Website Usability and Accessibility Testing London | Usability and Accessibility

Usability and Accessibility

Usability Testing

Usability testing measures the quality of a user's experience when interacting with a Web site. It is not a single property of a user interface, but a combination of factors that include: ease of learning and performing tasks, how quickly tasks can be accomplished, how often errors occur, and how much the user enjoys using the website.

Successful websites enable users to find information and accomplish tasks easily. The needs of the users are balanced with the needs of the organisation. When users struggle to find information they are likely to leave a site quickly, resulting in high bounce rates and low conversion rates.

In a usability test, representative users try to do typical tasks with the website, while observers watch, listen, and take notes. Testing can be done from the early stages of web design through to fully functional stages.

At Intendance, our usability testing includes:

Finding representative users based on your target demographic
Setting up optimum testing conditions (test lab)
Supervision of users by at least one web designer or developer and one expert in usability
User instruction on client tasks to be performed within allotted period of time
Recording observations of users during test
Follow up interviews and debriefing sessions with users
Data analysis and reporting including recommendations for improved website usability

By getting feedback on your website from real users, you can improve the way your site interacts with clients, potential and actual. Using a controlled environment, Intendance can monitor user behaviour while using your site, providing additional information on screen movements and facial expressions.

Read our article on 'Top 10 Website Usability Tips'

Accessibility Testing

Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act requires all content offered on Internet and Intranet websites to be accessible to all users, including users with disabilities. Accessible websites provide the best experience for all users, regardless of disability. Intendance can audit your website accessibility in accordance with W3C Guidelines 2.0 and make recommendations for improving your site.

Areas that are tested include:

Text alternatives for all non-text content
Use of contrast and colour on web pages
Captions and alternatives for video and audio content
Navigation, user interface and site search features
Markup, style sheets and source code analysis
Evaluation of moving, blinking, scrolling or auto-updating objects
Analysis of cross browser and device compatibility

Intendance tests accessibility using a combination of automated tools, web designers and web developers. Our testing encompasses syntax and style sheet validation, multiple browsers (including text-only browsers) plus spelling and grammar checks by a professional copywriter.