Top content testing tools and approaches

When launching a website, app, or product, you’ll feel confident that your content truly reflects your intent—but what feels right to you might resonate differently with your audience.

Whether you’re building from scratch or revamping existing content, content testing tools can help gauge how well your messaging aligns with your target users’ expectations and needs.

This article covers the best content testing tools, when to use them, and why.

Content testing ensures the content on your website or app meets user needs and expectations. It helps stop users from leaving your website confused or with unanswered questions. In contrast, they will immediately understand what you offer and take a specific action (such as purchasing).

Users want to navigate your site quickly and efficiently, guided by helpful keywords and easy-to-understand language. Content testing lets you give potential customers the exact information they are looking for, saving them time and giving better outcomes. It also provides useful insights for your business.

Here are some examples of things users look for in website content:

Usability

Ensure your website or app is easy to understand and engage with. Resist filling it with lengthy content and instead prioritize conciseness and comprehension.

Intuitive navigation labels, clear CTAs, and logical menu categories will also aid usability.

Readability

Readability measures how easily visitors can read and understand the text on a web page. It depends on content (words and sentence structure) and presentation (spacing, layout, paragraph length, font choice, colors, and contrast).

Remember to avoid sesquipedalian words.

Did you have to look that one up? You don’t want your reader to do that. Don’t drive them away from your website to look up words they don’t understand.

Searchability

Make your product and website easy to find with search engine optimization (SEO). Proper SEO can boost traffic to your site.

Accessibility and interaction

People of all abilities and age groups should find your website easy to navigate and use. It shouldn’t matter if they are familiar with or new to your product.

Voice and tone

Every brand and product has a unique voice, which should resonate with your audience. It shouldn’t make them feel uncomfortable, confused, or alienated.

There are four main types of content testing methods in user experience (UX) research: moderated, unmoderated, remote, and in-person.

Your choice of method may depend on your budget, but it’s equally important to consider which approach will yield the best results. Selecting the right method guarantees cost-effective and actionable feedback, ultimately enhancing the content’s impact on the user experience.

Moderated vs. unmoderated research

In moderated research, users complete tasks while a moderator observes or tracks them. Despite the added time and expense, this approach has several benefits. The moderator can see, evaluate, and interpret how participants react to the content in real time.

In contrast, participants in unmoderated research take part on their own by following instructions. This type of content testing is less expensive as participants can respond anytime from anywhere—you just need to provide a link to the study.

Remote vs. in-person

In-person content testing lets you see the participant’s reactions in real time. However, the participants and the moderator must be in the same location, which can be logistically challenging.

Remote content testing can take place online using a content testing tool. While it’s more affordable, it’s less personal, and you might not catch spontaneous reactions.

Test as much product-relevant content as possible, such as:

• Homepage

• Menu buttons

• Product buttons

• Call-to-action messages

• Error messages

• Confirmation messages

• Pop-up messages

• Tooltips

• Blog pages

• Legal notices and disclaimers

Content testing should be continuous. Perform it at the conceptual stage to understand user expectations when designing the website framework.

You can run a second content test while working on your prototype to determine whether you’re on the right track. Assess whether your content is hitting the mark and making sense to your potential audience. Are changes needed? Investing in testing at this stage can help prevent headaches and added work down the line.

When your product is ready to launch, run another content test to ensure your product is properly explained and you have accomplished everything you wanted. You can examine how users feel about your product, if it achieves your goals, and if your design and graphics align with your content.

If you make any significant changes or updates after launch, retest your content to ensure your changes still resonate with your audience.

No single content method works well for everyone and in every situation. You should understand your needs and which test will help you achieve your goals.

A/B testing

Create two variations of your content and test them with different user groups to obtain helpful quantitative results. For example, you might analyze which variation led to more conversions.

A/B testing is straightforward and will reveal which content version is easier to understand or more persuasive. The drawback is that you won’t learn why.

A larger sample size helps minimize the impact of sampling error—the natural variation that occurs when you measure a subset of a larger population.

Tools: Optimizely, Google Optimize, Adobe Target, Kameleoon

Task-based usability testing

Task-based usability testing evaluates how easily users complete specific tasks. Whether you use moderated or unmoderated testing, you can observe real users, identify pain points, measure efficiency, and refine content for clarity and usability.

Both moderated and unmoderated approaches provide valuable insights. Moderated testing allows real-time observation, while unmoderated testing offers scalability.

