More than 29 free or paid tools to leverage in your next project.
In this UX series, I write about trusty UX tools I have used, or I’ve heard good things about or you folks have suggested.
In my previous articles, I focused on the categories: automated UX analysis, analytics, A/B testing, accessibility, animation, annotation, audio transcription, automation, diagramming, data repository, card sorting and code editor.
In this article, I will focus on: Collaboration, Competitor Benchmarking, Data Visualization and Evaluating Design Tools.
Let's start 😎.
Collaboration
1. Custellence
It can also be used for: Collaboration, Customer Journey
Cost: Free+
What does it do best: A collaborative tool and repository for creating journey maps, user maps, experience maps, and service blueprints.
The Collaborative Customer Journey Mapping Tool. The easy-to-use tool for customer journey map based improvements. No matter how big the change you want to make, Custellence brings it all together for you and your team. By custellence.com
2. Figma
It can also be used for: Interface Design, Prototyping, Handoff, Collaboration
Cost: Free+
What does it do best: Design, prototype and collaborate in real-time using your browser.
Figma connects everyone in the design process so teams can deliver better products, faster. Diagram, sticky-note, and workshop in FigJam—an online whiteboard for you and your team to brainstorm in the open. FigJam and Figma live side-by-side, so all design work, from ideation to execution, can be found in one place. By figma.com
Note: If you haven't tried out Figma, I suggest it 100%. Honestly, it's easy and fast to learn.
3. Milanote
It can also be used for: Collaboration, Project Management, Online Whiteboards
Cost: Free+
What does it do best: A tool for organizing creative projects into visual boards. It is a great fit for designers who work in teams remotely.
Get organized. Stay creative. Milanote is an easy-to-use tool to organize your ideas and projects into visual boards. By milanote.com
4. Miro
It can also be used for: Collaboration, Online Whiteboards
Cost: Free
What does it do best: A visual collaboration platform and online meeting space and whiteboard to centralise communication between collocated, distributed, or remote teams across formats, tools, channels, and time zones.
The online collaborative whiteboard platform to bring teams together, anytime, anywhere. By miro.com
5. Mural
It can also be used for: Research Notetaking, Collaboration, Online Whiteboards
Cost: Free+
What does it do best: An online whiteboard for small and medium sized companies and teams that need to collaborate visually. Drag and drop sticky notes, images links and documents.
Put imagination to work. MURAL is a digital workspace for visual collaboration, where everyone can do their best work together. By mural.co
6. Zopim - ZenDesk
It can also be used for: Design Feedback, Collaboration, Project Management
Cost: Free+
What does it do best: A web-based visual feedback and bug tracking tool that helps developers, testers and project managers collaborate during product development.
Zopim makes it easy to track tasks, capture issues, and exchange feedback across the team. By zendesk.com
Tools that we discussed in the previous articles and can be used for collaboration:
7.Creately
8.EnjoyHQ
9.iRise
10.UXPin
Competitor Benchmarking
11. Loop11
It can also be used for: Evaluating Design, Competitor Benchmarking, Information Architecture, Heatmaps, Mouse/Eye Tracking, Usability Testing, Analytics
Cost: $63+, but with 14 days free trial.
What does it do best: An excellent tool for scenario-based testing and unmoderated usability tests. Also includes benchmarking against competitors. Trial limited to 5 tasks and 2 questions.
Real tasks. Unreal websites! User testing should be easy. With Loop11’s intuitive online platform – it is. loop11.com
Note: I have used it quite a lot, it's nice :)
Data Visualization
12. Aurelius
It can also be used for: Research Notetaking, Data Repository, Research Analysis & Synthesis
Cost: $44+, but with 30 days free trial.
What does it do best: Import and tag your research data into a searchable repository where you can track insights that span multiple projects in one central place. Search, share and store research patterns with ease. Tag all your research notes and customer feedback. Makes it easy to create themes and find patterns.
Your research is solid. But it only matters if you can get from data to insights to influence, faster. Prove what you know with the more powerful research repository and insights platform. By aureliuslab.com
13. Reframer
It can also be used for: Process Aids, Research Notetaking, Data Repository, Research Analysis & Synthesis
Cost: Free+
What does it do best: From user interviews to usability tests, qualitative research can get messy, especially when you rely solely on notepads and Post-it notes. Reframer is a qualitative research tool that makes the process quicker and easier.
It’s easy for you and your notetakers to capture qualitative research observations straight into Reframer during usability testing or interviews (no Post-its or notebooks needed). With a distraction-free environment, you can focus on what’s important — your participants. By optimalworkshop.com/reframer
We have seen this tool before, but since it's so nice and free I wanted to show it again!
Tools that we discussed in previous articles and can be used for data visualization:
14.Dovetail
15.EnjoyHQ
Evaluating Design
16. Capian
It can also be used for: Evaluating Design, Research Notetaking
Cost: $39+, but there is a free trial.
What does it do best: A collaborative workspace for interface design teams to share relevant feedback, prioritize work, and make better product decisions.
The all-in-one tool to do UX & UI reviews quickly. Capture findings as you browse, then share a link to your review. Perfect for heuristic evaluations, UX audits, expert reviews, and many other audit types. By capian.co
17. EyeQuant
It can also be used for: Evaluating Design, Automated UX Analysis
Cost: No Info, but there is a free trial.
