It is easy for some companies to get so caught up in what they do that they forget why they’re doing their jobs in the first place. This often happens because of a disconnect between the end user and the designers. It is imperative for the success of any company to keep the users of the designs at the forefront of their minds. To do this you need to create a clear vision of what the user needs. This can be challenging as most of the time the users don’t even know what they’re really looking for. Because designs are inherently pragmatic, there must be certain metrics to ensure that it fulfils its intended purpose. This is where usability testing comes into play.

Usability testing is performed to observe people’s default response to a proposed design. These responses are evaluated to determine whether or not the design fulfilled its intended purpose. This process essentially verifies that the designers have a certain level of understanding of the users’ needs. This involves looking for subtle nuances that are not glaringly obvious but provide vital information that is used to refine and develop the design. The designer must always keep in mind that a quality design is one that fades away and delivers the content to the users. In an age of information overload a user’s attention span is very limited, so it is essential that the message of the design can be delivered clearly and concisely. There is a significant amount of thought that goes on behind a design and some things can easily be overlooked.

For one thing, you can’t just ask someone whether they like a design and if it’s sufficient. This will undoubtedly result in biased and therefore useless information. In product interviews people generally tell you what you want to hear, so you need to find an indirect means of figuring out what you want to know. To receive authentic feedback, you need to observe how people use the ui design. This could mean watching them struggle through something that the designers thought was painfully obvious. Usability testing is a process that should be started early and performed often. This ensures that at any stage of the design process the product is not completely disconnected from the end user. This requires carefully selecting people that most closely resemble a person who would use the final product.

Designers must realize that the user is the most important aspect of the design process. Without the user there would be nothing to design. Designers can easily get caught up thinking that they know what’s best for the users. This will result in designs that won’t be useful since they weren’t made for the user. It might technically function, but if it isn’t convenient and in some way a joy to use, the users will feel like they are wasting their time and find some other product. To avoid this, usability testing serves as a compass to shape designs aimed towards the end users. If the company doesn’t put the users first, the users won’t choose the web design company.