Monday, October 18, 2010

Test Data

When testing a site what's the best dummy content to use? Is it Lorem Ipsum? I think it should always be real content. Lorem Ipsum is a great filler when you don't have anything real to put in but actual content, in whatever draft form is soooooooo much better.

I'm testing a site now with real content and it's flushing out loads of issues. Like a short paragraph causes the design to break, or the fact that we don't have H2's specified in the CMS.

And who makes the best testers? Site-testers are efficient and organised. They are definately the ideal folk to use all along the testing cycle; but if you can slip real users in there as well you'll discover things you never thought of. In fact, it's an idea to test with real users at every stage if budget allows. Real users might not be "digital" experts but they are experts, because at the end of the day it's the real uesrs who will be using your site. So get your wireframes, designs, copy, and build tested by real users with real content.

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