What a design decision needs before it ships
A design review is a room full of people who already know what the screen is supposed to do. That is exactly the group least able to tell you whether a stranger can figure it out.
Fiuto turns a design question into a task someone else actually performs: find the setting, complete the checkout, sort these features into groups that make sense to you. The result is behaviour and a short explanation, not a stakeholder's best guess at how a first-time user would feel.
When should a designer run a usability test?
- Before shipping a redesigned flow or navigation
- When stakeholders disagree about which version of a screen works better
- Before renaming categories or restructuring a settings area
- Before an onboarding sequence ships, to see whether the first few steps land
- After launch, to confirm the redesign actually solved the problem it targeted
Methods designers use most
First impressions
Show the design briefly and ask what stuck, or run a design survey to react to a specific screen.
Prototype testing
Give people a task on a clickable prototype and watch how they get through it. Explore prototype testing.
Card sorting
Check whether your categories and labels match how people actually group the same content. Explore card sorting. Available on every plan, including Free.
Preference testing
Show two or three directions, ask which one people would choose, then ask why.
Reading the results, not just the score
A completion rate or a median time tells you whether a flow works in aggregate. The follow-up question tells you why it didn't for the people who struggled. Fiuto keeps both attached to the same response, so a hesitation shows up next to the respondent's own words about it, not as a separate number you have to reconcile by hand.
Run a study as a designer
1. Name what you’re checking
A specific flow, a structure, or a first impression, not "get feedback on the design."
2. Choose the method
A prototype task for a flow, a card sort for a structure, a five-second test for a first impression.
3. Review the study
Fiuto drafts it from your brief. Check the task and wording before it launches.
4. Share the link
Send it to real users, customers, or your own community.
5. Read behaviour and explanation together
Look at where people succeeded, where they stopped, and what they said about it.
Testing an early idea never waits on a budget approval: card sorting, like every method above, runs on the free plan.
Keep exploring
Frequently asked questions
01Do I need a finished prototype to run a usability test?
No. Card sorting works from labels alone, and a prototype test works with an early clickable version. Test the decision while the file is still cheap to change.
02What is the difference between a first-impression test and a usability test?
A first-impression test, such as a five-second test, shows what people notice or remember from a brief look. A usability test gives them a task to complete on a prototype or live site and records how they get through it, or where they stop.
03Can I see where someone hesitated, not just whether they finished?
Yes. Fiuto pairs a task with a short follow-up question, so you get the completion and the moment the respondent describes as confusing, in their own words.
04Is card sorting available on every plan?
Yes, on every plan including Free, the same as every other method on this page.
05Can I test a live site instead of a prototype?
Yes. Fiuto supports a live-website task alongside prototype testing, so a shipped flow gets the same scrutiny as a mockup.
06Do I bring my own participants?
Yes, on every plan. Fiuto has no recruited panel. Share the study link with your own users, customers, or community.
