designers wireframed to fit computer screens. However, times have changed where wireframing now takes a mobile-first approach. This approach enables webmasters to prioritise some elements on the site when it is shown on a smaller screen.

Wireframing has an advanced element that involves responsive wireframes. Responsive wireframes are simple web pages built with HTML and CSS, that employ responsive web design principles to illustrate the layouts. 

Responsive wireframes are very dynamic and require less effort to introduce changes. To introduce a change, all that’s required is a source code update of a page, then a page reloads in the browser.

Generally, wireframes are typically not in colour since they need to focus on the relationship of the various UI elements, not on the actual design. The web designer is the one to work on the colour and shapes once the wireframe has been fully established. 

In summary, building a wireframe isn’t an exact science, and requires extensive iterations and numerous revisions to be performed. Because of this, it’s imperative to pay attention to the logic behind the wireframe layout to be able to see the rationale of your responsive design.

Styling

Think about keeping your styles more straightforward for your mobile version. The great thing about using CSS3 is you don’t need many images to achieve great styled effects. 

However, these still take some time to load. Also, carefully think through your font sizes to ensure that they are readable on each device.

Building the site

Once you have scoped, researched and wireframed your design, it’s time to build your website. As you commence development, here are a few considerations: 

  • Constant communication: Website projects always go smoother when teammates speak to each other. This means that both the designer and developer need to have clear channels that enable them to discuss design problems and solutions as soon as they turn up.
  • Image size impact: Your responsive website will need to load full-size images even if the CSS scales them down. So, try to keep your image sizes as low as possible.
    On the positive side, you can employ some JavaScript scripts/workarounds to make the site run smoother. However, to avoid any degradation in performance, do ensure to load the smallest high-quality image size.
  • Use advanced CSS: It’s mission-critical to use advanced CSS styles as they allow site styles to degrade as the browser capability does. Furthermore, advanced CSS enables you to keep site loading times low.

User testing of the website

Test, test, and test more! User testing starts as soon as you create your first wireframe. Generally, wireframe testing should occur on the relevant devices straight away. This will allow you to know early on if your wireframe is really functional for your needs. 

Also, after building, user test early to identify any inherent issues, or elements of the wireframe that were not implemented appropriately. 

Features of a responsive design

Fluid grid

Previously most websites were laid out based on a metric called pixels. However, now modern designers employ a fluid grid. A fluid grid essentially sizes the elements of your website proportionally, instead of making them one specific size. 

This consequently makes it easy to size things for different screens as the elements respond to the size of the grid(screen), not the size set in pixels. 

A fluid grid ensures that the website design is flexible and scalable as elements will maintain consistent spacing and proportion– adjusting to specific screen widths based on percentages.

Flexible images & text

A responsive design isn’t limited to dynamically changing the page layouts only. Another critical element of responsiveness is the ability for images to automatically resize proportionally. 

Flexible text and images can adjust within a site layout width, according to the content hierarchy set with the CSS (stylesheet). Thus possessing the ability to scale, crop, or disappear depending on the content that is deemed essential to the mobile experience.

With a flexible design, text can be wrapped in the available space, and font size can be increased on smaller devices to make it more legible. However, flexible images can sometimes prove challenging due to load times on smaller device browsers. 

Responsive layouts

With responsive layouts, webpages are no longer left to their own devices. Responsive layouts attempt to adjust site layouts to a great variety of screen environments. 

Instead of working with the “most common” display dimensions and “average” users, a responsive layout adapts to disparate viewing conditions and user requirements. 

In addition, by integrating alternate layouts tuned to each resolution range, developers can enhance the overall viewing experience.

Media queries

Media queries enable designers to build multiple layouts with just HTML documents. Media queries also allow designers to choose appropriate style sheets based on different criteria like the size of a browser, or screen resolution. 

So, rather than look at a device type, it considers its implemented capabilities. Generally, working with media queries allows designers to alter much more than the simple placement of an image. For instance, media queries enable designers to fine-tune as pages resize themselves. 

Furthermore, designers can flexibly increase the target area for links on smaller screens, or show or hide elements to ensure that navigation is more prominent. 

Better yet, media queries can be employed to even apply responsive typesetting to optimise the reading experience for the display providing it.