Key metrics include task completion rates, time on task, and errors. If users struggle, it may indicate unclear instructions or poor design.

Tools: Maze, User Testing, Lookback, UsabilityHub, Optimal Workshop, Cloze Test

Five-second tests

Give each participant a five-second snapshot of your design, homepage, or product page and see if their interpretation resonates with your intent. Does the participant like what they see? Does your content fulfill your intention? If your content is good, they should be able to see the key message easily.

Ask each participant the same broad questions, such as:

• What do you remember seeing?

• What do we sell?

• Did anything specific catch your attention?

Then, graduate to more specific questions, like:

• What is the company’s name?

• What was on sale?

• What words do you remember?

The answers will reveal whether changes are needed or if your content is getting the desired reaction.

Tools: UsabilityHub, Maze, Optimal Workshop

Card sorting

Card sorting reveals how users categorize information by asking them to group ideas or concepts in ways that make sense to them, using either physical or virtual cards. It helps identify user expectations, mental models, and intuitive structures for website navigation or content organization.

You can present card sorting in the following three ways, either virtually or in person:

1. Open card sorting allows participants to create category names, revealing their natural mental models. It’s useful in the first content development phase as it provides ideas.

2. Closed card sorting provides predefined categories, requiring participants to sort content into them. This approach helps test and evaluate existing content.

3. Hybrid card sorting combines open and closed card sorting. Give participants predefined categories (as in closed sorting) but also let them create their own if they feel that none fit (as in open sorting). It’s useful when refining an existing content structure while allowing flexibility for user input.

Tools: OptimalSort, Maze, UserTesting, Optimal Workshop, Highlight Test, UsabilityHub, User Testing, Lookback

Cloze test

A cloze test helps you assess your content’s readability. It involves omitting words and asking users to fill them in, revealing the strength of contextual understanding.

If your users give above 60% correct responses, you can reasonably assume you’re meeting their needs. The higher the score, the better.

Tools: Anki, Clozemaster

Highlight test

Do you want your website to feel professional, friendly, honest, trustworthy, or confident? A highlight test reveals whether your content conveys tone as intended and where adjustments are needed.

Ask participants to highlight words or sentences in green that match the desired voice and tone and mark anything that feels off or contradictory in red. After revision, run the test again to unlock additional insights.

Preference testing

As with A/B testing, preference testing involves asking participants to choose their favorite version of something and explain why. A/B testing is directly aimed at your live content, while preference testing focuses more on your website wireframe and content drafts expressing the website or app’s functionality.

Create two or three versions of your website design, present them to participants, and have them select their favorite. You could also ask them to choose between your content and a competitor’s. If your participants choose a competitor’s content, you know you have some work to do. Retest after revision in this case.

Tools: Maze, UsabilityHub, UserTesting, Lookback, Optimizely, Crazy Egg, Google Optimize, Visual Website Optimizer (VWO)

Readability testing

This computer-managed content testing tool assesses readability by analyzing word type and sentence length. Short sentences and smaller words are generally easier to read.

While readability testing may work for broader product types, it’s not as suitable for individual niche products due to possibly inconsistent interpretations. It can also strip nuance and style, leaving text oversimplified and robotic.

Consider using a readability test alongside another content testing tool to maximize results.

Tools: Hemingway Editor, Readable, Grammarly

Selecting the right content testing tool depends on your goals, budget, and workflow. Consider the following:

• Testing needs: what do you want to learn from content testing? Are you assessing usability, readability, accessibility, or tone? Clarifying your objectives will help you choose a tool that unlocks the right data.

• Moderated vs. unmoderated: choose a tool that supports moderated testing for real-time insights. For larger-scale, independent testing, opt for unmoderated tools.

• Audience and accessibility: ensure the tool supports your target users. Does it offer mobile testing? Can you test users with accessibility needs?

• Data and analytics: look for tools that provide actionable insights, such as heatmaps, session recordings, or qualitative feedback.

• Budget: compare free versus paid options and consider trial versions before committing.

Your website content is the face of your business and product, so it should reflect your communication with customers. Solid content is critical for the continued use of your website and product, and proper representation and engagement are crucial.

Conduct content testing before your first launch to create a good impression and boost success. Continue to test content with each added feature or product alteration.

Periodic testing helps maintain content quality and relevance as user expectations evolve.