How can usability be tested?

Usability can be tested in just a few steps: Clearly define your goals Choose a usability testing method and create a test scenario Recruit usability test participants Develop a test plan Conduct the usability test Analyze the results

What are common UX methods?

Common UX methods include A/B testing, remote usability testing, clickmaps & heatmaps, card sorting, tree testing, and heuristic evaluation. These can be grouped into design thinking methods, usability testing methods, visual testing, analytics and tracking, and more.

What falls under the category of usability?

Usability includes testing methods that evaluate real or simulated interactions between users and an existing user interface.

What’s the difference between user acceptance testing and usability testing?

User acceptance testing focuses on verifying key features and functions of a product. Usability testing, on the other hand, assesses how user-friendly a product is, based on direct user feedback. The difference lies in the purpose: functionality vs. user experience.

Usability testing methods at a glance

The goal of usability testing is to create an optimized user experience (UX). But how do you actually test the usability of a website or application? Here's an overview of modern methods – plus hands-on insights from our work at Moccu.

23.08.2024 8 minute read

Written by: Rosa Groot UX Designer

The picture shows three variants, A, B and C, each with circles and semicircles under the letters. They differ in shape and arrangement under the individual variants

Benefits of usability testing

What is a usability test? It refers to various methods used to evaluate how user-friendly a product or website is. Our goal is to make UX measurable and continuously improve it. That’s why we apply a wide range of usability testing methods – each offering valuable benefits.

Greater user satisfaction: At Moccu, we use usability testing to ensure users can reach their goals quickly and efficiently.
Cost-effective error detection: Usability testing helps identify and fix potential problems early on. A well-optimized experience also reduces customer service inquiries – saving time and resources.
Lower development costs: Usability testing methods provide a solid foundation for prioritizing features, helping teams make more informed and efficient product decisions.
Higher conversion rates: When the user experience is seamless, visitors are more likely to convert into customers. UX testing uncovers and removes obstacles in the user journey.
Stronger brand loyalty: A better UX leads to more positive brand interactions, builds trust, and draws users into what’s often called the 'loyalty loop.'

"To design the best UX, pay attention to what users do, not what they say. [...] Users do not know what they want."

Jakob Nielsen, Principle Nielsen Norman Group

Moderated vs. unmoderated: Pros & cons

Whether you choose moderated or unmoderated usability testing depends on your specific research goals. But what are the specific advantages and drawbacks of each approach? Here’s a quick comparison:

Moderated usability tests

Best suited for: All types of prototypes – including low-fidelity wireframes or unreleased products. Since a moderator guides the session, the product doesn’t need to be fully functional.

Advantages

Guided facilitation by a moderator
Flexibility to adjust the test flow on the spot
Ability to ask follow-up questions during the session

Disadvantages

Scheduling with target users can be time-consuming
User behavior may be less natural due to the test setting and moderator presence
Risk of last-minute cancellations

Unmoderated usability tests

Best suited for: High-fidelity prototypes or fully functional websites. With click dummies or non-functional prototypes, participants may get stuck without assistance. That’s why unmoderated testing works best when the product is nearly finished – to capture realistic user behavior.

Advantages

Unbiased reactions without moderator influence
Generally more cost-effective
Allows quick testing with a larger group of participants

Disadvantages

Participants may miss or misunderstand instructions
Harder to analyze if not all user actions are fully traceable
No control over distractions or testing environment

Our most common usability testing methods and examples

Below is an overview of the usability testing methods we’ve had the most success with. Almost all of these can be conducted in either a moderated or unmoderated format.

Remote usability test

In this method, participants are given a specific task – such as filling out a form – while interacting with a wireframe or click dummy. As they complete the task, they’re asked to think out loud. This reveals usability issues and points of friction, which can then be turned into actionable improvements.

Presentation of a website in the test, on the right a question: ‘What can we improve to get a 10 on your scale?’ — Users answer questions about the screen without moderation instructions. Their feedback is recorded.

Unmoderated remote usability test for “Ich beim Arzt”

Client: Pfizer

Objective: Design a user-friendly website for “Ich beim Arzt” that helps patients feel understood and easily find the information they need to confidently prepare for their next doctor’s visit.

Process: Participants were given a scenario: they had just received a new medical diagnosis, but their last doctor’s visit left them confused and uncertain. Using the “Ich beim Arzt” website, they were asked to prepare for a follow-up appointment with the goal of leaving the practice feeling informed and confident. Participants were instructed to think out loud while completing the tasks. Each session was recorded and later analyzed.

Challenges: In some cases, we would have liked to ask follow-up questions to learn more. A few participants overlooked instructions or forgot to think out loud during the remote usability test. Not all completed the test in a quiet environment. As a result, we excluded unqualified recordings and repeated the test to ensure we had enough high-quality sessions for analysis.

Result: After transcribing participant feedback from the recordings, we analyzed the results using a rainbow spreadsheet – a color-coded table that maps insights to individual participants for easy organization. The usability testing provided valuable findings that helped guide the continued development of the website.

Curious to learn more?

