Website user testing means watching people attempt realistic tasks on your site. For a small business, it can reveal questions that a design review misses: which service should I choose, do you cover my area, and what happens after I enquire? You can begin with a focused session before commissioning a complete redesign.

Decide what you want to learn

Choose a customer journey and a small set of questions. For example, can a first-time visitor identify the right service and understand how to request a quote? Keep the session focused on that journey. Asking whether someone likes the colours tells you little about whether they can complete the task.

Invite people who resemble your intended customers and are unfamiliar with the site. Several short sessions can identify issues worth investigating, but a small sample is not a representative survey or a reliable conversion forecast. Include different devices and access needs where possible, and explain what the session involves before starting.

Task 1: Explain the business in your own words

Let the participant inspect the homepage, then ask what the business offers and who it serves. Do not first explain the answer yourself. Write down the words they use and what they remain uncertain about. If the interpretation differs from your intended message, examine the headline and supporting copy.

For a Melbourne business, location information should help a visitor understand the real service area. Watch whether they can distinguish a physical location from an area you serve remotely. Avoid adding city names simply to make the page look more local.

Task 2: Find the service that fits a scenario

Give a realistic situation, such as needing a website that staff can update without outside help. Ask the participant to find the relevant information. Do not tell them which menu label to click. Observe whether service names reflect customer language or terminology that only your team understands.

If they choose an unexpected page, ask what led them there. Their reasoning may reveal a confusing label, missing comparison or an unclear distinction between packages. Record the observation before deciding how to fix it.

Task 3: Find the information needed to enquire

Ask what they would want to know before contacting the business. Let them look for it. Common examples include project scope, examples of relevant work, the process and expected next steps, but allow the participant to identify their own priorities.

Mark whether the information is absent, difficult to find or difficult to understand. These are different problems. Moving a vague paragraph higher on the page will not necessarily answer a customer's question.

Task 4: Prepare an enquiry safely

Use a test environment or an agreed test process so the session does not create accidental bookings or messages. Ask the participant to complete the necessary fields and explain what they expect after submission. Use fictitious details and avoid collecting sensitive information.

Notice hesitation, unclear labels and errors that are difficult to recover from. Do not coach them through the form unless the task is stuck; if you intervene, record that help was required. A working form can still be hard to understand.

Task 5: Find a way back

Start on a service page and ask the participant to find another service or return to the main overview. Visitors may arrive directly from search rather than through the homepage. Check whether navigation makes sense from that entry point as well.

Finish with an issue list containing the task, observation, affected page and proposed change. Fix the most consequential obstacles first, then repeat the relevant task. W3C recommends involving users while also recognising that user evaluation complements other accessibility checks. One successful session does not establish that the entire website is accessible.

Plan your next step with CodeMax

Explore our Melbourne web design service, or send CodeMax your website brief with the customer task you want to improve.

Sources and further reading

Research checked 30 September 2026. Provider features and limits can change.