User experience (UX) affects how people interact with your website. When a site feels confusing or challenging to use, chances are visitors might bounce. Improving UX requires real user insights.
UX testing tools help by tracking behaviours, identifying issues, and guiding better design decisions. This article highlights 10 tools to help you enhance your website’s performance.
Table of Contents
Key Takeaways
- UX testing is essential to understand how users interact with your website and identify areas that need improvement.
- Different usability testing methods serve different research needs depending on your project stage.
- Tools that offer heatmaps, session recordings, click tests, and user feedback help visualise user behaviour and highlight pain points.
- Fast and focused testing methods support quick design decisions, while more in-depth tools provide valuable context for long-term improvements.
- Integrating testing into your design workflow leads to better user experiences, stronger engagement, and more effective websites overall.
What is Usability Testing?
Usability testing is the process of observing real users as they interact with your website to complete specific tasks. It helps uncover issues that may not be obvious to designers or developers, such as confusing layouts, unclear instructions, or slow-loading elements.
The goal is to understand how users experience your site and use that insight to make adjustments that lead to better engagement, satisfaction, and conversions.
Types of Usability Testing
There are several ways to conduct usability testing depending on your goals, resources, and user base. Each method offers unique insights into how users interact with your website and which areas need improvements.
| Type | Description | Example |
| Moderated Testing | A facilitator guides the user through tasks in real time, allowing for follow-up questions and deeper insights. Suitable for detailed feedback. | A UX researcher watches a participant navigate a checkout page and surveys clarifying questions during the session. |
| Unmoderated Testing | Users complete tasks independently, usually through a testing platform. This method is quicker and more scalable but offers less context. | A task like “Find and compare two laptops under RM3000” is given via a tool like Maze, and results are recorded automatically. |
| Remote Usability Testing | Conducted online with users in their own environment. Ideal for reaching diverse participants and observing natural behaviour. | Participants are sent a link to test a new homepage design and provide feedback through screen recordings. |
| In-person Testing | Takes place face-to-face in a controlled setting. Allows for close observation of facial expressions and reactions. | A designer invites five users to a lab for mobile app testing and observe their reactions during use. |
| Explorative Testing | Used in the early stages of development to explore user needs, expectations, and behaviour without specific tasks. | A product team interviews users to learn how they book travel online before designing a new feature. |
| Assessment Testing | Focuses on how well users complete specific tasks, measuring efficiency, errors, and satisfaction. Common during mid to late design stages. | Users are asked to update their profile information, and the tester tracks how long it takes and what problems they encounter. |
| Comparative Testing | Compares two or more designs to determine which performs better. Useful when deciding between layout options or feature sets. | Two versions of a landing page are shown to users to see which one leads to more sign-ups. |
Learn more about user experience (UX) with this accessibility checklist for designers and the importance of mobile-first web design to build inclusive and performance-driven sites today.
10 UX Testing Tools to Optimise Your Website’s Performance
Choosing the best UX testing tools helps identify strengths and weaknesses in your website before making any design changes. Here are 10 UX testing tools to check out:
1. Hotjar
Hotjar helps you understand user behaviour through heatmaps, session recordings, and on-site feedback. You can see where users click, how far they scroll, and what elements they ignore.
It’s most useful for spotting issues that aren’t visible in analytics alone, making it easier to improve layout, content, and overall usability.
2. Crazy Egg
Crazy Egg gives a visual breakdown of how users interact with your site. It tracks clicks, scroll depths, and mouse movements to highlight which parts of your page are engaging and which are being ignored.
You can also run A/B tests to experiment with different layouts and see which version performs better.
3. UserTesting
With UserTesting, you get firsthand reactions as users interact with your site. The platform is built for those who want to understand the reasons behind user behaviour.
By capturing video and voice feedback, it reveals how people experience your interface in real-time, so it’s easier to spot any friction and refine user journeys.
4. Optimal Workshop
Optimal Workshop focuses on improving site structure and navigation. It offers tools like card sorting and tree testing to help you understand how users group and find information.
It’s most effective in organising extensive menus, planning a content-heavy site, or redesigning your information architecture.
5. Maze
Maze allows you to turn prototypes into live tests that users can complete remotely. You’ll get clear, data-backed insights such as success rates, misclicks, and time spent on tasks.
It works well during the design phase when teams need quick, actionable feedback without running full usability studies.
6. Lookback
Lookback is built for real-time user research with live observation, voice, and video. You can watch users interact with your product while speaking their thoughts out loud or review recorded sessions later.
It’s a practical choice for those who want a more personal, in-depth look at how users engage with a design.
7. UsabilityHub
UsabilityHub helps you gather quick feedback on specific design elements through first-click testing, five-second impressions, and preference comparisons.
The results highlight how users react to different design choices, which supports more confident and efficient decision-making.
8. PlaybookUX
PlaybookUX streamlines moderated and unmoderated usability testing in one platform. It captures screen recordings, voice feedback, and transcripts, giving you a full picture of the user experience.
With built-in automation and reporting, it’s a practical option for those managing frequent testing across multiple projects.
9. FullStory
FullStory captures every click, scroll, and interaction in the background, allowing you to replay real sessions and uncover hidden friction points.
The platform’s smart filters and frustration signals like rage clicks or dead clicks help you zero in on what’s breaking the user flow. This way, you get clear evidence of where things go wrong instead of figuring it out on your own.
10. Google Analytics 4 Experiments (GA4 Experiments)
GA4 Experiments is Google’s built-in solution within the Analytics 4 platform that supports basic A/B testing for layout, content, and call-to-action variations, helping teams evaluate UX changes using real performance data.
Using this tool, you can compare how different versions of a page perform based on usability metrics like engagement rate, conversions, or bounce rate.
Conclusion
UX testing tools play an essential role in improving how visitors experience your website. Over time, minor adjustments based on real data can lead to measurable improvements in your website’s usability, engagement, and conversion rates.
Great web design starts with understanding how users interact with your site. Newnormz digital marketing design websites with UX as the foundation, ensuring every layout, feature, and flow is built to serve your audience effectively.
Contact Newnormz today and let’s create a seamless digital experience for your customers.
