Small Businesses Need Usability Testing, Too...

One of the biggest mistakes a small business makes in setting up a web site is failure to get outside feedback on usability.

"Usability" is now more than a buzzword. It has emerged as a significant metric for how Web sites are viewed today. Usability surveys, usability tests, usability scores and usability focus groups are all part of the research and development of most large Web sites.

Brent Melson', of Philadelphia's National Software Testing Labs, finds that many smaller e-business operators don't get usability feedback from anyone beyond those on their development team. But those developers and others are too close to the process and biased toward the chosen design and infrastructure:

"You get used to your site and used to any foibles. You need to hear from people who aren't working on it."

For small businesses, organizing a focus group to evaluate your Web site is beyond your time and resources. But getting some sort of outside perspective — be it employees not involved in the design, or your spouses or friends — is crucial to the site's development and performance.

Outside Usability testing is not as expensive as you may think. For more info, contact Bill T. at btchakir@mac.com.