YouEye – Watch How Testers Use Your Site

The way that real people will use your website is often very different than the way you use it, given your intimate relationship with the content and understanding of where every feature has been placed. YouEye is a web-app that businesses can use to hire real people to test out their websites and look for potential flaws. These testing sessions are recorded using webcams and microphones, which lets executives see and hear opinions directly from the testers themselves.

When you’re ready to start learning what people think of your website, head over to YouEye and sign up for a free account. The next step is to create a test for the users of your site. Each test gets a URL, title, and certain tasks or actions that the tester must attempt. The number of testers you hire for the project is up to you – and your budget. YouEye lets you hire its testers for a fee or solicit your own by sharing a link and inviting people to take the test you’ve developed. Testers who decide they’re up for the challenge can click on the associated link, authorize the recording of their screens and microphones, and get to work right away. Upon completion of a test, you get access to the tester’s webcam video, audio, and personal information.

The results of these types of user tests are only as useful as the metrics tools that companies are given. YouEye makes it easy to break down the stats and see specifically how websites perform based on the tester’s gender, age, or browser. Businesses can see the duration of each test, user comments, and mouse activity – along with the all-important video and audio recordings that come standard with YouEye.

Practical Uses:

• Find out whether your site design makes sense to the average reader
• See if young men are confused by how your website is set up
• Learn what buttons people click on first when they browse your site in a normal manner
• Create a targeted website that appeals to young females using Chrome

Insider Tips:

• Pay YouEye for testers or solicit your own through Twitter
• Write your own test questions or choose pre-written scenarios from YouEye’s library
• Tests can be taken in-house or remotely
• Testers don’t have to download or install any plugins to use YouEye

What we liked:

• Businesses can actually watch as potential customers check out their sites for the first time
• E-commerce companies can change their site designs based on the reaction from their targeted customer demographic
• Companies that hire testers from YouEye can get results within 72 hours
• All test results, commentaries, and analytics are available on a single dashboard page

What we didn’t like:

• Companies with large-scale research goals might find it time consuming to manually watch and listen to the results of so many tests

Alternatives:

• EyeTrackShop – http://eyetrackshop.com
• GazeHawk – http://www.gazehawk.com

Company Info:

• Launched: November 2011
• Privately Held
• Headquarters: Mountain View, California
• Founded by: Kyle Henderson
• Web site: http://www.youeye.com

Costs:

• Free plan, plus $19 per tester
• Pro plan is $49/month, plus $9 per tester