Remote & in-person · UK-wide · Real recruited users
Usability Testing Agency UK
Watch real users navigate your website, app, or digital product and find exactly where they get lost, confused, or give up. Moderated usability testing with real recruited participants, delivered remotely or in-person anywhere across the UK.
What is usability testing?
Usability testing puts real people in front of your product and observes what actually happens. Participants attempt tasks, finding information, completing a purchase, navigating a workflow, while a researcher records where they get stuck, confused, or give up. The resulting evidence is specific, actionable, and impossible to get from analytics or internal review alone.
We run moderated sessions: a researcher guides each participant through tasks in real time, asking follow-up questions and probing where something unexpected happens. This produces richer insight than unmoderated automated testing, and findings your product team can act on immediately.
Remote sessions reach participants anywhere in the UK. In-person sessions go where the research needs to be: your offices, a local facility, or participants' own environments.
What we test
From pre-launch prototypes to live digital products, we run usability sessions that surface the friction, confusion, and barriers your users actually experience.
Websites & Web Apps
Test navigation, user flows, checkout processes, forms, and content clarity. Spot where users get stuck, confused, or give up before they reach their goal.
Mobile Apps
iOS and Android app testing. Watch real users complete tasks, navigate features, and experience your app for the first time.
SaaS Platforms
Test dashboards, admin panels, complex workflows, and feature adoption. Reduce support tickets and increase activation rates with evidence from real users.
Prototypes & Designs
Validate Figma prototypes, wireframes, or early concepts before development. Test the idea when changes are still cheap to make.
Booking & Transactional Journeys
Ecommerce checkouts, booking flows, account creation. Find where users drop off and why conversion rates are not higher than they should be.
Accessibility Testing
Test with keyboard navigation, screen readers, and users with disabilities. Meet WCAG standards and avoid excluding customers who need your product most.
Digital Health & NHS Products
Usability testing for patient-facing apps, clinical tools, and healthcare digital services. We understand NHS contexts and work alongside PPIE programmes.
Medical Devices & Regulated Products
Task-based usability studies for medical devices and regulated software. Human factors evidence and design validation to support regulatory submissions.
How usability testing works
Remote sessions for speed and UK-wide reach. In-person sessions wherever the research needs to happen. Either way, the process is the same.
1. Discovery call
We discuss what you are testing, who needs to use it, and what decisions you need to make. Usually 30-45 minutes and free of charge.
2. Research design
We plan the sessions: who to recruit, what tasks to test, what questions to ask. You approve everything before we recruit a single participant.
3. Participant recruitment
We find real users who match your target audience. UK-wide panel for remote sessions, local and regional recruitment for in-person work. Screened, incentivised, and scheduled.
4. Testing sessions
Moderated 1-on-1 sessions (usually 45-60 mins each). We observe, prompt, and probe. You can watch live or review recordings afterwards.
5. Analysis & findings
We synthesise what we saw: critical issues, medium friction points, and quick wins. Prioritised for your team to act on immediately.
6. Actionable report
Clear findings with video clips, severity ratings, and recommended fixes. Plain English for stakeholders, enough detail for designers and developers.
Remote or in-person usability testing
Both approaches deliver strong findings. We help you choose based on what you are testing, who your users are, and how quickly you need answers.
Remote usability testing
Fast and flexible. Test with participants anywhere in the UK. Access to broader participant pools, lower cost per session, faster scheduling. Perfect for websites, apps, and digital products where location does not affect the experience.
We run sessions on Zoom, Teams, or your preferred platform. Moderated sessions where we guide users through tasks and ask follow-up questions in real time. Recordings available for your team to review.
Best for: Digital products, national audiences, quick validation, prototype testing, and when you need 8-12 sessions completed in a week.
In-person testing across the UK
Deeper observation. Pick up body language, environment, and physical context. Test hardware alongside software. Build rapport for sensitive topics or complex journeys.
We test at your office, in research facilities, or in participants' own homes and workplaces, wherever makes sense for the research and the people taking part. We go where the users are, anywhere across the UK. Stakeholders can observe live or join remotely.
Best for: Complex B2B tools, elderly or digitally excluded users, medical devices and hardware, sensitive healthcare topics, and when stakeholder buy-in requires seeing users first-hand.
Who we recruit
The right participants make or break usability research. We find people who genuinely match your users, not professional panel respondents who have done this hundreds of times.
Your target users
We screen participants against your actual audience criteria: demographics, behaviours, product familiarity, job roles, health conditions, whatever defines your user base.
UK-wide panels
Targeting national users? We access participants across the UK and filter by any criteria that matter to your product. Quick turnaround for most audiences.
Specialist audiences
B2B decision makers, healthcare professionals, carers, people with specific access needs, or rare conditions. We find them through professional networks and specialist partners.
Local & regional participants
Need in-person sessions in a specific location? We recruit locally across the UK, including through our Yorkshire-based community networks for studies in the North of England.
Usability testing packages
Transparent pricing for businesses across the UK. From quick validation studies to comprehensive research programmes.
Quick Validation
Essentials
Fast feedback to test an assumption, validate a design direction, or get early signal before you invest further.
- 4-5 remote usability sessions
- Screened participant recruitment
- Research design and moderation
- Findings presentation with video clips
- Prioritised recommendations
- 2-3 week turnaround
Comprehensive Testing
Impact
Thorough usability research with enough sessions to spot patterns, edge cases, and segment differences across your user base.
