Usability testing without a budget

"How many times have you been thinking to yourself, or even said out loud to your team, that “We really should do some usability testing on this project”, only to be knocked down by the inevitable answer: “We don’t have the budget for it”? If you’re anything like me, the answer is dozens. Well, it doesn’t have to be like that.

Even larger projects can often lack a dedicated budget for usability testing. Maybe the client doesn’t think it’s necessary, maybe the budget is really tight, or maybe there are other reasons. Whatever. The good news is that you can squeeze in a low budget, quick and basic test anyway, which is much better than not testing at all.

It doesn’t really matter how much you know about usability – after working on a project for a couple of weeks you’ve become blind to many of the problems. Sure, experience will help you avoid making many design mistakes in the first place, but something will slip through. Every time. That’s why doing even a very basic usability test will improve your site. And here’s one way of doing it." (Via 456 Berea Street)