In some cases it can be useful to add a survey to your test. Using a survey allows you to collect quantitative information from your participants. This information can be an interesting addition for the analysis of your test results. For example, you might want to know the average age or the ratio of male and female participating in your test.

Embed a form or use the Redirect URL

You can embed surveys in your test with an iframe in the ‘Thank You’ page or simply redirect your users to the URL of your survey. If you redirect your users to an external form, we’ll add a variable ‘?pid=#######’ to the redirect URL. This variable is the id of your participant, which can also be found in our data exports (’subject’ in the XML, CSV, TXT files).

You can use any external survey tool you like. In this post you’ll find an example of how to embed a Wufoo form and use an external PollDaddy form in combination with your Usabilla test.

Redirect to a PollDaddy survey

An interesting tool for online surveys and polls is PollDaddy. You can use a free account (up to 10 questions) or paid plan to add a survey to your Usabilla test. PollDaddy does not support iframes to embed your form, but if you use the redirect URL of your Usabilla test to send users to your survey, they pick up the ID of your participant (’?pid=#’) automatically!

You use the Redirect URL for your test in Usabilla to redirect participants to the URL of your PollDaddy form. To improve conversions you can edit your ‘Thank You’ page in Usabilla to invite participants for the ’second part’ of the survey:

Custom Thank-You page

When the first results of your test are coming you can analyze your test in Usabilla and take a look at the reports in PollDaddy. If you want to match results for individual participants in Usabilla and PollDaddy, you can use our XML file (participant or subject id) in combination with the PollDaddy reports. You can find the id of each Usabilla participant in your PollDaddy reports:

Participant ID in your PollDaddy reports

Embedding a Wufoo form

Create a new survey with Wufoo

Another easy and convenient way to create a survey for your test is offered by wufoo. Wufoo is an online service that specialized in online forms. Create a survey that fits your needs without writing a single line of code. Visit wufoo.com to either choose a form from the gallery or create one yourself.

Wufoo offers a convenient way to create own forms

The survey gallery offers a range of surveys that you can choose from to include in your test. For example, the Consumer Demographic Survey collects information about sex, age, children, marital status, education, etc.

Select a form from the gallery

If you would like to create your own survey, you can easily do that with the Wufoo Form Builder. You can choose from a range of different elements to include in your survey.

Create your own form

Add the survey to your test

You can include your survey as an iframe in the customized thank you page. Just go to the Wufoo Form Code Manager and select the option ‘Embed form code’.

Select the code for the iframe

Copy and paste the iframe version of the code into the field where you normally find the customized thank you note on your test detail page.

Embed the iframe in your customized thank you note

Save the changes you made to the customized thank you note and see the survey included to your test. To see a preview of how the customized thank you page will look for your participants, use the preview mode to see the test.

Preview of your included form

Analyze the results

To analyze the results of your wufoo survey, please use the Wufoo Report Builder. You can choose from several visual graphs to present you results.

Analyze your results with Wufoo

Analyzing your test results is the final step of online usability testing with Usabilla. This post will show you how you can use the analyze page on your dashboard to see your participants feedback or export your data to use it in a different application.

Analyze your results

Analyzing points on the screen

Your participants answered questions or performed tasks by placing points on top of the screen. These points can now be analyzed. Simply check the question or task as well as the ’show notes’ option to display the points on the screen. Choose a different color if you have trouble finding the points on the screen. To display the notes in a heatmap, simply check the ’show heatmap’option.

Check your question or task to display it

You can use the select area tool to see details of a defined area. For example, with the select area tool you can see how many participants clicked on one specific picture.

Select a defined area of the screen to see details

Analyzing notes on the screen

Your participants have the option to add a note to explain their answer or comment elements on the page. These notes can be displayed by checking the ’show notes’ option. The location of the notes appear as squares on the screen. Choose a different color if you have trouble finding the notes on the screen. Hover with your mouse over the notes to display them.

Hover over the squares to display notes

The notes overview lists all notes refering to one question or task. By only checking single notes you can easily locate the note on the screen.

Select single notes to locate them

Export test data

Usabilla offers several options to export your test data. Export the current setting of your test as PDF. All settings made at the time of export are being included in the PDF. Export points and notes as XML to use them in any other application. For example you can have a visual chart created with google docs.

Export your data as PDF, XML or PNG

Export the current view of the screen as PNG. Everything seen on the screen at the time of export will be saved in the PNG.

Recruiting the right participants for your test can seem the most difficult thing. Not with Ethnio. Ethnio is an app developed by Bolt | Peters for live recruiting. By adding one simple line of code to your website, you can display a pop-up recruiting screener to your website’s visitors.

Create a pop-up recruiting screener

Create and customize your own personal pop-up recruiting screener step by step on ethnio.com. Try to ask for information that you consider relevant to decide whether to invite a visitor to participate in your test or not.

create your customized screener step by step

When you have finished setting up your customized pop-up recruiting screener, Ethnio will offer you a simple line of JavaScript that you have to add to your website.

Add a single line of code to your website

Selecting your participants

Visitors to your website will see a pop-up similar to the one below. They can choose to close the pop-up or continue.

Example for a pop-up recruiting screener

If a visitor agrees to continue, he will be asked to fill out a short recruiting form. You can see the response instantly loaded into the Recruits section in your Ethnio account. This recruits table can be filter to zero-in on exactly the visitors you would like to invite for your test.

Select your participants by how qualified they are

Social networks can be an interesting place to recruit participants who are interested in your website, product or service, to participate in a short test.  Usabilla offers some simple ways to promote your tests on Facebook and Twitter by posting the URL of your test and a short message on these social networks. You can also use the Redirect URL in Usabilla to make it easy for your participants to invite other participants and trigger a small viral effect.

Promote your test on Twitter & Facebook

In the promote dialog of your Usabilla tests you’ll find links to invite your contacts on Facebook and Twitter to participate. These links redirect you to Twitter and Facebook, with the following sample message:

Please help us to improve our website. Share your opinion: http://usabilla.com/rate/1234567890 #usabilla #usability

The standard Twitter message is tagged with the hashtags #usabilla and #usability. You can change the text of your message before you post it to Twitter or Facebook. Just use your test URL and provide some additional information about your test.

Ask participants to invite participants

Another interesting way to spread your test is to redirect your participants after your test to Twitter with a predefined message. The Redirect URL of your test is the target destination users are being redirected to after they’ve finished your test. You can customize your Thank-You page and ask participants to help spreading the test by posting a message on Twitter.

An URL can’t contain any special characters or spaces. So to create a ‘Post to Twitter’ link you’ll need to URL encode your message. You can do this by using this simple online tool. You use your encoded message to create an URL that looks like this:

http://twitter.com/?status=Help+to+test+the+Firefox+homepage.+ One+task%2C+10+seconds%3A+ http%3A%2F%2Fusabilla.com%2Frate%2F15940513564b1++%23usabilla+%23usability

The first part (’http://twitter.com/?status=‘) sends a user to Twitter, with the second part (your URL encoded message and test URL) filled in as message on the Twitter homepage.