Usability.ie is the UX research and testing practice from the team behind digitaldesign.ie. We run usability testing, website UX audits, heuristic audits, WCAG 2.1 AA accessibility audits, user research and conversion-blocking UX reviews — and hand off to digitaldesign.ie when the work needs to flow into design and build.
Ireland-based · UX testing · Website UX audits · WCAG 2.1 AA / European Accessibility Act reviews
Most Irish teams arrive with one of three problems: users are not converting, a redesign needs evidence before money is spent, or accessibility/compliance risk has become urgent. The fastest route is not a generic UX workshop. It is the right diagnostic: a website UX audit for obvious friction, usability testing when you need real-user proof, or a focused conversion-blocking UX review when analytics show drop-off but not the cause.
A heuristic audit gives you a ranked list of the interface, content and trust problems that block users. It is the quickest way to turn vague complaints like "the site doesn't work" into a fix list your designer or developer can actually execute.
Scope a UX auditModerated testing shows what visitors do when they meet your forms, navigation, pricing, checkout or booking flow. The session clips are useful when a team needs evidence, not another opinion.
View usability testingIf traffic is present but enquiries, bookings or sales are weak, the issue is often conversion-blocking UX: confusing CTAs, form friction, missing reassurance, mobile layout failure or an unclear next step.
Read the diagnosis guideThe European Accessibility Act came into force in Ireland on 28 June 2025. Most affected Irish businesses — banks, telecoms, e-commerce, transport, public-facing service providers — are now ten months past compliance. Penalties run up to €100,000 or 4% of annual revenue. If your site hasn't been audited against WCAG 2.1 AA, this is the catch-up window.
We test your site against WCAG 2.1 AA — automated scan plus manual evaluation by a real auditor. You get a prioritised report mapping each finding to the WCAG criterion it fails and the practical remediation.
Accessibility auditsWhere the audit surfaces design or development changes, our sister studio digitaldesign.ie handles the implementation. End-to-end remediation under one engagement, no agency-juggling.
Visit digitaldesign.ieYou receive an Accessibility Statement (template the EAA expects) and a remediation log demonstrating reasonable effort — both useful in the event of a CCPC enquiry.
Read the EAA guideFive core engagements. Each one delivered by an Irish-based UX practitioner. Where the work flows into design or build, the handoff to digitaldesign.ie is seamless — we share files, kit, and project management.
Full accessibility evaluation against WCAG 2.1 Level AA. Automated tooling plus real-keyboard, screen-reader, and zoom testing. Prioritised findings tied to the WCAG criteria they fail. Accessibility Statement included.
Service detailsAn experienced auditor walks your site as a target user. We map findings to Nielsen's 10 heuristics, score severity, and prioritise the fixes likeliest to move your conversion rate. Usually the cheapest UX intervention with the highest payback.
Service detailsFive to eight target users, recorded sessions, moderated tasks. Where heuristic audits show what an expert thinks, usability testing shows what real users actually do. The combination is more powerful than either alone.
Service detailsStakeholder interviews, customer interviews, surveys, persona work. Used at the start of a redesign or when a product isn't converting and you don't yet know why.
Service detailsFor sites with traffic but weak conversion. We identify the friction points, propose specific changes, A/B test where the volume supports it, and report back on lift.
Service detailsThe combined engagement: usability.ie audits and researches; digitaldesign.ie redesigns and rebuilds. One contact, one bill, one timeline. Best for sites that need a real overhaul rather than a tweak.
How the partnership worksLong-form articles on the questions Irish businesses ask before commissioning UX work.
The EAA deadline was June 2025; we're ten months past. What it covers, who's exempt, what penalties look like under the CCPC, and how to retrofit compliance now that the deadline has gone.
Read the guideBoth are useful. They surface different things. Doing them in the wrong order wastes budget. Here's how to sequence them for an Irish small-business site.
Read the comparisonCommon UX mistakes on Irish small-business sites that hurt conversion without ever showing up in analytics — and the fixes that surface measurable lift within a sprint.
Read the patternsOur principal practitioners have worked across Irish e-commerce, financial services, public-sector portals and retail websites. The same team operates digitaldesign.ie for design and build, and contributes to the themarketingpod.ie editorial journal on Irish digital marketing.