See whether people can find their way
People find their way through your navigation as a text-only outline, so you learn whether the labels alone get them there.Paste your URL and Fiuto builds a free tree test for you in minutes. No experience required.
A preview player for the tree test. It steps through the four blocks a respondent sees, and is paused on the third: the tree test itself, with the Fiuto panel floating over the outline holding the task as they drill through the navigation.
What is a tree test?
A tree test presents your navigation as a plain, clickable outline with no visual design, then asks people to find where they would go to complete a task. Nothing but the labels guides them.
You only need the structure as text: section names and how they nest. Pin a correct path for each task, or leave it unpinned for an open-ended question and read the paths people took instead.
The result is a success rate, whether people reached the target, and a directness rate, whether they got there without backtracking. Together they tell you which labels work and which ones send people the wrong way.
Run one once you already have a structure to check, before or after a redesign.
Is a tree test the right method?
It is worth two minutes to check a tree test is the method you want.
Reach for it when
Validating an existing or proposed navigation before you build it
Comparing two or more candidate structures for the same content
Investigating a section people consistently struggle to find
Checking whether new labels read the way you intend
Reach for something else when
You don't have a structure yet and want to learn how people would group things. A card sort finds the groups first.
You need to test the finished screens not just the labels. A first-click test or prototype test measures the real interface.
Tree testing tips
Write the task in the respondent's words
Phrase each task the way a real user would describe the need, not with your own menu labels, so you test the structure rather than the wording of the question.
Pin one correct path per task
Mark the path from root to target so Fiuto can score success and directness. Leave it open only for a task with no single right answer.
Run one task per tree
For several tasks against the same structure, add one tree test block per task rather than folding them into a single run.
Frequently asked questions
What is a tree test?
A tree test presents your navigation as a plain, clickable outline and asks people to find where they'd go to complete a task, with nothing but the labels to guide them.
What is the difference between a tree test and a card sort?
A card sort helps you find a structure by seeing how people group and label items. A tree test comes after: it confirms whether people can find things inside a structure you already have.
How many people should I test with?
Aim for 50 or more respondents per task for stable success and directness numbers. Fewer than that and the results are directional rather than conclusive.
What does Fiuto measure in a tree test?
When you pin a correct path, Fiuto scores success (did they reach the target) and directness (did they get there without backtracking).
Can a tree test have more than one right answer?
Yes. Leave the correct path unpinned for an open-ended task with no single right destination, and read the paths people actually took instead.
Should the tree test show any visual design?
No. It's text-only on purpose, so you're testing the labels and structure, not the visual design or search.
Do I need a live site or prototype to run a tree test?
No. You only need the structure as text: section names and how they nest under each other.
Do AI respondents go through the study before real people?
Yes, on every plan including Free. Up to five AI respondents work through the study first so you get a read in minutes and catch an unclear task early, and up to two of them can be AI experts in conversion, usability, copy or SEO. Then real people answer the same study, recruited from Prolific's global panel or reached through your own link.
Can I create and launch this study from my coding agent?
Yes. Fiuto's research assistant works in the app, over MCP from Claude Code, Cursor, Codex, Lovable, v0, Replit and Bolt, and over the API. It creates, launches and reads back the study on every plan including Free.
Does Fiuto run AI interviews?
AI interviews are an upcoming feature, in development now, and this page will list them the day they are out of alpha. Until then Fiuto runs unmoderated studies across 18 methods, with AI respondents first and real people after.