When it comes to Web design and development, one thing trumps the latest technology and cool features: usability. Why? Because all of the features and functions in the world are completely worthless if a human user is unable to figure out how to use them. But testing against human factors, creating use cases, and observing focus groups can prove to be a costly endeavor for even the largest of companies.

Now, there’s a cost-effective means of seeing how usable your pages are: Userfly, a simple way to test your site’s usability for free – with one line of code.

Sponsor

Simply add the Userfly code to your site, and you’ll soon be a fly-on-the-wall as users walk through your pages. That one line of code allows Userfly to record a screencast of your users’ behavior, providing some very interesting feedback on how they are interacting with your site, from simple mouse tracking to complex interactions with AJAX elements.

The user behavior is recorded for the entire site visit, following the user from page to page. Once the user leaves the site, the capture ends.

Reviewing the walkthroughs is just as easy. Userfly provides information on the user’s browser, each page visited, and time spent on each page. Clicking on a particular page plays back the interaction, showing where the user moved his or her mouse and where he or she clicked. Once you’re finished watching, you’re prompted to rate the usefulness of the capture. Then, you can decide to keep it or discard it.

Even during a short test, I found Userfly incredibly helpful – given that a number of users stopped by as I was testing the app. In fact, the only complaint I had was that the walkthrough fails to automatically pan as the user scrolls. Meaning? Meaning you have to manually scroll to keep up with the mouse movements – which I found to be nearly impossible on lengthy posts.

When the user didn’t scroll, however, I found myself replaying the walkthroughs over and over. It was invaluable to see how other users see and use the pages that I find so familiar. Suffice it to say, I immediately noticed areas for improvement.

Userfly will allow you to record 10 users per hour, monitoring basic events for free. Those who are interested in more users per hour and more advanced events can contact Userfly for a quote.

How are people using your site? Wouldn’t you like to know? Grab the code at Userfly and take a look at your site through someone else’s eyes.

Discuss

The last time WordPress – the popular open source blogging platform – changed their user interface, they got a reaction. And it wasn’t positive. Even diehard fans were questioning the reasoning behind the changes, trying to figure out ways to work within the new construct, or simply throwing their hands up in despair. So, it comes as little surprise that the latest release, WordPress 2.7 – codenamed “Coltrane” – has had a great deal of time and energy focused on improving that interface. But could the WordPress development team win back the adoration of those angry users with yet another interface change?

Sponsor

If the initial reactions are any indication, the answer would be yes. Now, those same users who were hating WordPress 2.5 are gushing that WordPress 2.7 interface “reeks of pure awesome.”

Personally, I experienced a similar reaction when I saw Coltrane demoed in front of the WordCamp Portland crowd in September. Jaws were dropping. I swear there were “Oohs,” “Ahs,” and spontaneous applause. (Which I guess is appropriate for a release named after a jazz legend.) Everyone – from new user to WordPress developer – was downright giddy.

WordPress 2.7 delivers an interface that is nearly impossible to hate – because each user has ultimate control over the way the interface is arranged. Practically anything you can touch on the interface can be changed. Don’t like something? Put it away. Drag it somewhere else. Resize it.

The new release also offers features that users have been requesting, including things like “sticky posts” – posts that remain stuck as the first post on a blog even as additional posts are published – and the ability to do more from the dashboard. If the first word to describe Coltrane is “customizable,” then the second word is definitely “thoughtful.” Across the board, users can complete more activities with fewer clicks.

All the shiny newness on top hints at changes to under-workings, as well. There have been several changes to APIs, bug fixes, and inline documentation added to assist in development and support.

But for as impressive as the new release is, I’d offer that the positive reception has less to do with the technology and the functionality. I think it’s far more visceral than that. I’d say it has more to do with the fact that users felt that the WordPress interface team – led by recent Automattic addition Jane Wells – listened to their concerns and worked to resolve them. What’s more, they allowed users to be involved throughout the development process.

With WordPress 2.7, WordPress users feel like they’re part of the team again. And that goodwill could gain WordPress far more ground than any of the new features.

To read more about the new release, see the WordPress blog. Or take our word for it and download WordPress 2.7.

Discuss