The Importance of User Testing in Web Development

Did you ever launch a website, thinking everything looks perfect, but then users start running into all sorts of issues?

Yeah, that’s where user testing comes in. You think you’ve nailed it, but reality (real users) will always have a way to show you what’s working and what isn’t. This was exactly what happened in a project led by Christina Chase over at Blacksmith Agency.

They were working on a custom Ecommerce design for a client, but when they ran tests with actual customers, it became clear that there were issues in the checkout process. People were getting stuck, confused about where to click next, which led to abandoned carts left and right. Although everything looked perfect, not everything was. But thanks to the testing, they made a few key adjustments. The result? Sales shot up, demonstrating that simple changes will result in a big impact.

The partnership between Afterlogic.Works and Blacksmith thrives on this idea: getting it right from the user’s perspective, not just a designer’s: always testing and tweaking. People using your site don’t care how pretty it looks if they can’t figure out how to get from A to B.

User testing isn’t just for complex sites like ecommerce. Every website benefits from this process. It’s all about finding the roadblocks and fixing them before your users hit them, and skipping this step might come with additional trouble down the line, risking user experience. If you’re interested in learning more about this, view Blacksmith Agency’s website.

Take it from Blacksmith and Afterlogic.Works: run those tests. You don’t wanna be the person finding out post-launch that your site’s got major issues. Better safe than sorry, right?

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