Usability Testing on a Budget: A Practical Guide

Usability testing sounds expensive and formal. It doesn't have to be. A handful of sessions with real users catches most problems for almost nothing.

Low-cost methods

• Five-user tests — famously enough to find most issues
• Watching people use a clickable prototype and think aloud
• Simple remote sessions over a video call
• First-click and preference tests on key screens

The golden rule

Watch what users do, not just what they say. Observing where they hesitate or get stuck reveals far more than asking whether they liked it.

Testing with five users finds most of the problems. Testing with none finds them after launch.