Be a tester

Before we launch a website, we invite website testers to come into our offices and give it a test drive.

Testers give us the information we need to create a great site: what works and what doesn’t, what looks good, what looks not so good, and what they wish the site would do.

User centred design is at the heart of what we do at Cimex, and website testers are at the heart of user centred design.

Who can be a website tester?

We actively look for people from all kinds of backgrounds – any age, any type of education, any kind of employment, and any level of computer experience. When we set up a testing session, we invite people who would be part of the website’s target audience. For example, when we tested the website for the Ministry of Justice we needed to hear from lawyers, solicitors, journalists and police officers. One week later we held a group workshop with twelve- to fifteen-year-old students.

What about disabled users?

Disabled users are more than welcome to participate in our testing sessions. One of our objectives at Cimex is to design websites accessible by everyone. For this reason we have made our usability labs wheelchair-accessible. We also conduct some testing sessions that specifically target accessibility issues.

We invite people with:

• visual impairments (especially those who use screen readers or screen magnification software)
• motor impairments (including those who do not use a mouse)
• audio impairments (complete or partial deafness)
• and/or cognitive impairments such as dyslexia or learning difficulties.

Please provide details of any disability and any software or access devices you use on the website tester application form.

What do I have to do to be a website tester?

All you need to do is come to our offices in central London for an individual or group session, which usually lasts for an hour or 90 minutes. You will use the website we are testing and let us know what you find helpful or annoying. We might ask your opinion on potential graphic designs or how you would group different pages of information.

Remember that we aren’t testing you – we’re testing the website! There are no wrong answers and you don’t need to worry about offending anyone. The more opinions you would care to share, the better.

Testing sessions are recorded but this is purely for our use when we analyse session results. Testers remain anonymous, and we never trade, sell or share your details with anyone, ever.

Why should I sign up?

Testers who complete one of our sessions receive a cash award, typically £50 to £60. In addition, you will know that you have made your opinions known and improved a website that could be seen by millions of people. Virtually all of our testers are keen to return and recommend us to their friends.

Sign up now

If you would like to be considered as a website tester, all you need to do is email us with your details. Once we’ve logged your details, we’ll then be in touch when an appropriate session for your profile comes along. Please understand that we cannot guarantee regular testing sessions because our testing needs depend on the nature of the websites we are working on.

Rest assured that our database is maintained solely for our use in recruiting testers, and your details will never be disclosed to a third party.

Contact us to register your interest in being a tester.