You cannot simply launch a website without ensuring that it offers the fastest loading time, smooth navigation, user-friendly interface, etc. For one, usability testing is a major part of developing a website or even a product. You should know beforehand how valuable your customers find your product. More so, you should be aware of how interesting and useful your website appears to potential users who are your target audience. Therefore, moderated testing is an integral part of website development, and we will look at it in further detail.
Understanding moderated testing
It involves the active participation of a moderator. A moderator is a field professional who has experience, knowledge, and resources to conduct moderated testing. They act as facilitators and help guide the active participants in moderated testing. If a participant and test subject are on the wrong page or unable to comprehend the given tasks, a moderator will ensure they understand.
In short, a moderator will assist the moderated testing process. As moderated testing usually takes place in a research center or lab (or remotely), it is possible to engage in one-on-one sessions with every active participant. Therefore, you get individualized attention and get valuable information per participant. The major limitation is that the active participants are fewer than those in other un-moderated testing methods.
Top sample questions for moderated testing
For accurate results that pinpoint improvement areas and ensure your website drives traffic, you have to design a set of tasks and questions that will outline the main purpose of moderated testing. You can ask questions that will reveal how well your website performs, while other answers may reveal potential limitations of your platform (i.e., website).
What’s the worth of your product?
What kind of response does your product or website attract from users and potential viewers. Here are the questions that you should ask:
- Are the navigational features of the website on point?
- Would the participants use the website in the future for the same purpose?
- Do the users comprehend the main purpose of the website?
What drives users to your website?
You should know why and how the users arrive at your website. You have to learn the drivers that motivate users to come to your website. What is the goal of the users? What do they aim to accomplish?
- Which websites can attract their attention before or instead of arriving at yours?
- What’s the reason for the visit to your website?
- What do they aim to achieve through your website?
What encourages actions?
You should learn what exactly motivates them to respond to CTAs on your website. Here are the main questions to ask:
- How was their experience, and what feature appeared most beneficial to them on your website?
- What encourages them to take action on your website?
- Is there something that is preventing them from accessing a page?
- What is missing on a website page or the overall design of the site according to them?
Conclusion
You have to choose the right method of testing the usability of your website before it launches on the World Wide Web. It is safe to say that moderated testing has its cons, but the pros outweigh the limitations of this testing method. So, if you want to know how and when you can develop your website into a more advanced usable platform, you have to figure out the right questions for your moderated testing session. As you can choose to conduct moderated testing with many participants, finding the right mix of relevant sample questions will help answer the most valuable aspects of your product (i.e., website) and its features.