TG currently conducted a 5-second usability test in Hong Kong with a couple of user in the hope that we can optimize a landing page, primarily increasing its brand awareness and secondly lifting its conversion rate.  The test case and its result are non-disclosure in nature.

5-second-usability-test

5-second-usability-test

Using my own blog as a test environment, TG find a few things that I should take note of in the next round of test and can share with my teammates and friends while doing the same user test in the near future.

1. Avoid showing similar mock up in one user test. User will learn and pick up pieces of information after jumping from one mock up to another even though it happens in a few seconds. If they are asked to vote for a mock up that  fits for them, they will usually pick the last one, which retain more information in their brain cells after viewing similar features or functions. The result may not be accurate.

2. Avoid showing more than 2 mockups. Users memory usually won’t last very long, they will have a hard time to recall what they have seen. TG shown them 3 mock ups in the first 2 instances, users come back and tell me that they don’t remember.

3. Avoiding killing two birds with one stone. TG tried to pull off the deal by setting 2 goals in the test. The result is far from satisfaction. The mock up or prototype should better serve one purpose given that users only have 5 seconds to view the page. The simpler the mock up – serve one single purpose, the more likely it would succeed to achieve user goal.  

4. 5 seconds are not enough for non-English native speakers. Users with mother tongue in English can grab information faster. It’s understandable that the “blink’ moment would put Chinese users or non-English native speakers in disadvantage. Over times, we find that English speaking users perform better than other users during the test.

5. Photos,  images are NOT winners all the time. TG ’s a bit surprise to learn that users are not 100%  attracted to photos, images or  icons. Rather, our ace card is how well we can anticipate the real need of our users. Users usually land on a page with a prime and unique purpose or we call it “Known item search”  We get it right, we will have higher conversion rate.  Not only can visual images do the job, a keyword, a smart copy may even better in some cases.

More reference for 5-second user test can be found on 5-Second Tests: Measuring Your Site’s Content Pages ,

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