Nothing Beats Real User Feedback
The Launch Is Done — Now What? With all the latest design and functionality trends in mind, your team of strategists, designers, content experts, and developers has carefully crafted your new digital product. Confident in the result, you take the website live — sometimes even as a beta version, depending on internal politics. And now… everyone’s hoping the audience will love it — and that no major issues surface. Or maybe your website has been live for a while, and you’re starting to wonder why it isn’t performing the way you expected.
The Power of User Interviews
In both cases, user interviews can reveal exactly what needs to improve. Why? Because unlike Google Analytics or other data tools, which often leave room for interpretation — or provide no insight at all — user interviews deliver clear, actionable feedback.You’ll learn what areas on your website are being ignored (and might be worth removing). You’ll identify the features and content that really matter to your users — helping you focus your optimization efforts on what actually drives engagement.
Preparation Is Everything
User interviews need to be well-prepared to ensure the feedback you gather is honest, unbiased, and actionable. Here are the key points to keep in mind:
Set Clear Goals
Define what kind of insights you’re hoping to gather before you start. Are you looking to validate content, functionality, or visual design? Or are you unsure where the real issues lie and hoping the interviews will uncover them? Setting clear goals will help you craft focused questions that deliver the insights you need.
Choose the Right Environment
Pick a quiet, distraction-free space where you can focus fully on the interview — without interruptions from emails, calls, or colleagues. Make sure the participant feels comfortable, and offer refreshments to create a relaxed atmosphere.
Test Your Tech
Make sure everything works smoothly before the interview starts.
Tech issues can disrupt the session and skew your results. Check your internet connection (stable and fast), interview tools and websites or prototypes you’ll be testing. We recommend using Loom (www.loom.com) — a free tool for recording both the user’s reactions and click behavior.
Allow Enough Time
Plan not only for the interview itself, but also build in time between sessions to make adjustments based on early feedback and fix any technical issues.
Write a Clear Invitation
Your written invitation serves as a checklist for both you and the participant. Be sure to include the purpose and goal of the interview, location, date, time, and duration. Include a reminder for the participant to minimize distractions (put their phone on silent, etc.),a request to confirm attendance or notify you of cancellations and a contact person for any questions or changes.
During the Interview – Let the User Lead
The tech is working, your participant is relaxed, and the space is distraction-free? Perfect. Now you’re ready to begin. Start by giving your test user a short introduction to the topic. Make it clear that there are no right or wrong answers or actions. Let them know they’re welcome to ask questions at any time if anything is unclear. Let the participant explore as much as possible on their own. Encourage them to speak their thoughts out loud as they navigate. This is how you’ll gather the most valuable insights.
Ask the right questions the right way by using open-ended prompts that can’t be answered with a simple “yes” or “no.” Instead, encourage users to share their thoughts by asking things like: “What’s the first thing you noticed here?”, “What else do you see on this page?”, “What content or features did you expect to find here?”, “Why did you click there?”, or “What made you choose that next step?”. When you’ve assigned a specific task, follow up with targeted questions that explore their actions and decision-making process in more depth.
There are two common interview scenarios to consider. In the first, when you don’t yet have clear hypotheses, your focus should be on observation—watching where users struggle or hesitate and asking probing questions whenever something seems unclear to gain deeper insights. In the second scenario, when you’ve already defined specific goals, it’s important to ask targeted questions at key moments and encourage users to reflect openly on their actions and impressions. Prompts like “What’s your impression of this page?”, “What did you expect to find under [XYZ]?”, or “Which information stood out to you the most?” can help uncover valuable feedback.
Assigning real tasks to your participants—such as “Order product X,” “Find the right contact person and get in touch,” or “Go to the media library and find image Y”—provides concrete insights into potential roadblocks on your website. It allows you to observe first-hand how users interact with your solution in real time, revealing usability issues and areas for improvement through their actual behavior.
Be patient—it’s essential for gathering unbiased results. Give users the time and space they need to explore, respond, and ask questions without interruption. Even if the interview takes an unexpected turn, stay with it, as these detours often lead to the most surprising and valuable insights. Let participants complete their actions fully before gently steering the conversation back on track if necessary.
Analysis – Thoughtful and Balanced
You’ve invested significant time and effort in preparing and conducting your user interviews, so it’s just as important to invest in a thorough analysis of the results. This means reviewing all available material—recorded videos, user comments and actions, and spoken feedback—not only to understand what was said or done but also to critically assess the interview process itself. Both perspectives are essential: an objective, detailed review of the user feedback and an honest reflection on how the interviews were conducted. Only by considering both can you draw reliable conclusions and gain meaningful insights that will help you improve your website in a smarter, more user-friendly way.
Conclusion
User interviews are the ultimate key to optimizing any digital product. They provide concrete, high-quality insights that analytics alone can’t deliver. Through targeted tasks and open-ended questions, you’ll uncover hidden friction points and gain a deeper understanding of how your users really interact with your product. But remember: Patience and careful analysis are essential to turning this feedback into real improvements. Invest in user interviews, and you’ll create a digital experience your audience will truly love — and remember.
