Usability and User testing > Prototype testing

For prototype testing, we build out a prototype with all top level pages (your main pages of the site) and any additional pages that are necessary to test for different user scenarios.

This form of testing can be done to different levels of detail depending on what stage in the development process you want to test in. This levels of detail are defined as the levels of ‘fidelity’ in your project. The higher the level of fidelity the closer in the scope the prototype will be to the final product. The main levels of fidelity are listed below:

• Low Fidelity: This is your most basic form of prototype.  At this level initial ideas can be displayed as simply as a hand drawing or sketch of what the website should look like. You could also have a few static pages created in Axure that you show to the user. The whole point of this stage is to get users to use their imagination and think about how they would navigate through your site based on your sketches.
• Medium Fidelity: This form of prototype incorporates in a wireframe that has been created in a program such as Axure with some visual elements such as graphics or specific pages that have been fully designed. This level of fidelity also creates a higher level of interactivity (how the prototype behaves) since users are able to click through to different pages and see how your tasks work.
• High Fidelity: At this level you have a fully functional prototype will all click through states included. The prototype has a completed flow to it and every page includes a completed design. Essentially, it is your website without any of the back end functionality completed. This level of fidelity takes the guess work out of what your site will look like to the end user and can make certain tasks easier to complete. However, this level requires the most preparation since designing multiple pages can be both expensive and time.