Responsive design examples 

GitHub 

GitHub’s unique website offers a coherent and consistent experience across every device with commendable attributes like:

  • Its signup form is a central focus, as it also presents only a call-to-action button on mobile. Furthermore, users must click the call to action to trigger the form. 
  • When transitioning from desktop to tablet devices, the field above the fold transforms from a two-column layout to a single-column layout. This occurs with the copy above the signup form rather than beside it.
  • GitHub hides its search bar and menu behind a hamburger icon on handheld devices. This practice helps reduce clutter on mobile devices, where space is typically limited.

GitHub

Image Credit:www.github.com/

Shopify 

Shopify offers a fluid user experience across all devices as it constitutes only a call-to-action button, and illustrations change between desktop to mobile devices. On PC and tablet, its call-to-action button is from the right of the form field. However, on mobile devices, it’s beneath.

Illustrations are to the right of the copy on PCs and tablets, whereas they are placed beneath the copy on mobile devices. Impressively, despite employing image carousels to show off their customers, Shopify has managed its page load speed below five seconds.

Shopify

Shopify’s responsive mobile view. Image Credit:shopify.com

Slack 

The Slack website is well known for its intentionality and simplicity. This is demonstrated by its responsive design that consists of a flexible grid that easily adapts to viewports of all sizes and shapes. 

For instance, while customer logos are visually presented in 1 horizontal line on a desktop view. As 

Slack is using a flexible container whereby at certain screen breakpoints, the logos will automatically wrap and stack on top of each other to optimise for smaller screen views.

Slack

Slack’s responsive mobile view. Image Credit: slack.com/

Conclusion

Because internet devices and technologies are changing fast, there is a great need to continue adapting responsive web designs. Responsive design ensures that websites work across a diverse range of device and monitor types, browser and pixel depth differences. 

The main advantage to this approach is simple: design once, deploy everywhere.

As such, companies don’t need multiple versions of one website for different devices. This consequently delivers a more unified and better experience for users while reducing redundancy, simplifying development and maintenance processes for web designers.

Reach out to us at Netizen Experience if you’re planning on a new responsive website or are in need to change your current one.

Different Types of Usability Testing Methods

Different Types of Usability Testing Methods

Feb 18, 2022 | User Acceptance Testing, User Testing | 0 comments

Usability testing involves using different techniques to ensure that users of a product can execute intended tasks efficiently, effectively, and satisfactorily. 

In usability testing, prospective users will be recruited to perform tasks typical of a user group in an environment with a website, system, or physical product.

Over time, it has evolved from experimental psychology methods to less controlled and more qualitative tests. 

This article discusses different usability testing methods and their applications.

Quantitative vs Qualitative Usability Testing

The main differences between quantitative and qualitative testing lie in how the data is collected. Generally, usability testing involves two types of data: qualitative and quantitative.

Therefore it is vital to understand the distinctions between these and how to employ each appropriately. The end goal is to gain valuable insights but their approach varies.

With qualitative usability testing approach, data about behaviours and attitudes are directly collected by critically observing what users do and how they react to a product. Qualitative usability data examples range from product reviews, user comments, descriptions of the issues experienced, facial expressions, and preferences, etc.

In comparison, quantitative usability testing approach accumulates data about users’ behaviours and attitudes indirectly. For instance, quantitative data is typically recorded automatically while participants complete the tasks.  Quantitative data typically constitutes statistical data that is quantifiable in numerical terms. For example, how long it took for someone to complete a task, the percentage of a group that clicked a section of a design, etc.

Moderated vs Unmoderated Usability Testing

Moderated usability testing can be administered in-person or remotely by a trained moderator. The moderator introduces the test to participants, responds to their queries, and asks follow-up questions. On the other hand, unmoderated usability testing is performed without direct supervision.

Moderated usability testing typically produces in-depth results because of the direct interaction between moderator and test participants. The moderator is able to probe and follow up with questions to further uncover the underlying motivation or reasons for the participant’s actions.

However, moderated usability testing can be considerably more expensive to organise and run. Conversely, unmoderated usability testing is cheaper. However, the participant may provide superficial or short answers at times and without moderation it can be difficult to get an in-depth understanding of their answers. 

Explorative vs Comparative Usability Testing

Explorative usability testing is open-ended and involves participants being asked to brainstorm, give opinions, and freely express ideas and concepts. 

The information is usually collected in early product development to help researchers pinpoint market gaps, identify potential new features, and iterate new ideas.

Comparative usability testing involves asking users to choose between solutions they prefer to compare a website or app with its primary competitors.

