Usabilla Blog

We released an update of the analysis page today. This release contains some minor changes and makes it easier to analyze large numbers of notes. We’ve added a list of all your active notes at the bottom of the page and you can easily turn notes on and off. The icons for notes are now smaller and you can select the color of the icon (the same color as points).

We’ve also updated the export options. Our XML exports now contain all your data, including time per task (per participant) and average time per task. You can find the export options at the bottom of the test details.

A few moments ago we released a major update of Usabilla. We know for sure this new release will make usability testing with Usabilla even more easier for both you and your participants. We’ve improved the usability of our test interface and added some interesting new features to extend your testing possibilities.

A short overview of the most important new features in this release:

• Easier feedback with an improved test interface
• Customize your introduction and thank-you page
• Help participants with an introduction per task
• Combine one-click-tasks and standard tasks in one test
• Improved results and task timers

Easier feedback with an improved test interface

We’ve simplified the test interface for your participants. We’re sure the new interface makes it even easier to participate in a test and share feedback. We removed unnecessary clutter from the toolbar and combined points and notes. Users can simply add a point to answer your questions and attach a note to this point if they want to share some additional comments. Usabilla tests currently got an average conversion rate of more than 30 percent. With these new improvements we hope to improve the conversion of your tests even more.

Help participants by providing additional context per task

You can now add a short introduction for each task. This short intro can be used to provide some additional context for your participants.

Some examples:

• You want to book a trip to Amsterdam in October. You’re searching for a hotel in the price range of 80 to 100 dollar. Where would you click to search a hotel?
• We would love to know what you think of our new homepage. Please let us know what your think of this page. Click on the screen to add a note.

Customize your introduction and thank-you page

Your tests need a clear introduction. You can now improve a test by customizing the introduction. You can use basic HTML for markup and some simple tags to automatically include page thumbnails, the number of tasks, etc. The Thank-You page can also be customized. This page is shown after a participant finished a test. You can use the page to thank your participants for their input or to point them to pages or forms.

Combine one-click-tasks and standard tasks in one test

A few weeks ago we launched ‘One-Click-Tests’. A one click tests is very simple test, where users can only use one point to answer a question. You can use this method for example to test first impressions or to measure the time it takes to accomplish a certain task. You can now combine one-click-tasks and standard tasks in one test. You can define for each task if it’s a standard or a one-click-task.

Improved results and task timers

We gave the results page a small facelift. The layout of the page changed a bit and we added some new features to analyze your test results. You can use our selector to select a specific area of your page and check the stats for that area (how many users clicked in a specific area?). We now also track time per task. This helps you to compare different tasks and pages.

Upgrade your plan

We’re going to launch paid plans in the near future. We’ll offer different plans, varying in price between $49 and $950 per year.

You can continue to use Usabilla for free, but your reports will be limited to 25 participants per test.

Share interesting cases

Please let us know if you need any help with a test case or want to share your findings. We would love to learn from your questions and usability challenges.

Contact us by mail (info@usabilla.com), via Twitter (@usabilla) or leave message at our customer support page at GetSatisfaction (http://getsatisfaction.com/usabilla).

In about 2 weeks we’ll introduce a new update of our test interface, which will make it even easier for participants to rate a web page or concept. Currently we have an average conversion rate of about 30% on all our tests, we hope to improve this with the new interface. The new release will make it easier to add notes and will offer options for additional instructions to help your participants with some extra instructions or context.

We’re also going to introduce a mobile version for Android and iPhone about two weeks later. In about 4 weeks you’ll be able to test your mobile apps and websites on the iPhone and Android phones. Users can use the same simple test interface we offer for standard tests in their mobile browser to answer questions and annotate your mobile interfaces.

Sign up for our free beta and you’ll be the first to try our mobile version.

We’ve pushed out just a major update of our online testsuite. Check your account to test our new interface and features. A short overview of the most important new features in our current release:

• Test in your own language
• One-Click-Tests
• Generate screenshots on-the-fly
• Nifty new visualizations
• Major improvements in the interface and flow
• Export your data as plain text, CSV, and XML

Test in your own language

We now support Arabic, Chinese, Dutch, English, Estonian, German, Hungarian, Indonesian, Spanish, Swedish, and Turkish tests. We’ve translated our test interface in multiple languages. You can add questions or tasks in your own language.

Do you want to use our frontend in your own language? Help us to translate about 130 words and receive a free full account. Contact us for more details.

One-Click-Tests

Do you make a great first impression? With a One-Click-Test you can ask your users anything you like, but give them only one click to answer. For example: “Where would you search for information about our plans?”. A users’ first click is saved instantly after clicking anywhere on the screen.

One-Click-Tests for first impressions

Generate screenshots on-the-fly

You no longer need to manually create a screenshot of your webpage to create a test. When you add a new page to your test you can now specify the URL of the page and we’ll generate a screenshot on-the-fly. This makes creating a test even more easier. Our screenshot generator unfortunately does not support Flash and could sometimes choke on a webpage, but should work fine to generate fullpage screenshots in a blink in all other cases.

Upload an image or let us generate a screenshot

Nifty new visualizations

We’ve updated the visualizations of your test results. The new visualizations should help you to process your feedback more easily. You can now plot the results of multiple tasks on one page and change the colors of your charts.

