An Usability Expert Review combines a comprehensive heuristic analysis with website best practices to provide a thorough diagnostic of your website and to offer solutions for improvement. Usability Expert Reviews are most beneficial when preparing for a redesign, entering an iterative design process, or embarking on a research and benchmarking program.

Methodology

For an Usability Expert Review, eVOC uses a comprehensive list of user experience and user interface guidelines that we have compiled over years of usability research. Two experts will individually evaluate the site across these guidelines, assigning a score to how well the site meets each criterion and aggregating their scores.

The Usability Expert Review will evaluate the site across the key UI categories, each with a set of detailed guidelines focused on design, messaging, flow, and basic usability principles. Below are the key UI categories:

• User Control: Site enables exploration by letting users initiate and control actions based on their primary objectives

• Navigation & Feedback: Establishes intuitive information architecture, keeps users informed throughout the experience, and clearly indicates task progression

• Communication & Relevance: Ensures site messaging and value proposition are aligned with target users’ objectives

• Simplicity & Scannability: Presents information in a manner that is logical and easy to digest based on the users’ intent

• Consistency: Provides consistent page layout and organization to help orient users to the site experience and set expectations

• Aesthetic Integrity: Incorporates graphic elements and visual cues to build a connection and guide users through the site

• Help & Forgiveness: When soliciting user information, site clearly indicates what information is required vs. optional, and facilitates the process by providing help and guidance

The site will be evaluated across ~60 guidelines / best practices on a 5-point scale. Ratings are rolled up into sub-scores and weighted into an overall composite score for direct comparison.

• 0 = Site does not have
• 1 = Site has but execution is poor
• 2 = Site has and execution is average
• 3 = Site has and execution is good
• 4 = Site has and execution is best-in-class

The Usability Expert Review provides a baseline for how well your site is performing across key segments, identifies problem areas and solutions, and establishes a benchmark for improvement moving forward.