User Testing for Better UI Design
TL;DR:
- User testing shows how real people interact with your website or app
- It reveals problems you missed and confirms what actually works
- Set clear goals, recruit the right people, and create realistic tasks
- Watch users navigate your interface and collect their feedback
- Use the insights to fix issues and improve your design
User testing puts real people in front of your website or app to see how they actually use it. This gives you concrete evidence about what works in your design and what doesn't.
Many designers assume they know how users will behave, but testing often reveals surprises. Users might ignore your carefully crafted navigation or struggle with something you thought was obvious. Testing catches these issues before they frustrate your actual audience.
How to Run User Testing Sessions
Set Clear Goals
Decide what you want to learn before you start. Are you testing whether people can find your contact page? Whether they understand your checkout process? Or maybe you want to see if your mobile navigation makes sense.
Having specific goals keeps your testing focused and makes the results more useful.
Find the Right People
Test with people who actually match your target audience. If you're designing a banking app for over-50s, don't test with university students. The closer your testers match your real users, the more valuable their feedback will be.
You don't need huge numbers. Five to eight people often reveal the main issues with your interface.
Create Realistic Tasks
Give users tasks that mirror what they'd actually do on your site. Instead of "click on the products page," try "find a blue jumper under £50." This shows you how people naturally navigate your interface.
Make tasks specific enough to be useful but not so detailed that you're leading people to the answer.
Watch and Listen
During testing, pay attention to where people pause, what they click first, and when they look confused. These moments tell you more than what people say afterwards.
Take notes on both successful interactions and struggles. Sometimes confirming that something works well is just as valuable as finding problems.
Collect Feedback
After each task, ask users what they were thinking. Questions like "What were you looking for there?" or "How did that feel?" give you insight into their mental process.
Keep questions open-ended. Leading questions like "Was that button easy to find?" are less useful than "How did you decide where to click?"
Common Issues User Testing Reveals
Navigation problems show up frequently. Users might not understand your menu structure or miss important links. Testing reveals these gaps between your intended user journey and reality.
Form issues are another regular discovery. Fields that seem clear to you might confuse users, or your error messages might not actually help people fix their mistakes.
Mobile-specific problems often surface during testing too. Something that works on desktop might be impossible to use on a phone, or users might expect different behaviour on touch screens.
Making Changes Based on Results
Look for patterns across multiple users. If one person struggles with something, it might be a personal preference. If three or four people have the same issue, it's probably a design problem.
Prioritise changes based on how they affect key user goals. A problem that stops people completing purchases needs fixing before an issue with your about page.
Test your changes with new users once you've made them. Sometimes fixing one problem creates another, and you want to catch that quickly.
TL;DR:
User testing is one of the most direct ways to improve your UI design. It shows you exactly where your interface works and where it doesn't, based on real user behaviour rather than assumptions.
The process doesn't need to be complicated or expensive. Even basic testing with a few users can reveal significant improvements for your design.
FAQs
What's the minimum number of users I need for testing?
Five users typically reveal about 85% of usability issues. You can start with even fewer if resources are tight, but aim for at least three to spot patterns.
Should I test on different devices?
Yes, especially if your audience uses both desktop and mobile. User behaviour often differs between devices, and problems that don't exist on desktop might be significant on mobile.
How often should I run user testing?
Test early designs to catch major issues, then again after significant changes. For ongoing projects, quarterly testing helps you stay connected to user needs as your product evolves.
Jargon Buster
UI Design – The visual elements and interactive parts of websites and apps that users see and click on
User Testing – Watching real people use your product to understand what works and what doesn't
Usability – How easy and pleasant something is to use
Task Flow – The steps a user takes to complete a specific goal on your site or app
Wrap-up
User testing bridges the gap between what you think users want and what they actually do. It's one of the most reliable ways to improve your UI design because it's based on real behaviour rather than guesswork.
Start simple. Even informal testing with friends or colleagues can reveal obvious problems. As you get more comfortable with the process, you can develop more structured approaches.
The goal isn't to test everything perfectly from the start. It's to build testing into your design process so you're regularly checking that your interface works for real people.
Ready to improve your UI design skills? Join Pixelhaze Academy for in-depth courses on user-focused design.