Userfeel Review 2023: Stay Far Away? Or Safe & Legit?

Studies show that the UI and Usability of any website or app play a vital role that could potentially break or make the platform.  For the aforementioned reason,  this piece will be focused on the user testing panel known as Userfeel. Yes, it’s all about Userfeel review.

Crowdsourced testing is here to stay, and one of the companies at the forefront of UX optimization and testing is Userfeel. So, in this post, I’ll be taking a thorough look at the crowdsourced UX testing platform known as Userfeel.

USERFEEL REVIEW: WHAT IS USERFEEL?

Userfeel is a crowdsourced UX (user experience) research tool and platform that aims to connect companies, startups, and people who need feedback and user opinions on their apps and websites with usability and UX testers who are qualified and willing to provide these opinions and feedbacks that are needed.

I hope that was simple enough, but just in case it wasn’t, let me put it like this: Userfeel is like a middleman that connects people who need help with UX testing with people that are willing and qualified to do that for them, while they get paid to do so. So, Userfeel is a link between testers and UX and usability researchers.

Userfeel was founded by Yannis Karampelas in 2010. And, it’s operated and managed by a group of professionals who are based in the UK and Greece. These professionals share one thing in common, they are experts in the fields of website development, website design, website optimization, and analytics, with years of experience in their resumes.

Userfeel was born out of a need. Remember that I said it was founded by Yannis Karampelas? Here’s the background story:

Yannis is an expert in the field of website optimization, and he was given a job to do by some Greek clients of his. He had some difficulty in finding a platform that would allow him to perform remote usability testing using Greek users, and that led to the creation of Userfeel. Userfeel is a multilingual website, and that shouldn’t be a surprise because of the situation that led to the creation of the platform.

So, it should be noted that Userfeel is a platform you can trust to deliver if you need to run UX testing making use of testers who speak your native language or any language for that matter. Userfeel boasts of over fifty thousand (50000) testers who speak forty (40) different languages.

Userfeel’s clients include notable companies like 99designs, IMAGA, 10Up, Hanson, Firmafon, iZettle, etc. I guess they must be doing something right to have all these big names on their clients’ lists. So, now that we know a bit of the history of Userfeel, it would be nice if we understood all that they can do for us, either as researchers or usability testers.

1. USERFEEL REVIEW PART 1: USERFEEL FOR TESTERS

As I pointed out before, the first part of this Userfeel review will focus on what purpose Userfeel can serve for people who are mostly interested in making use of the platform as a tester.

HOW DO YOU GET STARTED AS A TESTER ON USERFEEL?

You just need to head to the website and sign up as a tester which you can do by clicking here. When you sign up as a tester on Userfeel, you must take a qualification test that enables Userfeel to determine whether you can put yourself in the required scenario or mindset, whether you can speak your thoughts out loud, and if your microphone works.

Once you do all of these things and your rating is good enough, you will start getting invitations to tests that you qualify for. Userfeel explicitly states that there is no payment for the qualification test; that’s not a big deal I think. Userfeel will pay you $10 per test that lasts 10-20 minutes and the tests are taken on your computer or smartphone you can watch example videos to familiarize yourself with how the tests are being done and what Userfeel clients seek or require from testers.

You might want to ask what are you expected to do when you finally get in as a tester? It’s nothing difficult. You’ll be conducting usability tests on websites and apps, while you do that with a specific mindset (as required by the task you are working on), you will also record a video of your screen and speak your thoughts out loud.

You will be required to imagine a given scenario and ask to do things like finding a product on an e-commerce store, give your opinion on the design of a specific page or pages on a website, state the things that prevent you from having an awesome experience while surfing a website or using an app, and you may be required to give suggestions on how to optimize an app or a website.

Your opinions and the suggestions you give are going to allow developers and websites and apps owners to develop better products, find and fix usability issues, or optimize them as much as possible.

THESE ARE THE THINGS THAT YOU NEED TO KNOW BEFORE YOU START TESTING WITH USERFEEL:

Become a Userfeel Certified Tester

• If you’d like to become a tester on Userfeel, you have to go to the website, register, and take the qualification test:

When signing up, you will be asked about your demographics, things like age, native language, level of proficiency with computers, web experience, etc. To match you with the most relevant tests that fit your demographics. Userfeel assures you that your personal information like names, email, and contact addresses is never revealed to third parties.

• After you’ve done your registration, your qualification test will be rated and they will get back to you in a few days:

Usually, between 7 to 15 days depending on the number of applications they have to attend to; once your test has been approved with a rating score given to you, you will be notified by Userfeel.

