# Competitor Comparison 🥊 Website Homepages

**URL:** <https://forum.zurb.com/t/competitor-comparison-website-homepages/625>\
**Category:** Measuring design\
**Created:** [February 6, 2026, 1:32am UTC](https://forum.zurb.com/t/competitor-comparison-website-homepages/625 "2026-02-06T01:32:24Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![MoData](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forum.zurb.com/modata/32/1182_2.png) [@MoData](https://forum.zurb.com/u/MoData)\
**Post date:** [February 6, 2026, 1:32am UTC](https://forum.zurb.com/t/competitor-comparison-website-homepages/625/1 "2026-02-06T01:32:24Z")

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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:

1. **Choose Competitors**  
Two public universities competing for national attention and enrollment.

2. **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?

3. **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.

4. **Choose UX Metrics**  
We tested four behavioral and attitudinal UX metrics:

5. **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.

6. **Compare the Data**

7. **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.](https://glare.helio.app/measure/concepts/website-design/higher-ed-homepage-comparison-test)

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](https://forum.zurb.com/t/what-using-a-ux-metric-actually-looks-like/568)

Or tell us — who else should we test next? 👇