The purpose of usability testing is to test the usability and/or ease of use of a product or tool, and then make calculated changes and improvements guided by the test results.
You should always test your website with real and representative users.
The most popular methods of usability testing are
User testing is a method by which users are asked to perform certain tasks in order to measure a website's ease-of-use, task completion time and the user's perception of the experience.
It is one of the best ways to find out what is or isn't working on a website.
There are 2 types of user testing: in person testing (face to face) and remote user testing.
The following guidelines apply to both in person and remote testing.
Please find the supporting documents Usability test planning and reporting and the Record Consent, which will help you run your user tests in an efficient and effective way.
An expert review helps pinpoint usability problems in the design and interface of websites and software. It is used early in the design process, sometimes on paper mock-ups or prototypes, to ensure that design problems are not built in. Expert reviews can also be carried out on existing websites and pages.
The expert doing the review gives a rating according to how well the website or prototype meets general usability guidelines, including readability, accessibility, information architecture and content quality.
Please find the supporting document Usability Expert review, which will help you to evaluate your website in an efficient and effective way.
A/B testing, also called split testing, is a form of user test comparing the strengths and weaknesses of 2 different design versions of a single page. A/B testing is a powerful tool but is limited in that only one change can be tested at a time.
Multivariate testing, on the other hand, allows you to test multiple variations at once.
Please find the supporting document AB testing, which will help you to evaluate your design variations in an efficient and effective way.
First click testing looks at the first thing that website visitors click on, on a given page, in order to complete their intended task.
It’s a useful tool to assess the effectiveness of the linking structure of your website, including navigation. It lets you see how users get around the website and complete their intended task.
Please find the supporting document First click test, which will help you to examine what a test participant would click on first on the interface in order to complete their intended task.
Any personal data that is processed as part of any task relating to the development of the European Commission's web presence must be done so in compliance with Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2018.
See data protection for more info.
If you require further assistance, please contact:
European Commission
DG Communication
Unit B.3
Europa Web Communication
The Europa Web Guide is the official rulebook for the European Commission's web presence, covering editorial, legal, technical, visual and contractual aspects.
All European Commission web sites must observe the rules and guidelines it contains.
Web practitioners are invited to observe its contents and keep abreast of updates.
More information about the web guide.