• The equipment you need to get started as a tester on Userfeel is easy to get:

You need to have a Windows or Mac computer. Windows 7 version or later versions of the OS are required if you are using a Windows PC. After this, you need to have a microphone on your computer, either internal or external is fine. If you need to buy an external microphone, you can just get a cheap one, which will work just fine.

• You will get invitations to participate in paid tests after you’ve been approved:

Userfeel sends notifications out to testers about available tests as soon as clients place orders with them. If you are not available to take the test when you receive the notification, the test may be assigned to someone else. Userfeel clients will rate your performance on every test and this influences the number of invitations you get to test with Userfeel. But note that your non-availability to take tests does nothing to your rating as a tester.

• You may be asked screener questions before you begin a test sometimes:

These are used to make sure that you are a perfect fit for that test. Userfeel advises that you should answer those screener questions as honestly as possible otherwise you might end up wasting your own and the client’s time as you won’t be paid if dishonesty is detected.

The answers you provide to screener questions are confidential and you are assured that none of those will ever be revealed to the client or any third party for that matter. In case you meet the criteria set after answering a screener question, you can proceed to take the test. But if you don’t, the test will be assigned to another tester.

• While performing a test, Userfeel advises using fake details instead of your real name and address:

You are not required to divulge your personal information just to test a website. You are better off using fake details when asked for personal details anytime you are testing a website.

• And they are specific about the languages that you will ever be required to test in:

These are usually your native language or other languages that you speak fluently. Under no circumstance will Userfeel require you to speak a language that you can not speak fluently.

• If you are testing an e-commerce website, you will not be required to go through with a purchase:

According to Userfeel, they may ask you to go through the checkout process of an online store but they usually will ask you to stop before you get to click on the final submit button. But you are advised in any case to never enter your real credit or debit card details while performing a test.

• Userfeel will pay you $10 for each successful test that you conduct (qualification test excluded):

You will receive payment after approval, usually about one week after you’ve taken the test. You can get paid via PayPal or Amazon Gift Cards depending on your preferred mode of payment that you set in your profile.

Web Testing from the comfort of your home

ACCORDING TO USERFEEL, THESE ARE THE THINGS THAT MAKE GOOD TESTERS:

• Ability to speak their thoughts as they surf a website clearly and logically and provide useful information as they do so.
• Good testers don’t flatter a site or show off how fast they can complete a task or just read what the site says.
• Good testers can internalize the test case scenario and apply that throughout all the tasks they are to complete during a test.
• Good testers will perform a test in a quiet environment and speak out their thoughts loudly and clearly into the microphone.
• Good testers will continuously explain what they are doing, what confuses them, what impresses them, features they think could improve a site, etc.
• Good testers will provide great, thorough, and honest answers to the questions at the end of a test.
• In conclusion, good testers will always tell it as it is while refraining from using derogatory remarks, becoming insensitive, or rude.

IT IS ALSO IMPORTANT TO NOTE THAT YOU MAY NOT GET PAID BY USERFEEL IF YOU DO ANY OF THESE THINGS:

• You did not try to complete all the required tasks during a test. So, make sure that you try to perform all the required tasks.
• You did not speak your thoughts into the microphone while taking a test. You are advised to speak your thoughts out loud as you take a test.
• The recorded audio is not clear or there is noise in the background. Always take tests in quiet environments and be audible enough while speaking your thoughts into the microphone.
• You have multiple monitors and you recorded the wrong one. Always make sure that the Userfeel app records the monitor with the browser in it. You can use the preview function provided in the Userfeel app to make sure you record the correct screen.
• You received a phone call during a test on your mobile phone. To avoid this, put your phone in the ‘do not disturb mode before beginning a test.
• You set up the external camera for a mobile test wrongly. Always ensure the camera is at the right angle, focused, with enough lighting and exposure.

2. USERFEEL REVIEW PART 2:  USERFEEL FOR UX AND USABILITY RESEARCHERS

Getting started with Userfeel

If you want to run Usability or UX tests on your websites, Userfeel will offer you a free 5 minutes video of a tester using your website as a welcome bonus.

If you are a website or an app developer, a UX or website designer, you definitely should be interested in what they are doing at Userfeel.

You can find suitable and qualified usability testers that can test your websites and apps in their alpha, beta, and even stable stages. These are some of the features that stand Userfeel out as a crowdsourced testing platform:

• USERFEEL IS MULTILINGUAL

Userfeel allows you to test any site in any language. The Userfeel panel comprises over 40,000 testers who speak 40 different languages. And as pointed out by Userfeel, you can have testers provide comments in your language while testing a website that is in a language that you don’t understand.

