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User testing can transform an average digital service into a seriously great one, so long as you adopt a proactive approach to putting your website or app through its paces.
Here is a quick look at what makes user testing so important and how it can enhance your chances of succeeding in a competitive marketplace.
It lets you make something users actually want
Unless you are testing and assessing your digital products from the earliest possible stage in their development, you might end up following a path that seems sensible, but ultimately ends in disappointment. This is because it is difficult to predict what users will want from an app or site unless you actually ask them.
Taking advantage of good user testing questions will instead allow you to pinpoint needs, meet demands that have so far been overlooked and position yourself uniquely so that you outshine rivals when you finally go live.
It lets you respond to changing market conditions
While digital products can be created quickly if the circumstances are right, it is likely that there will be a long time between the conception of the original idea and the eventual launch. Given that the pace of change in this sphere is particularly rapid, being able to respond to unexpected shifts during development is key.
With user testing you can get wind of these evolving trends sooner rather than later, once again meaning that you do not waste time and resources pursuing an avenue which ultimately turns out to be a dead end.
It saves you money
When a fault is identified in a digital product, fixing it can be far more costly if it has already launched than if it was tackled earlier in the development cycle.
User testing is a great way to drill down into complex systems and root out flaws before they are allowed to fester unattended and potentially come back to bite you further down the line.
This means that although all user testing will come with its own expenses to take into account, it is possible to justify any upfront costs with the knowledge that failing to test will be more of a financial burden in the long run.
Further savings can be achieved because a thoroughly tested product will be less liable to generate follow-up support requests from customers, so you can keep customer service interactions to a minimum.
It gives you valuable insights from the outside
It is common for products to suffer because they were developed by a small team with a laser-focus on what they want to achieve that does not take into account any kind of third party input. You can be too close to a project to see any of the problems until it is too late, but with user testing you can glean vital, alternative perspectives which could save your product from failure.
User testing is not a miracle cure for the woes of any digital project, but instead needs to be seen as an ongoing part of the development process that will help to shape its trajectory for the better.