What does it do best: Instant analysis based on AI to try and predict how people will react to a design's visual attention, clarity and emotional impact.
Our platform combines advanced neuroscientific research, artificial intelligence and neural network modeling to simulate how users will react to your design work. Clients around the world use EyeQuant to optimize conversion for websites, apps, email campaigns, display ads, print and more. By eyequant.com
18. feng-GUI
It can also be used for: Evaluating Design, Heatmaps, Mouse/Eye Tracking, Automated UX Analysis
Cost: $99+
What does it do best: Use AI to get instant feedback on visual designs without needing to do traditional eye-tracking.
AI-Powered Design Audit Tool for Digital and Market Research Agencies. Get instant feedback on visuals, at a fraction of the cost and time of traditional eye-tracking.
Test websites, adverts, videos, print media, shelf layout, signage and packaging design. Turn visual data into actionable insights. Stay ahead of the market by leveraging AI to boost productivity and reduce costs. By feng-gui.com
19 Firefly
It can also be used for: Evaluating Design, Mockups, Design Research
Cost: $19+, but there is a free trial.
What does it do best: Organise and manage graphic references for design projects. Capture a webpage or upload your website mockups, app designs, photography, UI ideas, logos, banners, etc.
Good design is a team effort. Firefly is an easy design annotation and proofing tool for teams. By fireflyapp.com
20. Five Second Test by Usability Hub
It can also be used for: Evaluating Design
Cost: Free+
What does it do best: For capturing first impressions of a design, or testing whether web pages are effectively communicating their intended message. Participants view your images for 5 seconds and are then asked to enter feedback.
Five second tests are a method of user research that help you measure what information users take away and what impression they get within the first five seconds of viewing a design. They're commonly used to test whether web pages are effectively communicating their intended message. By fivesecondtest.com
21. specfox.
It can also be used for: Evaluating Design, Handoff
Cost: Free
What does it do best: For writing beautiful and simple website specifications between design and development.
Easy Product Specifications. Upload designs, add notes & generate beautiful specification documents to share with your developers. By specfox.com
22. Usability Hub
It can also be used for: Evaluating Design, Information Architecture, Remote Research, Surveying Users, Usability Testing, Participant Panels
Cost: Free+
What does it do best: A remote user research platform for testing interfaces, interaction flows, iconography. Recruit your own users free, or select from a 100k= participant panel.
Design confidently. UsabilityHub is a remote user research platform that takes the guesswork out of design decisions by validating them with real users. By usabilityhub.com
23. UserBob
It can also be used for: Evaluating Design, Usability Testing
Cost: $20+, but if you are not satisfied with the UserBob service, they give you your money back.
What does it do best: Provide a scenario and task, and 'average users' from the United States will record their screens and provide think-aloud first impressions or task completion as they use your site or app. One-size-fits-all and only limited ability to target, but is cheap and fast.
Watch real users. Average users from the United States will record their screens and provide their first impressions as they use your site or app. You'll be able to "see what they see", by receiving first person, unbiased reviews of your product directly from your target market. By userbob.com
24. Userbrain
It can also be used for: Evaluating Design, Usability Testing
Cost: $14+, but there is a free trial.
What does it do best: Watch videos of real people interacting with your website. Hear what users think, see what they do.
Userbrain shows you what’s working for your product — and what’s not. A simple tool that lets you create a user test in minutes and get results in just a few hours. Whether you’re a UX designer, researcher, or manager, with Userbrain you’re bound to build products people love to use. By userbrain.com/en
25. Userfeel
It can also be used for: Evaluating Design, Usability Testing
Cost: $59
What does it do best: Userfeel is a usability testing tool that gives you videos of real users speaking their thoughts as they use your website or app.
Remote unmoderated and moderated user testing in 40 languages and on any device. Test any site in any language. Our panel consists of more than 130,000 testers speaking 40 languages. You can even have testers provide comments in your language while testing a website that is in a language you don't understand. By userfeel.com
26. User Insights
It can also be used for: Evaluating Design, Usability Testing
Cost: $20+
What does it do best: Test new designs/journeys/products, identify issues for users, and get feedback about why users do what they do (including what they like about competitor websites). Provide a link to the design to be tested, and either sent it out to the panel of testers (100% US based), or to your own recruits.
Build a website that users love. User Insights is the easiest way to understand what your customers think about your website. Get ideas for improvements, address friction points, and improve conversions.. and so much more. By userinsights.com
Tools that we discussed in previous articles and can be used for evaluating design:
27.ColorTester
28.Loop11
29.Usabilla
Conclusion
In this article, we checked different tools you can use for: collaboration, competitor benchmarking, data visualization, evaluating design. Usually, the tools can be used for more than 1 thing (for example convention, heat maps, user testing, etc.). Some tools are free and others are paid. The paid tools, most often, will provide a free trial or a demo!
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I’d love to hear from you. Which one are you most looking forward to using?
👋Hello, I'm Eleftheria, Community Manager at Hashnode, developer, public speaker, and chocolate lover.
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