What is UserTesting.com?
UserTesting.com uses the Web 2.0 crowdsourcing model to dramatically drop the
price of usability testing. It lets website owners easily get pre-screened
users to rapidly do usability testing of their websites.
How much does it cost?
$19, which gives you two things:
-
A Flash video of a user speaking their thoughts as they browse your website.
Watch a sample video.
-
A written review where that same user tells you what they liked, disliked, and
what would have caused them to leave your site.
See a sample review.
Who are the user testers?
If you’ve done much usability testing, you know that some user testers
offer more useful feedback than others. What makes them more helpful? For one,
they find glaring problems that make you slap your head and say “why
didn’t we think of that?” For another, they continuously articulate
what they are thinking as they browse. We at UserTesting.com have made a big
effort to find the most helpful user testers and make them available to you for
a low price. See more details about our user testers
here.
Do the videos record both audio and video?
Yes. Our screen recording software records both the audio of the user tester
speaking and the video of the screen.
Watch a sample video. The videos are Flash files, the same format used
by YouTube.
How long are the videos?
Usually about 15 minutes. The length depends on how many tasks the user tester
is asked to do. Tasks should be written so that they can be completed in not
much more than 15 minutes, or else user testers might not sign up to do that
task. See
good examples of tasks.
How do I watch videos of my website?
Go to “Your Account” page on UserTesting.com and you can watch the
videos online.
How quickly will I receive my video and written review?
Most people receive their results within 24 hours and it can be as fast as one
hour. Requesting testers with specific demographics slows things down because
fewer user testers are qualified to do the test. Also, our user testers are
more likely to sign up to review a site that they feel they can understand and
add value to. So if you have a vertical website (like an application for real
estate brokers), most of our user testers may not feel qualified to test it, so
it may not be completed as quickly.
Is UserTesting.com a web stats package?
No. We built UserTesting.com to complement services like Google Analytics and Omniture, not replace them. We definitely recommend that you use
one of those services in conjunction with UserTesting.com. Your analytics
package can tell you where users leave your site, while UserTesting.com
can tell you why they leave your site.
How many user testers should I sign up for?
Well, if you’re like us, then you’d be skeptical of any service you
haven’t tried before. So, for starters, we’d
sign up for just one. Make us prove ourselves to you. (And, remember,
if you aren’t happy with the results, just click here
for a full refund.) However, after you (hopefully) see its value, you might
want to sign up for four more.
Some usability experts say that you’ll discover most of a
site’s problems with as few as five user testers.
Can you give me advice?
Yes. If you want us to view the user testing videos and written reviews for
your website and recommend how you could improve your site, we’re happy
to do that. Please contact us for details.
What if I want to watch the user testers sign up using a credit card?
You have two options:
1) Tell them to go through the process of buying your product with a credit
card, but tell them not to click the final "SUBMIT ORDER" button.
2) Provide the user testers with a dummy credit card number that they can use.
My site has Flash on it. Can you still test it?
Yes. Our screen recording software records everything happening on your
website, including Flash videos.
You didn’t answer my question. How come?
Probably because this FAQ was written by a PR person. Please ask us your
question using our contact us form.