Plot multiple questions in one chart

Create your own heatmaps

Export your data as plain text, CSV, and XML

Save your data as plain text, CSV or XML and import it in Excel, Numbers, SPSS, or any other software you like. Feel free to send us a request for other filetypes / formats.

Are you interested in connecting your webapp to Usabilla? Contact us for more information about the API we’re currently developing.

No account yet?

Sign up for a free account at http://usabilla.com/register

We have been working on some usability improvements in our frontend. These changes have been released last week and should enhance the user experience for your participants. Users get a clear introduction before they start the test. The toolbar has been simplified, the dimming on the mockups has been removed and users no longer need to register before they can rate a page. These improvements should push up the conversion rates for your tests.

When everything works out as planned we will move to an awesome office in Amsterdam in the first week of July. We will share a great office in the city center of Amsterdam with Eduhub (Dutch marketplace for education), Nieuwslijst (Dutch news aggregator) and some other cool startups. At Singel 146 we got plenty of space to grow our companies big. There’s still some space left. Interested? Contact us.
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Press release

Dutch startup Usabilla brings visual feedback
The Dutch internet startup Usabilla makes online usability testing fast and simple with visual feedback. Unlike the existing tools for feedback, participants are not bothered with extensive questionnaires but share their opinion on a website by giving visual feedback. Usabilla provides visual feedback for websites and will be launching a private beta during The Next Web Conference, April 16th. Usabilla offers a new and user-friendly method to collect user feedback from a website. At Usabilla.com web-developers can start an online test within a couple of minutes. Participants answer basic questions about how they think and feel about a website by placing markers or notes on a transparent overlay on the web page. Participants can share their opinion on a webpage by answering questions like for example “What do you like?”, “What’s important for you?” or “What should be improved on this page?”.

Starting an experiment, inviting participants and visualizing results can be performed completely online and provides valuable insights on short notice. Usabilla makes usability accessible and offers a simple and user-friendly alternative for (online) user experience tests. Users can subscribe for a free plan to test their webpage or new concepts on a regular base. Collecting visual feedback and the solid analysis give interesting information about the attitude of users. This information can be directive for improvements or more extensive tests.

Launching private beta
Usabilla will launch its private beta at April 16th. Users can subscribe for a free beta invitation at www.usabilla.com .

More information about Usabilla? Please contact Paul Veugen (paul@usabilla.com).
I would love to meet you at The Next Web (April 15-16-17) in Amsterdam.

Dutch:

Nederlandse startup Usabilla introduceert visuele feedback
Usabilla maakt online feedback eenvoudig en gebruiksvriendelijk met visuele feedback. De Nederlandse internet-startup Usabilla lanceert donderdag 16 april de eerste besloten demo van een online testomgeving voor websites. Usabilla biedt een innovatieve en gebruiksvriendelijke methode om feedback te verzamelen over een website. Op de website Usabilla.com kunnen beheerders van een website binnen enkele minuten een online test starten. Respondenten worden niet lastig gevallen met uitgebreide vragenlijsten, maar geven hun oordeel over een website met behulp van visuele feedback. Zij beantwoorden vragen door markers of notities te plaatsen op een transparante laag over een webpagina. Respondenten beoordelen een pagina door te antwoorden op vragen zoals “Wat vind je goed?”, “Wat is belangrijk voor jou?” of “Wat zou verbeterd kunnen worden?”.
Het starten van een experiment, uitnodigen van respondenten en het visualiseren van de feedback gebeurt volledig online en biedt in korte tijd inzicht in de waardering van een gebruiker. Usabilla maakt usability onderzoek toegankelijk en biedt een eenvoudig en gebruiksvriendelijk alternatief voor (online) usability onderzoek. Gebruikers kunnen zich gratis registreren en hun webpagina of concepten met regelmaat online testen. Visuele feedback en duidelijke analyses geven inzicht in het oordeel van de gebruiker over een website. Dit verkregen inzicht geeft richting aan de verbetering van een website en kan aanleiding geven tot uitgebreidere testen.

Lancering beta
Usabilla lanceert op donderdag 16 april een eerste besloten test versie. Geïnteresseerden kunnen een gratis test account aanvragen op de website www.usabilla.com .

Meer informatie over Usabilla? Neem contact op met Paul Veugen (paul@usabilla.com, +31 6 411 87 128).
Ik maak graag kennis met u tijdens The Next Web 2009 (15-16-17 april) in Amsterdam.

We just launched our new homepage. Please take a look at usabilla.com and share your thoughts.

The original video in this post has been replaced by a new one.

This screencast shows how to create a basic usability test in less than five minutes. Feel free to sign up for our closed beta (launching in April) if you’d like to try this for yourself. More info on our data visualization soon!

The past months we’ve been working on a prototype for our online usability testsuite. The enthousiasm and efforts of our team are beginning to pay off. We’re making big progress on the both the backend and frontend.

Last week we kicked off with a basic test of our frontend and asked users to give their feedback on the website of The Next Web 2009. With the help of some early beta subscribers we collected an interesting dataset, which can be used to optimize our analysis. We could still use some extra input from others, so if you’re curious and want to be one of the first to start your own simple usability test in the future: sign up for our beta.