Remote vs In-Person Usability Testing

In remote usability tests, the facilitator interacts with the participants from a different physical location. These are done over the internet through laptop, dekstop, tablet or smartphone. Moderated remote usability testing can be performed using screen-sharing options from meeting tools like Zoom, Skype, etc. For remote unmoderated usability tests, online tools can be used to set up tasks that the participant needs to perform. 

In-person testing is done in the physical presence of the moderator. As compared to remote tests, it is easier to collect and observe more information as the UX researchers can analyze the facial expressions as well as the body language of the participants and how it correlates with their action. 

Also read: 

How To Conduct Usability Testing For Websites? and How to Conduct Usability Testing for Mobile Apps?

Usability Testing Methods

Some of the commonly used usability testing methods for websites and applications include:

1. Guerrilla testing 

Guerrilla testing is arguably the simplest usability testing method. Essentially, guerrilla testing is as simple as going to a public place like a café and asking people about their thoughts on a prototype. 

Basically, test participants are chosen randomly and asked to perform quick tasks, often in exchange for a small gift (like a free coffee). It’s a low-cost approach that works best in the early stages of product development.

guerrilla testing

2. Lab usability testing

Lab usability testing needs a trained moderator and a suitable place for testing.

This test approach is suitable when you need in-depth information on how real users interact with a product, and the issues they may face. 

This method enables you to collect comprehensive and qualitative information. However, it can be expensive to organise and execute since it requires a controlled environment, hiring of test participants and trained moderators. 

3. Contextual inquiry

This usability testing method helps a product team obtain information about the user experience from the real users. This method is perfect for attaining rich information about users— for example, their workspace, personal preferences, and habits.

In this approach, users are first asked a specific set of questions about their experience with a product. Subsequently, they are then critically observed and questioned while working within their own environments. For example, a finance clerk is observed on how she use the new accounting software at her office where she usually works. 

4. Card Sorting

Card sorting is a usability testing process where participants demonstrate how they expect a website to look in terms of navigation. This testing method helps UX designers and UX researchers to discover whether their navigational structure matches what users expect. 

5. A/B Testing

This usability testing method typically involves critically comparing two versions of an application or website against each other to assess discrepancies. Usually, product managers use statistical analysis to fully determine which of the two versions works better.

6. Screen Recording

Screen recording type of usability testing requires software that can record the participant’s actions while they are performing a task remotely. The video recording captures their clicks, cursor movements, expressions, or even their voice when they speak aloud. 

Tools like Hotjar or Zoom can be used to record actions like mouse movement, clicks, etc. 

7. 5- Second Test

This usability testing method is used to collect qualitative data on a user’s first impressions when interacting with a website, app, prototype or a wireframe. This test is usually conducted before a product release to understand the reactions of the target audience. One can try this approach on different variations of a design to see which receives a better response. 

The article is a part of our comprehensive coverage on “Usability Testing Guide”.

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  • Provides user testing services for websites, mobile apps & other digital products
  • Recruit users who match the client’s target audience & provide them with tasks to complete
  • Users are asked to think aloud and provide feedback on their experience
  • Helps conduct user testing sessions remotely, using a variety of tools & software
  • Provides a dedicated project manager to oversee the entire process
  • Project manager coordinates the recruitment of users, schedule of testing sessions & the delivery of the results
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How to Conduct Usability Testing for Mobile Apps?

How to Conduct Usability Testing for Mobile Apps?

Feb 15, 2022 | User Testing, UX Guide | 0 comments

During usability testing, the moderator typically collect qualitative data like behavioural observations and participant comments. UX Researchers would also sometimes collect quantitative data like task times and success rates. 

By critically analysing this data, the UX researcher seek to identify usability problems within a mobile application or website. 

In today’s blog post, we shall delve into usability testing for mobile applications and its underworkings.

What is mobile usability testing? 

Mobile usability testing is essentially usability testing performed on mobile products and applications running on mobile platforms. 

This usability testing exercise attempts to determine how end users might perceive a mobile app or product, either in a usability laboratory or in a field setting.

Is mobile app usability testing important? 

Mobile app usability tests seek to observe test-subject users while utilising a specific app. The core purpose is to measure the application’s user-friendliness to better support a brand’s key commercial objectives.

Mobile usability testing also ensures an app adds value to a business, thus meeting the expectations of the final users. 

Generally, ensuring good usability for mobile apps helps improve customer satisfaction, decrease time spent on customer support, and increase overall sales and revenue.

