TITLE:introduction/newsletter_archive/design/design31A.html

Now, some of you may suggest that the people who beta-
test should be representative of the audience the site is
attempting to hit. I just don’t buy that. Beta testing
should produce barrels of information. Some of the
greatest information I received when beta testing the
StreetArtist.com Web site came from my aunt who had
maybe surfed five times before I asked her to go in. She
would never buy on the Web. However, once I knew she
was comfortable, I knew others would be comfortable.

Now, the part of beta testing that gets me every time.
What information should I keep and what should I throw
away? The answer is that you should keep what makes
your site better. I know that sounds like a firm grasp of
the obvious, but it isn’t. It is too easy to simply accept
statements that support your site and your design and
discard those that go against you. If you beta test, you
must be strong enough to understand that just because you
think an element is cool, doesn’t mean it should stay on
the pages. The beta testers didn’t like it. You do. Look
at the element with an unbiased eye. Maybe that element
you think is really cool is…well…not.

Remember that it is your user who is most
important…not you.

I had an element on the Web site my students beta tested
for me that I loved. I took the time to post the word
“Welcome” written in 27 different languages down the
right hand side of the page. Each was a link to the same
page, welcome.html.

I thought it was the most clever thing I had ever done.

They didn’t.

They said it was confusing because they didn’t
understand what I was doing. Not all of the words really
meant, “Welcome”. Some meant “hello”. Some also
meant “goodbye”

Furthermore, some of the words were phonetic
representations of Chinese words so they really weren’t
correct at all. I have a very intelligent class as you might
imagine.

The final blow was that almost every student was upset
that when they clicked on the Italian greeting, they didn’t
get an Italian page. Almost every student suggested that
if the greeting was in a certain language, the page should
be too.

I stood there as the slings and arrows came forth. I loved
that stupid list of greetings. Besides, I’m Joe Burns!
How dare you tell me what is good and what is bad. I
wrote HTML Goodies!

Big deal.

I was wrong. They were right.

Had I not beta tested, I would have never dropped that list
of words and all across the world people would have
clicked on “Bonjour” expecting a page written in French.
Some would have written a note, but the vast majority
would have just seen it as a glaring error. Meanwhile, I
would have been happily sitting in my chair smiling at
my multiple-greeting brilliance. That’s the same
brilliance that was killing the site and confusing users.

Have you beta tested your site? If not, do it.

It will be difficult to do. The responses will be difficult
to listen to. Your last week’s work will be dismantled
right in front of you. What took you days to create will
be shot down in a matter of minutes. Just remember.
The site isn’t for you. It’s for them, those people who
come into your site, your beta testers.

It’s disheartening but it’s the best thing you could
possibly do for a Web site.

I probably shouldn’t say this, but I break my own rule
when beta testing. I always ask my mother to look at my
sites. No matter how terrible it is she always tells me it’s
great.

I know it’s not good for beta testing, but it certainly
makes me feel better.

I urge you to take the time to find some people who’ll be
honest with you. It will only better the site you created.

Really. It will.

Oh…my site?

http://www.joeburnsphd.com
It’s not actually to be live until the end of May,
but I thought you might like to take a look.

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