There are many different UX research tools you can use for each method of UX testing. It tends to be easier and more cost-effective to utilize preexisting tools than it is to develop your own. Here are five of the best tools for UX research.
1. Userzoom
One of the best UX research tools available is Userzoom. It’s well-suited for UX researchers with plenty of experience performing usability testing and has a multitude of advanced features. With this tool, you can perform surveys, recruit users, conduct reporting and benchmarking and perform moderated or unmoderated remote usability testing. You can use this tool in-house or outsource it, and it comes with a database of pre-existing research participants.
2. Inspectlet
Inspectlet is a useful UX research tool for products, websites and applications that are already available to consumers. Usability testing is typically performed on already available platforms that you’ve just made updates to or that you’re planning to update in the near future. Inspectlet allows you to track the activity of visitors to your website. You can use it to see what users commonly navigate to via clicks, scrolling, mouse movements and keystrokes. You can also utilize the tool’s heatmap, a feature that lets you figure out which parts of your website or specific pages are most popular.
3. Maze
Maze is one of the best tools for remote usability testing. One of its most useful features is its ability to integrate with existing programs, such as Adobe software, which lets you import your prototype to systems it’s likely to be used on. All you need to do to give test users access to your prototype is to send them a link, which enables you to gather data and feedback quite quickly. Maze is well-suited for task analysis, unmoderated testing, guerilla testing and multiple-path analysis.
4. Userlytics
Userlytics is a highly useful remote usability testing platform. You can use it to perform and record user testing on product prototypes, mobile apps and websites, without needing to set up hardware or integrate much software. This means you can quickly get the Userlytics tool up and running so you can start testing. One of the unique features of this tool is its picture-in-picture setting. This feature allows you to record not only the user’s screen, but also the user’s facial expressions and audible reactions while he or she conducts the test. This feature provides you with a more complete picture of a user’s feedback.
5. TryMyUI
Another high-quality remote usability testing tool is TryMyUI. This tool allows you to test both wireframes and full prototypes, as well as to gather data and video recordings of test users navigating your website. TryMyUI is a uniquely versatile tool, in that it enables you to test both websites and mobile apps. In addition to UX diagnostics, screener testing and analytics, this tool also allows you to send out survey requests and to conduct impression testing.
Once you know what type or types of UX testing you need to do, you can determine what tool or tools will best suit your testing needs. Make sure you research and do trial runs for various tool options before choosing one.