Furthermore, a well-tested and improved application attracts visitors’ attention and helps set up trust and cooperation between the app owner and the app’s potential users.

usability testing mobile app

How to run effective usability testing for mobile apps

Step 1: Define objectives

Before commencing any usability testing exercise, you should set your objectives and goals straight. In essence, you should clearly define the questions you want to answer with the usability test. Or even clarify the hypothesis you want to test with the usability test.

As you define the test’s objectives, ensure you explore these important areas:

  • The app’s roadmap (for example if something is important to be tested or it will already be removed in the next update)
  • The potential impact of the test
  • Existing users and markets for whom the app is targeted
  • The app’s existing competitors
  • Timing and scope

Step 2: Design the tasks

Once the test objectives have been defined, you then need to set the tasks of the usability test. Tasks should be one sentence long and consist of the interactions to be performed by the test users, for example:

  • Register an account
  • Upload a photo
  • Accept a friend request
  • Sign into an account

However, rather than directly asking the test user to execute a task, tasks should be converted into task scenarios. These provide more context to participants about why they are doing the task. And thus, facilitate more natural interactions similar to what an ordinary user will perform with your app.

Consequently, task scenarios that are defined should always be:

  • Realistic, actionable and without any obvious clues about how to perform the steps.
  • Sequentially ordered to ensure a smooth flow of the test session.
  • Tied to one or more objectives.

 Step 3:  Prepare the usability test documents

When conducting usability testing for mobile apps, there are several documents you typically require. For example: 

  • Consent forms (for minors and even adults)
  • Post-test questionnaire 

Ensure these documents are well prepared to suit your user group and their nuances.

respondent signing usability test consent document

Step 4: Prepare the test participants

Mobile usability testing typically involves real users undertaking realistic tasks that the mobile app is intended to achieve. 

As you prepare to test with real users, there are several considerations one can take when vetting participants: 

  • Choose users who are a fair representation of the target audience.  
  • Users own a mobile device with the exact operating system (including the appropriate version/s) that is being targeted.
  • Participants must be available at the time, place, frequency of the intended usability tests.
  • Users must agree to the compensation terms that you’re offering (if any)
  • Participants must be ready to sign a usability test participation consent form

Step 5: Choose a mobile application usability testing methodology

Principally, there are two main methods for conducting usability testing of mobile applications. These are:

  1. Laboratory-based usability testing
  2. Remote usability testing

In this step, weigh the pros and cons of each approach and then pick one that will fit your needs. 

Step 6: Reporting the results of the usability test

After collecting your usability test data, the next step is to compile, organise and analyse it to draw meaningful conclusions. 

The data can be split between quantitative and quantitative data. For instance, quantitative data encompass completion rates, task times, success rates, satisfaction ratings and error rates. 

Or qualitative data like problems experienced, answers provided in the questionnaire, post-test interviews and debriefing sessions.

This step basically involves careful analysing notes on recordings, transcripts, and other information you might have gathered. It then moves on to presenting it in a way that delivers actionable recommendations.

Conclusion

Usability testing is vital to the success of mobile apps. Mobile apps that users perceive as easy to learn, user-friendly and less time-consuming tend to be more profitable and popular. 

Furthermore, usability testing should occur on a regular and scheduled basis, especially when introducing new design features, or updates to improve functionality.

The article is a part of our comprehensive guide on “Usability testing”.

Field Studies vs Usability Testing: Which Is Better?

Field Studies vs Usability Testing: Which Is Better?

Feb 14, 2022 | User Research, User Acceptance Testing, User Testing | 0 comments

Usability is essentially the measurement of a product’s usefulness from the users’ perspective. In principle, usability can be segmented into three fundamental elements: efficiency, effectiveness, and user satisfaction. 

As a research methodology, the lack of usability testing during the development of a product often leads to user dissatisfaction and rejection. Another research methodology that serves a similar purpose of ensuring product utility is a field study. 

What is the difference between field studies and usability testing?

Field study encompasses all studies of users in their natural environments (usually conducted in the user’s context and location as opposed to your office/lab). 

For example, homes, workplaces, neighbourhoods, parks, streets, and shops. Essentially, localities and areas in which one’s product might eventually be utilised are the best places to conduct these studies. 

On the other hand, usability testing evaluates a product by directly testing it with representative users. 

During a usability test, participants attempt to complete typical tasks while testers/observers watch, listen and take notes. 

