Usability Testing website prior to
go-live

Prior to the launch of Wealden District Council’s new website, SDS were asked to conduct user testing with Wealden residents. The user test focused on:

• The layouts and stacking of items, eg. Pay Now button location
• Usage and feedback on use of the Search bar
• Usage and feedback on use of an A-Z
• Feedback on length of pages
• Feedback on usability of PDFs (especially on mobiles)
• Customer’s expectations of where to find information
• The position (or not) of the Wealden logo on mobiles

Customers attempted to complete various scenarios to find information or complete forms. SDS recorded these tests and then reported back to Wealden District Council.

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“We are absolutely thrilled to receive such an in-depth document with lots of helpful information.

The way it has been written was extremely helpful so we could easily identify quick wins along with longer term development plans.”

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Customers attempted to complete various scenarios to find information or complete forms. SDS recorded these tests and then reported back to Wealden District Council.

Wealden District Council have already taken on board many of the key findings, quick wins and recommendations. Errors and duplications have quickly been taken care of and usability of maps have been improved.

Wealden District Council have escalated and prioritised work around developing their missed bin form after feedback from residents about its usability.

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“Your report has encouraged the priority of this work to be escalated.”

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They are also monitoring the usage of their menu tiles on the home page after feedback from residents about their position on the homepage.

Another piece of work that has been brought forward after the user test was how they intend to use their sidebar and related page links.

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“There was some discussion about whether we do this now or after launch, but this report has further cemented our decision to do it now as we have proof from customers that this is a good thing to do.”

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Following this user test, Wealden will be working with SDS to run several workshops for staff around writing good content for the web which will also touch on accessibility and SEO techniques. Please see our training and workshops page for more information.

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