• USABILITY TESTS ON ANY DEVICE

Userfeel offers clients the opportunity to test their digital assets (websites and apps) on any device. You can choose to run tests on desktops, tablets, or mobile phones. Testing with both the Userfeel app and an external camera makes this possible.

• INVITE YOUR TEAM TO PROJECTS

You can organize your tests neatly into projects, and you can assign different team members to each project. Each team member assigned to a project can add annotations to videos and categorize issues based on their type.

• CREATE USEFUL VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS

This allows you to present the results of the tests that you run to your team by highlighting the most critical issues as identified by testers and combining those into a single video of those highlights which can be created in a matter of minutes.

• EASILY CREATE DEMOGRAPHICS CRITERIA AND SET PRE-TEST SCREENER QUESTIONS

Userfeel allows you to filter testers by making use of specific demographic criteria like age, gender, country, language, etc. And you can also set screener questions to filter the testers in a more detailed manner.

• USE YOUR TESTERS

Userfeel allows you to use your panel of testers. They will only provide you a link that you can send to whoever it is you’d like to make use of like a tester.

• SYSTEM USABILITY SCALE

This is an aggregate score that is given to your website or app that indicates how usable it is. It is based on the answers to a 10-item questionnaire provided by testers who have spent time on your website or app. This gives you a quick overview of how your website or app is perceived by users and also helps you to identify sessions that users found difficult to complete.

SUS is found to have a high correlation with user loyalty and the likelihood to recommend a website or an app. A SUS of 80 and above means that users will recommend your website or app while 70 or less suggests they won’t. You will receive this metric alongside every test session that you run through Userfeel and an average of this metric based on the responses of all testers.

• TASKS, RATINGS, AND QUESTIONS.

Userfeel allows you to create as many questions, tasks, and ratings as you want, making use of various formats. This gives you absolute control over the direction you want your tests to take and help you obtain the right results and insights that you aim for.

• AUTOMATIC VOICE TRANSCRIPTION

Userfeel offers automatic voice transcription as part of their reporting tools by making use of the Google Speech API. You can quickly read through the transcripts of the videos by searching or clicking on a particular sentence to jump to that part.

• INTEGRATION WITH YOUTUBE

You can download the videos of those sessions of users testing your website or app to your local machine or just upload them to your YouTube account as unlisted so you can easily share them with your colleagues or team members.

• VIDEO ANNOTATIONS

You can easily create annotations at specific points in test session videos. Userfeel has made this process easy because there is an export feature that creates a data log of all tasks and annotations that makes it easy to embed them in your reports.

• EASY REPORTING:

Reporting your tests couldn’t be any easier as Userfeel provides useful tools to export results, create reports, and share them with your colleagues. What’s more, metrics like SUS (System Usability Scale), ratings, time on tasks, and their averages are calculated automatically. So, you can quickly export all of this data to create your reports.

• TEST SUMMARY

As soon as you finish creating tasks, setting demographics, screener questions, and all of that; Userfeel generates a clear summary of all your test settings which you can print and share with your team for improvements and maybe approval.

Okay, there are some things that you would like to know before making use of Userfeel. One of those details you’d need is pricing which I’ll discuss in the next paragraph.

USERFEEL REVIEW: USERFEEL PRICING

The next thing we will be looking at in this Userfeel review is the pricing. As of the time of writing this post, Userfeel costs $59 per session. What do you get for this $59 that you pay for a session?

You get a video of one usability tester using your website while they speak their thoughts as they surf the various parts of your website (depending on the tasks you created though). The tester will provide answers to all the questions and tasks you have set while creating the test and this video will be delivered to you within a 24-hour time frame.

It should also be noted that Userfeel offers discounts if you are buying more than one unit of credit (one session). The higher the number of units you buy, the more the discounts. One unit of credit remains $59 at the time of this and you will always get an invoice by email, 1 to 2 days following your payment.

As stated earlier, Userfeel allows you to make use of your testers. While you usually get a 20 minutes cap for each session using regular testers, the time limit increases to 60 minutes when you make use of your testers. Your testers do not have to register on Userfeel, instead, they’ll be provided two links, one to install the Userfeel recording app, and the other to start the test.

In case you are unsatisfied with the results, you do not like Userfeel services, or a video was subpar, Userfeel offers a refund if you contact them within seven days after the tests have been conducted.

These are the most important things I feel you need to know about Userfeel before making use of the platform either as a tester or a researcher. If there is anything you feel is omitted in this post that you’d like to know, you can check out their faq page for testers here and customers (researchers) here. Catch ya on the flip side

Always,

Ralph Esan