Overall, the core goal of usability testing is to identify usability problems, collect qualitative and quantitative data to determine the participant’s satisfaction with the product.

conducting remote online usability testing on laptop

When to choose a field study? 

Field studies deliver a complete, unbiased picture of what prospective users actually do with a product. They provide context, especially if a product is designed to function in a particular context. 

In such instances, conventional lab testing might not give you accurate results. So, when your usability research cannot fit in a lab, you may need to carry these out. 

Furthermore, field study is well suited for practical products. For instance, if a device is engineered to function as a core component of the navigational system of an oil tanker. Then visiting the oil tanker for final testing makes sense. 

Some of the examples of field studies include user’s office/home visit, ethnographic research, and contextual inquiry. 

How to conduct a field study? 

1. Preliminary planning 

This period involves working with participants. You don’t necessarily require a specific set of research questions but defined study topics. Field studies are strictly observational, as researchers aim to be as unobtrusive as possible. 

2. Direct observation

This part of a field study involves watching users critically observe how they behave and why. Ideally, the test subjects do not care that you’re watching, and act exactly as if you are not there. 

3. Participant observation

Here, the researcher can join the group of people being studied and records data as field notes or diary entries, after finishing observations for the day.

Benefits of field studies in UX design

Field studies enable you to understand your users in-depth, under realistic conditions. Field studies also allow you to discover social defects and understand environmental factors before releasing products.

Generally, field study advantages can be summarised as:

  1. It yields highly detailed data.
  2. It emphasises the role and relevance of social context.
  3. It can help uncover social facts that may not be immediately obvious or that research participants may be unaware of.

In person field work study usability testing on mobile app

Potential pitfalls of field studies in UX design 

The key disadvantage of field studies is their expense. Furthermore, most field studies can’t usually be automated or sped up with technology. This is because they typically rely on old-fashioned theories of patience and observation. 

Additionally, if your study design requires a large number of observers, then a field study might not be ideal. Similarly, if your product is to be used in rare, unpredictable circumstances (for example, first-responder mobilisation after an earthquake), then you can’t do a field study.

Further, if your study involves collecting sensitive, confidential information, you might require the more controllable circumstances of a user research lab.

When to choose usability testing?

Usability testing is ideal when: 

  • Seeking to uncover any issues within your design, workflow, or process.
  • Validating if a design works for participants – especially if there is debate on a project team about how something is ‘utilised by users’.
  • Seeking insights into both good and poor issues with an interface.
  • Seeking different perspectives and mental models on an interface.

You can choose to conduct usability testing:

  • Before significant design decisions are made.
  • In high-risk, low-certainty situations.
  • When it’s time to evaluate and iterate.
  • After product launch.

Benefits of usability testing in UX Design

  • Improved user experience and the product utility.
  • Discovery of hidden usability issues.
  • It ensures that the application’s functionality matches the requirements.
  • It identifies changes required to improve user performance and satisfaction.
  • Helps to analyse product performance to determine if it meets the defined usability objectives.

Disadvantages of usability testing in UX design

  • There is sometimes uncertainty about what to test
  • There can be testing fatigue
  • There is sometimes too much feedback gathered

Field Studies vs Usability Testing Cost

Field studies are expensive and can be highly time-consuming. This is so because of the need to travel, the number of hours researchers are required to commit, and the complex analysis that open-ended, unstructured research dictates.

On the other hand, usability tests are relatively inexpensive and easy to conduct, especially if conducted remotely. However, some of these can only be conducted in a specially designed laboratory, enabling facilitators to interact with, and observe users. Such tests can involve some cost, but they will still be cheaper than field testing.

User Testing Services in Asia

NX logo
NX logo

User Testing Services in Asia

Key Highlights
  • Provides user testing services for websites, mobile apps & other digital products
  • Recruit users who match the client’s target audience & provide them with tasks to complete
  • Users are asked to think aloud and provide feedback on their experience
  • Helps conduct user testing sessions remotely, using a variety of tools & software
  • Provides a dedicated project manager to oversee the entire process
  • Project manager coordinates the recruitment of users, schedule of testing sessions & the delivery of the results
LEARN MORE
CONTACT US

Conclusion

In summary, usability testing is an inexpensive means of gathering valuable feedback from representative users. 

In contrast, field studies allow user researchers to gain first-hand experience and knowledge about the users and the processes they study.

The article is a part of our comprehensive guide on “Usability testing”.