How to best test different navigation titles

Question

Does anyone have any experience testing navigation titles? I am having a hard time coming up with copy that is intuitive to the customer so that they know what the page encompasses before having to navigate to it.

I have a few options and was thinking of simply creating index cards and asking them to rank from what makes the most sense to what makes the least sense but was hoping that if someone in this community has a better idea, I would love to hear it.

Answer 1

Generally, I think titles should match the users' mental model. E.g. the meaning of X might not be the same to you as to your product's target audience.

To uncover this, I think you'll need to test the Information Architecture.

One way to test the Information Architecture is by performing card sorting.

Card sorting is a UX research technique in which users organize topics into groups. Use it to create an IA that suits your users' expectations.

Source: https://www.nngroup.com/articles/card-sorting-definition/

You can perform card sorting:

• Offline, i.e. by using pen, paper and a scissor to cut up the paper into cards.
• Online, e.g. through a tool such as Optimalsort from Optimal Workshop.

You may also decide whether to do open or closed card sorting.

Open Card Sort: Participants are asked to organize topics from content within your website into groups that make sense to them and then name each group they created in a way that they feel accurately describes the content. Use an open card sort to learn how users group content and the terms or labels they give each category.

Closed Card Sort: Participants are asked to sort topics from content within your website into pre-defined categories. A closed card sort works best when you are working with a pre-defined set of categories, and you want to learn how users sort content items into each category. Source: https://www.usability.gov/how-to-and-tools/methods/card-sorting.html

Answer 2

I am pretty much against "which of these are easier to use?"

Simply because I can always argue pros and cons of both. pro's and cons don't always weigh the same either so it's hard to rank.

Users might also be influenced about the look of the navigation "this looks better" and not how easy it is to actual use.

However; I have another suggestion for you:

If you want to user test the navigation.

Create two different versions and then have the user find X information.

After they've found the information: let them rank how easy it from a scale of 1-5 or 1-10 if you will.

This is because you're then testing your ultimate goal: having user test how easy it is to navigate around.