Usability testing for websites used to be time-consuming and expensive, often too expensive for small businesses to even contemplate. Recently, several companies have released tools to help you conduct your own, much more affordable usability tests over the Internet. We’ve reviewed Userfly, which takes videos of your visitors’ behavior, and Clicktale, which records your visitors’ behavior and analyzes it for you.
Loop11 is a new app, currently in private beta, that approaches the problem in a completely different manner. With Loop11, you can replicate the experience of hiring a consultant for a formal usability test all by yourself. Creating a test is easy-just assign a series of tasks for your users to complete on the pages you’d like to test. To find participants, you have three options: distribute a link to the test, recruit site visitors with a pop-up invitation or let Loop11 find an online panel for you.
From the participant’s perspective, the tests are easy to understand and complete. After they read the instructions, they are taken to the appropriate page on your site. A header on top of the screen provides instructions on the tasks to be completed. The user can either mark the task as completed, or, if was too difficult, mark the task as abandoned.
The results of the tests are broken down into neat, easy to read pie charts. You can also compare your site’s results against those of your competitors. Loop11 is currently in private beta, but when it’s released to the public in the next 4 to 6 weeks, it will be an incredibly useful web development tool. What do you think of it?
On a completely unrelated note, we’re giving away a free iPhone to the person that retweets @usefultools the most this month. The contest starts now and ends on June 30th. We’ll update the blog regularly to let you know who’s in the lead, so keep checking back with us!
Our Rating of Loop11
Categories:web
Tool of the Day: Create Easy, Affordable Usability Tests for Your Website With @Loop11! http://su.pr/1LnJV0
Loop11: Easy, Affordable Online User Testing http://tinyurl.com/lyuchp
SU: Loop11 – Easy, Affordable Online User Testing – UsefulTools.com http://su.pr/1LnJV0
RT @boalt: SU: Loop11 – Easy, Affordable Online User Testing – UsefulTools.com http://su.pr/1LnJV0
Tool of the Day: Create Easy, Affordable Usability Tests for Your Website With @Loop11! http://su.pr/1LnJV0 RT @usefultools
RT @usefultools Tool of the Day: Create Easy, Affordable Usability Tests for Your Website With @Loop11! http://su.pr/1LnJV0
Thanks @usefultools for a great review of Loop11: http://bit.ly/banUl
Loop11 is now avaiable in Public Beta.
http://www.Loop11.com