- 8-10 moderated sessions
- Advanced participant screening
- Detailed research protocol
- Session recordings and transcripts
- Comprehensive findings report
- Stakeholder presentation
- 3-4 week turnaround
Multi-Phase
Custom Programme
Ongoing research partnership. Test across multiple user segments, product iterations, or combine usability testing with other research methods.
- Tailored research design
- Multiple testing rounds
- Mixed methods available
- Diverse participant segments
- Embedded researcher support
- Flexible delivery timeline
All packages include: Participant incentives, session recording and storage, synthesis and analysis, video clip highlights, and clear documentation your team can act on immediately.
In-person sessions: Add £1,400-£1,800 per day for in-person testing (venue hire, travel, facilitator time). We will quote precisely based on your location and needs.
Who we work with
Startups and scale-ups, digital agencies, healthcare organisations, fintech platforms, and ecommerce businesses who need confident product decisions backed by evidence from real users.
Usability testing questions answered
Common questions about usability testing, costs, and how we work
What is usability testing?
Usability testing is a research method in which real people attempt to complete tasks on a website, app, or digital product while a researcher observes what happens. The goal is to identify where users get confused, stuck, or give up: issues that analytics cannot explain. Moderated usability testing involves a researcher guiding participants and asking follow-up questions in real time.
How much does usability testing cost in the UK?
A focused study with 4-5 remote participants, including recruitment, moderation, analysis, and a findings report, starts from £5,500. A comprehensive study with 8-10 participants runs from £9,500. In-person sessions add venue and travel costs. We provide a precise quote for every project at the scoping stage.
How many participants do you need for usability testing?
Five participants surface the majority of critical usability issues for a single user group. For research covering multiple segments or product areas, 8-10 or more sessions are appropriate. We advise on the right number for your specific question at the scoping stage. For more on when five is enough and when it isn't, see our guide to how many usability testing participants you actually need.
What is the difference between remote and in-person usability testing?
Remote testing uses video call software and can reach participants anywhere in the UK quickly. In-person brings researcher and participant together physically. Remote is better for speed, reach, and cost. In-person is better for hardware testing, digitally excluded users, and complex B2B tools where physical context matters.
How is usability testing different from UX research?
Usability testing evaluates an existing product or prototype: it tells you what breaks and where. UX research (user interviews, diary studies, contextual inquiry) explores user needs and motivations at an earlier stage. The two methods work well together: discovery research to understand the problem, usability testing to validate the solution.
Do you work outside Yorkshire?
Yes. We are based in Yorkshire and do a significant amount of work across the North of England, but we deliver usability testing across the whole UK. Remote sessions reach users anywhere; for in-person testing, we travel to you or work with facilities near your participants. See our Leeds usability testing page for local and regional projects.
What types of products can you test?
We test websites, web applications, mobile apps (iOS and Android), SaaS platforms, ecommerce sites, Figma and InVision prototypes, NHS patient-facing digital services, healthtech applications, medical devices, and any other digital product or interface. We also run accessibility-focused sessions with keyboard users, screen reader users, and participants with a range of access needs.
How long does a usability testing project take?
A focused study (4-5 remote sessions) can be delivered in 2-3 weeks from brief to report. A comprehensive study (8-10 sessions) typically takes 3-4 weeks. The main variables are participant recruitment time, your prototype readiness, and session scheduling. We can run quick validation studies in under two weeks when needed.
Do you recruit participants or do we supply them?
We handle participant recruitment as part of every project. We screen against your audience criteria: demographics, behaviours, product familiarity, job role, health conditions, whatever defines your users. We access UK-wide panels for remote sessions and can recruit locally for in-person work. If you have existing customers or users you want to include, we can supplement our recruitment with your own list.
Related services
Usability testing answers what happens. These services help you understand why, involve users earlier, or validate for regulated contexts.
UX Research
Deeper discovery research: user interviews, diary studies, and contextual enquiry to understand the why behind behaviour.
UX research servicesPPIE & Patient Involvement
Running usability testing alongside PPIE? We combine both for healthcare and digital health projects that need involvement and evaluation evidence.
PPIE servicesDesign Validation
Rigorous human factors testing for medical devices and regulated products. Task-based validation studies for regulatory submissions.
Design validationUsability Testing in Leeds
Based in Leeds or Yorkshire and looking for a local research partner? Our Leeds usability testing page covers local participant recruitment, in-person facilities, and regional projects.
Leeds usability testingWhat Is Usability Testing?
A plain-English guide to usability testing: types, methods, how it compares to analytics and A/B testing, and when to use it in your design process.
Read the guideWe fully recognise the effort your team invested in recruitment, moderation, and analysis, and we genuinely appreciate the quality of the discussions and reporting.
- Usability problems in an insulin device surfaced before manufacturing locked anything in, with human factors evidence supporting the regulatory submission.
- An NHS patient portal team got a prioritised, evidenced list of adoption barriers, and the highest-leverage fix wasn't the one they expected.
- Patient involvement changed a trial's primary endpoint before the protocol was finalised, cited by the ethics committee as a model for evidencing PPIE.
Trusted PPI and PPIE delivery partner to the NIHR HealthTech Research Centre in Accelerated Surgical Care.
Ready to find out what your users actually do?
Tell us what you are building and what decisions you need to make. We will suggest the right approach, scope, and turnaround.
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Book a free 20-minute call. No obligation, no sales pitch. We'll tell you honestly whether research is worth it for your decision, and what it would cost.