In a world where everything happens virtually you need a face that will be an extension of you in the virtual world. Almost e every individual, company or any institution has a website that represents them on the internet. Every Web developmentcompany or individual who owns a website is in a race to be better than their competitors. So every individual or company that has a website is always trying to make sure that they get maximum utility from their respective websites.

One of the biggest challenges that will face is to ensure the usability of your website. The usability of your website can always improve but it is always a gradual process. Every user does not visit a website to see the intricate details of the site. The main motive is to find the desired information easily. If they don’t find what they are looking for then you have lost a visitor.

You might ask me “What does usability mean?” In simple words, it is an art of making something easy and fun to use. If something isn’t usable we won’t use it. If we have to use it, we won’t enjoy using it. When we design a website, we want it to be as usable as possible. This comes from how we think things should work but sadly, this is generally wrong. So how can you test the usability of your website??


There are many online services that can help you test your website. They may never replace face to face usability testing but are a cheap alternative and the best part is that it can offer good results.


Click tests – In this test a user is shown a screenshot of the website and asked to click where they would click first. This is then recorded and shown on a heat map. This will determine the usability of the website.

Multivariate testing – The users are shown a different website design or layout. If one variant shows a higher conversion rate then it may be that it is more usable. This is one of the best way to determine usability

Un-moderated user testing – This is when a user is given a link to a site and some tasks to complete or more likely it can be called a survey. Their screen is recorded so you can view how they got on. Based on the tasks performed usability is measured.

5-Second tests – A user sees a screen shot of a website for just about 5 seconds because this is the time it usually takes for someone to make a decision about a site. They are then prompted with questions about the site and based on the answers we can determine the usability.

Moderated user testing – This is a test which is more like face to face session however it is done using screen sharing software and VoIP software such as Skype etc.

These are some of the ways to determine the usability of your website. A usable website means good business and good business creates good profits.