Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
And so is the user-friendliness of your website.
Some professional Web designers and developers might find a site incredibly easy to use and straightforward. But the average person might just find a confusing jumble. And even some regular old Internet users might be able to easily navigate websites where others, say, their moms, might have trouble.
That’s why Scotty Allen and Richard Littauer started The User is My Mom, a UX testing service with a twist.
Allen’s mom is the one who reviews each website. You can see her review Twitter in the video below, with a bit of help from her son.
For $75, you can have Allen’s mom take a look at your site and provide you with a write-up and screencast about the user experience.
There are plenty of other UX testing services out there. Some will provide similar screencast or video type reviews. But if you’ve ever had to provide tech support for not-so-tech-savvy parents or relatives, you understand. Having active Web users review a site isn’t always the same as having an older parent who doesn’t spend a lot of time online do so.
The company’s website states:
“My mom tutors high school students and likes quilting and hiking. She yells at her computer, doesn’t know what a twitter is, and struggles to find windows she’s minimized. You should design with your mother in mind. If she can’t understand your site, others will struggle as well.”
So, if your site targets this type of demographic, it could be a service worth looking into. If your site is targeted at Web professionals, online gamers, or others who spend a lot of time online, not so much. You don’t necessarily need to know what Allen’s mom thinks of your site.
But there are plenty of sites out there that could potentially benefit from some motherly insights.
The company is an offshoot of The User is Drunk. That’s a service that provides a UX testing service from an intoxicated Littauer. But the team ensures that the insights from The User is My Mom don’t involve alcohol. They’re even looking for more moms to test websites. There’s a form on the site for anyone interested.
Image: The User is My Mom
[“source-smallbiztrends”]