In today’s digital-first world, a website redesign is more than just a cosmetic upgrade—it’s a strategic undertaking that impacts brand identity, user experience, and business performance. For marketers and designers, the challenge lies not only in creating a visually compelling and functional interface but also in ensuring that the new site aligns with organizational goals and meets the expectations of real users. One of the most effective ways to achieve this is through structured user testing.
Jessica DuVerneay, Manager of UX Strategy at digital agency One North, outlines six essential questions that marketers should address through user testing during a website redesign. These questions form the foundation of a smarter, more user-centric digital experience and can help guide decisions from planning to post-launch optimization.
To begin, understanding how users make sense of your content is critical. Card sorting allows marketers to determine how real people intuitively group pages, categories, and information. When One North tested its service taxonomy, internal leaders from different departments helped shape a more logical, client-friendly structure. This cost-effective exercise improved navigation and clarified service offerings.
Once the information architecture is mapped out, navigation must be tested to ensure users can find what they need. Using navigation and taxonomy testing—often powered by tools like Treejack—marketers can validate menu structures and labeling. For example, when redesigning a university website, One North used a two-phase testing approach: the first group revealed flaws, and the second confirmed that revisions led to smoother user journeys.
User perception also matters. Moderated user testing, in which participants walk through tasks while offering real-time feedback, reveals how users feel about a site’s design and usability. During work on an NFL.com club site, this method guided visual and content choices for the homepage. Whether done casually through conversations or more formally in a lab, this test provides key qualitative insights that can’t be captured through analytics alone.
To ensure that a site functions effectively, unmoderated task-based testing helps assess whether users can complete core actions, such as locating contact information or specific services. Although it requires careful planning and the use of specialized tools, this method yields both behavioral data and performance metrics. It’s one of the most scalable and impactful ways to identify usability bottlenecks before launch.
Before the site goes live, marketers must ask: Is it ready? Fit and finish testing ensures that everything works as intended, from top-level functionality to finer design details. In the case of Plante Moran’s site redesign, One North conducted this test internally and found both quick fixes and more complex improvements, which were prioritized using a value-cost analysis. This process enhanced quality and confidence heading into launch.
Even after launch, the optimization continues. A/B testing allows teams to test two versions of a web element—like a headline, button color, or layout—to determine which performs better in a live environment. This continuous feedback loop ensures the site evolves with user behavior and business needs, supporting better conversion rates and user engagement.
Ultimately, a website redesign is a journey of discovery, refinement, and validation. By asking the right user testing questions and applying insights at every stage, marketers can ensure that their websites not only look good but truly perform. Jessica DuVerneay’s framework serves as a practical roadmap for building a site that’s not just designed for the business, but shaped by its users.