Just after delivering the right content on an acceptable layout, you get a feel of incompleteness or something not going ‘right’. Readability issue, uneasy navigation, slow loading pages, uninteresting titles or any other trifling element can reduce the acceptability of your blog among visitors. Creating traffic is only half the job done; maintaining traffic is more important because it is quite easy for visitors to lose interest and get bored.

Usability tools can help improve a site’s performance on a wide scale. Besides providing an insight into why visitors would want (or not want) to visit your site again, they can also serve worthy ingredients in assessing your credibility. 15 potentially helpful usability tools have been summarized here.

1] 4Q Online Survey

4Q Online Survey, a (limited) free solution, works the traditional way by asking visitors to participate in a brief survey. This website survey tool enables evaluation of the online experience of visitors and can provide a prompt improvement pathway.

The real visitor feedback can provide a sound platform for ascertaining the best permutation and combination of resources. The 5-minute setup can serve well in obtaining the right feedback which is so crucial to the success of any blog.

2] Attention Wizard

This visual tool has a superior artificial algorithm, which stimulates human visual processing and attention, aimed to identify landing page problems. Additionally, an attention heat map also forecasts where a user shall browse during the first few seconds.

With 75% correlation with eye and mouse tracking, Attention Wizard can be obtained in three versions- Lite, Pro and Pro Unwatermarked.

3] Google Site Search

This easy and customizable tool can help in obtaining diverse outcomes like ads-free search results, increasing website conversion and customizing the search box. Aimed at improving customer satisfaction, the Google Site Search can potentially prolong visitors’ stay. It also integrates along with Google Analytics to facilitate better understanding of how visitors behave
on your site.

4] Feng-Gui

This tool does not use human researchers; the algorithm simulates human vision. The result is a heat map showing which aspects of the design is most attractive to the visitors. This tool can provide a visitor’s view pint and deliver the ideal places to put buttons and banners. You can basically judge the show before it airs.

5] Google Page Speed

This is another potentially helpful tool when wanting to resolve particular issues, like load time. The Google Page Speed can tell you how slow or fast your page loads, and also provide suggestions for improvisation. The performance of web pages can also be correctly analyzed.

6] Five Second Test

The two different forms of this tool can serve well to tune landing pages and analyze the most striking elements in your design. The Memory test can categorize the striking elements of your design. The Click Test wants users to click on an identifiable element. Both tests provide five seconds to perform the test.

7] UserFly

The attractive interface of Userfly records users’ activities on your site. The user sessions can be replayed and reviewed individually to gain an insight into gainful interaction. With a one line code, the installation is easy for viewing the mouse movements on your site.

8] Clixpy

This tool tracks elaborate details like mouse movements, scrolls, clicks and form inputs. The record can later be viewed to ascertain the striking elements in your site.

9] ClickTale

The ClickTale provides a record of visitor’s navigation. Its Form Analytics function can help in determining the exact information which you need to deliver the most user-friendly forms. This tool can help boosting conversion rates, rectify problem areas and inhibitors.

10] ClickDensity

This tool potentially serves an absolute usability tool kit. It provides data from real time visitors. There is a host of functionality like testing content and improving information architecture.

11] Silverback 2.0

The software is meant for designers and developers to capture screen activity and record the tester’s face and voice. The Batch Export feature can save selected sessions, tasks or projects. Besides capturing screen activity, it also marks noteworthy moments.

12] Webnographer

This tool performs a remote usability tester for collecting data, testing website or web application (or prototype) in its usual environment. In addition to the questionnaires aimed to provide user’s thoughts, many qualitative user feedbacks are also obtainable using the tool.

13] CrazyEgg

CrazyEgg is aimed at tracking pages. You can mark what visitors do in a website and heat maps to track the clicks. Advanced features include Top 15 referrals, Overlays and Lists. Advantages range from blocking your system from data capturing to archive reports and email (and RSS) notifications.

14] Kampyle

This usability tool can be effective for getting feedback on your site. With an attractive green “Feedback” tab, your chosen web page can enable a survey for the visitor. Managing feedbacks is easy with an intuitive outlay.

15] Concept Feedback

Concept Feedback serves well in obtaining website reviews. The professionally prepared Concept Feedback has ‘public’ and ‘private’ feedbacks to categorize your site according to the marketing parameters. There is an ‘expert’ feedback option for obtaining gainful insight from experts.

With numerous tools, you may find more than one practical solution for your design. While many of these tools come free, others may entail a price for the service provided. Choose according to your need and one which can serve best in optimizing gains.

[box]
About the author: Claudia is a blogger by profession. She loves writing on luxury and technology. She recently read an article on racing games for consoles that attracted her attention. These days she is busy in writing an article on hybrid cars.
[/box]

18 comments

  1. Jamy

    Reply

    Great information I know some of them but the whole lot of them I do not know you can say that I never try to search them also.
    Thank you for these sharing.

  2. Reply

    Usability tools are important for blog to make all success for that blog. There are many tools available for blogging for popularity and effective blog. The given all tools are really very useful for blog. Thanks for this information.

  3. Zara

    Reply

    Although I am using most of them, but few are still new for me, and I will definitely check them out since you are listing them here.

  4. Michelle

    Reply

    Blogging is an art and skill that’s honed daily when you are exposed to other blogs, writers and and tips. This is great for blogs too. Thanks Claudia.

    • Claudai Somerfield

      Reply

      100% agreed…it is an art..and this is very precious for an individual.

  5. John Ernest

    Reply

    Rob,

    Yeah I often find it useful too. There are times when you think you must have used a lot of plug-ins to make a page load as slow as a turtle when oftentimes it is because of the long script. Just use that tool and you’ll be able to pinpoint the problem.

    • Claudai Somerfield

      Reply

      wow..its nice to know that you have used these tools and have been successful with it. This would prove the authenticity of my article…thanks Rob. 🙂

  6. Rob

    Reply

    I find Google Page Speed a great tool to test why a particular page is loading slow so often its not what you think.

  7. Mika Castro

    Reply

    Those are great tools to consider for blogs. I must say that this will click fir many bloggers.

    • Claudai Somerfield

      Reply

      Mike most of them are free, still you know not everything is free of cost these days. You can check out them as per your requirement. 😉

  8. Emily Woodhouse

    Reply

    Hi Claudia. At first gratitude to you for informing us on those tools. Without any doubt these will be very useful to develop the blog for both the owner & visitor.

    Thanks for such an informative post. I bookmarked that.
    -Emily

    • Claudai Somerfield

      Reply

      You are most welcome dear..you can read all my latest posts by following me on twitter i.e. @claudiasomerfie

  9. Azam

    Reply

    I have first read about these tools and according knowledge to online business one should be have knowledge of these tools.

    • Claudai Somerfield

      Reply

      Thanks again dear…these are some basic tools that a blogger should always take care off. 🙂

  10. Reply

    Claudia Super tools. I am really unaware about some of tools. Thank you so much for sharing this tools with us.

    • Claudai Somerfield

      Reply

      Amit, thank you so much…try out these..you will get the success for sure..

Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *