The field of user experience is only now being recognized as an important component of Web site development. A key element of user expeience, a usability evaluation is intended to identify and correct major design and workflow problems with a Web site. Qualitative usability studies are aimed at producing insights into user behavior to discover what works and doesn't work with a given Web design. The goal is to tell us how to modify the site design to better serve our users/clients.

With Web site usability evaluations, users are tested one at a time by running them through a series of tasks on the user interface. The usability evaluation team, generally a trained facilitator and observer, document problem elements of the design and layout.  

The result of the usability evaluation is a series of recommendations for improving the graphic design, layout, and workflow of a Web site.

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Key usability evaluation themes

• Test – Modify Site – Retest.
• Studies have demonstrated that 4-6 users will identify between 75-90% of the major problems for a given Web site. (Source: Nielson/Norman Group)
• Good user testing can solve many design and layout issues, give guidance to project leaders and Web developers, and save lots of work and money down the road.

Why do user testing?

• Get first-hand data from real users.
• Save development time and money.
• Can be done at any point during the Web development process.
• Reduce guessing and disagreement among content and Web teams.
• Provide insights to issues that were not originally apparent.
• Identify usability "catastrophes" - defined as a usability problem that prevented the user from completing an important task. 
• Give the Web development team a chance to observe how actual end-users interact with the Web site.
• Convince team of importance of usability guidelines and concepts.

Typical goals of a usability evaluation

• Determine whether the Web site navigation and architecture helps people find appropriate information. Is information organized and presented effectively?
• Evaluate the effectiveness of the site’s search engine, including the structure and presentation of the search engine results page. 
• Discover whether there are any major roadblocks in key workflows. 
• Verify whether the site is accessible to users with visual limitations, e.g. can the site be accessed by screen reading software?
• Determine whether users can easily submit feedback and questions, make purchases,  subscribe to e-newsletters, and perform other crucial tasks.