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Clickmaps & heatmaps

While eye-tracking offers valuable insights into how users view a page, it’s rarely used today due to high costs and technical complexity. A more practical and similarly effective alternative is mouse tracking, which captures cursor movements and visualizes them as clickmaps and heatmaps.

A collage shows a heatmap on the left and scroll depth on the right. — The visual analysis using color gradients shows how users click and scroll.

Mouse tracking at Hama with Mouseflow

Client: Hama

Objective: Optimize content performance and analyze user behavior to improve the user experience and increase conversion rates.

Process: After our SEO team pinpointed high- and low-performing content, our UX team used Mouseflow to take a closer look. By analyzing recorded mouse movements and scroll depth, we gained insights into how users interacted with different sections. Heatmaps highlighted the areas that drew the most attention and where users clicked.

Challenges: Heatmaps only capture raw click behavior within the visible area and lack context. To extract meaningful insights – such as user motivation, feedback, or emotional response – additional research methods are needed. Interpreting heatmap data accurately requires this extra layer of validation. Another limitation is data volume, as heatmaps only include interactions from users who accepted cookies.

Result: Users frequently clicked the article’s header image when they recognized the product featured in the video – but the image wasn’t clickable. As a result, some users kept scrolling (though not always to the product grid at the bottom), while others left the article to search for the product through the site menu. Our recommendation: Move the product higher on the page to help users reach their goal faster and with less effort.

Moccu: Your agency for data-driven marketing

We create custom usability testing strategies and help you turn data-driven insights into smart, budget-friendly decisions.

Our services as a data-driven agency

A/B testing & multivariate tests

In an A/B test, two versions of an element on a page or within a feature are compared. In a multivariate test, multiple variations are tested at the same time. Each participant sees only one version. Their responses are then analyzed to determine which variation delivers significantly better results – such as a higher click-through rate or conversion rate.

Comparison of A/B test and multivariate test. In the A/B test, two versions of an element are shown. In the multivariate test, four different versions are shown, each representing different combinations of elements.

Heuristic evaluation

This method is carried out by UX experts who review the interface based on industry-standard usability heuristics. They identify usability issues and assess how the design impacts overall ease of use. Heuristic evaluation is a fast and effective way to pinpoint weaknesses in the user experience.

Learn more in our article on Heuristic Evaluation.

A list of Nielsen’s 10 usability heuristics — Nielsen’s 10 heuristics (1994) reinterpreted in ISO standard 9241-110.

Additional user-centered methods

These methods aren’t focused solely on usability but often yield insights that help improve the overall user experience.

Visual representation of design feedback in surveys. The image shows elements that emphasize user engagement and analysis of responses.

Design survey

Design surveys – including methods like the 5-second test, preference test, or closed word choice – help gather user feedback on features and visual direction. Multiple methods can be combined in a single session, giving designers insight into what users notice first. These surveys are also useful for collecting quick impressions of a product’s visual appeal.

Card sorting

In this method, participants sort content or terms on cards to help develop or improve the information structure of a website or application. The exercise reveals user-centered groupings and hierarchies, supporting intuitive navigation and a user-friendly information architecture.

Tree structure with top category and several sub-chapters. Next to it is a test task with a question and possible answers.

Tree testing

Tree testing is a text-based method. Without using any visual design elements, participants complete specific tasks – such as locating a particular category. Task success rates and completion times are then used to evaluate the site’s information architecture and identify navigation issues early in the process.

Information architecture

This is why a semantic website structure is so important.

10 minute read

Tool recommendations

Where can you find usability test participants – and which tools do we regularly use at Moccu for UX testing? Here are our go-to resources.

Recruiting with Testing Time

Testing Time makes it quick and easy to recruit usability test participants – with filters for specific demographic criteria. At Moccu, we use it regularly to find the right users for our UX tests.

Usability testing with Lookback

At Moccu, we use Lookback to observe usability test participants in real time. These video sessions help our team quickly uncover actionable insights to improve the usability of websites and applications.

Heatmaps: Mouseflow, Hotjar, Clarity

Tools like Hotjar, Clarity and Mouseflow allow us to analyze user behavior through mouse movement, clicks, form interactions, and more. They provide quick, comprehensive insights that help us optimize usability based on real user data.

Chat-GPT / AI

We use AI tools like ChatGPT to co-create test guide questions, summarize session transcripts, and distill key findings from usability tests.

Frequently Asked Questions

Usability can be tested in just a few steps:
1. Clearly define your goals
2. Choose a usability testing method and create a test scenario
3. Recruit usability test participants
4. Develop a test plan
5. Conduct the usability test
6. Analyze the results

Would you like to know more? Then get in touch.

Kathrin Köhler Experience Design Director (UI)

Thank you!

We’ll get back to you as soon as possible.

Our expert

Rosa Groot UX Designer

UX designer Rosa Groot leverages her extensive expertise in user experience design, research, and UX strategy to create intuitive solutions tailored to both user and business needs. Rosa is passionate for combining workshops with research, whereby creating a sustainable value proposition is her main focus.

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