We ran a head-to-head test of Indiana University and University of Miami’s homepages. Same audience. Same UX metrics. Same questions. Miami came out on top with a 73% score, but the real value came from what we learned along the way.
Here’s how we run these tests:
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Choose Competitors
Two public universities competing for national attention and enrollment. -
Identify User Needs
We focused on three essential homepage needs:
→ Connected – Does it feel like a real place I could belong to?
→ Credible – Does it feel trustworthy and official?
→ Intuitive – Can I quickly grasp what this site is about and how to explore further? -
Establish the Business Goal
Increase the number of started applications. The homepage can’t do that directly — but it can spark interest, build trust, and help users take the next step toward applying. -
Choose UX Metrics
We tested four behavioral and attitudinal UX metrics:-
Engagement: where do they click first on the page?
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Appeal: do they like what they see?
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Sentiment: what complex emotions do they feel?
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Loyalty: how likely are they to promote?
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Collect Responses
Each homepage was shown to a separate group of 100 participants from an audience current and prospective college students. We used Helio to collect reactions on the four UX metrics above. -
Compare the Data
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Surface Signals
Miami’s homepage made people feel welcomed and excited. Indiana’s design looked polished, but failed to generate action or build trust.
We use this structure to help teams move past gut feel and surface real signals from their designs. Check out the full Miami case study.
If you’re doing competitor testing this year, this is a repeatable way to tie design to business goals.
Want to see how these UX metrics are used to create value? Check out our recent post: What using a UX metric actually looks like
Or tell us — who else should we test next? 