UserCrowd (Former UsabilityHUB) Review: Get Paid to Test Designs from Home (Earn $10/Hr with No Experience?)

You get to work from home (or anywhere you like!)

Why do they want ordinary web users?

Well, if you read our get paid to test products post, you’ll know companies love feedback from actual customers.

Nine times out of ten, you are their target audiences and they want to get information about your reaction to various website features.

They want to know a variety of things, such as:

• How do you feel about the colors used on the website?
• Is navigating through the website frustrating or intuitive?
• Do you like the user interface?
• What would you like to see added that isn’t there already?

Think about it…

How many times have you been surfing through a site and thought, “I wish they would change this?” or “This is so aggravating!”

If you become a design tester, you get to have a voice in how actual websites operate.

Even better, You will get paid to express your opinions!

Which brings us to UsabilityHUB (now UserCrowd), one of the websites online where you can apply to be a website design tester.

Update: In 2018, UsabilityHUB barehanded as UserCrowd. Only the name, logo and their domain name has changed, everything else is still the same, including how everything works.

What is UserCrowd?

UserCrowd describes itself as a platform designed to help businesses run quick and simple tests related to the usability and designs for their websites.

The company offers five distinct types of tests, including:

1. Click Tests to aid with click analysis.
2. Five second tests to gauge the first impressions website visitors have.
3. Questions tests to allow businesses access to straightforward questions and responses.
4. Preference testing to determine which design visitors prefer.
5. Navigation testing to understand how easy users find their websites to navigate.

A surprising assortment of big businesses have used the services of UserCrowd including names like:

• Amazon
• NASA
• Groupon
• HubSpot
• Weebly
• Trulia
• Square
• Sage
• Deloitte

Just to name a few.

Why is this exciting news for you?

Because all these big brands, and many more, are willing to pay ordinary Internet users, just like you, for the time it takes to answer a few simple questions.

How it works

Many usability tests are set up much like surveys.

Once you pick up a test, you will be given instructions on how to complete the test.

Some tests will offer multiple choice questions and may ask the reason for your response.

You can view several example tests or you can view at least one sample of each of the five testing types.

These allow you to have a better understanding of the types of questions you’ll be asked when testing designs.

So why would companies pay you and I to test their designs?

Companies understand that real people who are not programmers and developers will be using their websites.

They want to make those sites as user-friendly as possible.

This means they value your opinion about their websites enough that they are willing to pay for it.

This will help them design websites that are friendly for average users.

They believe doing this will help them do a variety of things, including:

• Attracting More Customers
• Building Customer Loyalty
• Solidifying their Brands
• Improving their Images
• Making more Sales

These are all good things for businesses, large and small, which is why there are so many companies seeking to enlist your services as a design tester.

Companies are able to isolate key details and demographics about testers, so they can test designs for specific target audiences as well, which is an attractive benefit to many businesses.

Do I need special equipment?

Different companies that pay you to test designs from home (or wherever you happen to be at the moment) will require different tools and equipment.

With UserCrowd, all you need are the following:

1. Internet connection
2. Computer.

This means you can work and make money on your couch or even your favorite coffee shop as long as you have access to the Internet and a computer on which to perform your assigned tests.

How to sign up for UserCrowd

Signing up to be a UserCrowd design tester is a snap.

• Step one: To get started, visit their official sign up page at https://app.usercrowd.com/sign_up and fill out the form with your info (name, email, password, etc.)
• Step two: Agree to their terms
• Step three: Check the “Lobby” to see if there are tests available.
• Step four: Complete the test and get paid.

One complaint with Usability is that test availability is sporadic.

You can set it up so that it continuously checks for available tests and notifies you with a sound notification when tests are available.

In fact, all you need to do is leave the tab open.

You can work in other tabs and will receive a notification when a new test is available.

Another option, if you prefer not to work with several tabs open is to enable notifications when the tab is closed.

All that requires is the click of a button.

You can even establish times you’d like to receive these notifications, so they do not disturb your rest time or family time.

How much money can you make testing designs?

Usability promises that testers can make between $6 and $10 per hour as a design tester for them.

That might be true if you could find consistent tests to operate.

The complaints about the lack of tests available are widespread and most tests do not have that many questions.

Each response you provide pays one credit, which is worth ten cents.

Each test is different with some offering many questions and others offering only a few.

Most tests take less than a minute to complete with some only lasting seconds.

With that in mind, from the UserCrowd reviews I read on Reddit and other online platforms, it is the lack of test availability is one thing that slows earning a great deal.

However, if you consider working with other companies that pay you to try apps, software, designs, programs and even test video games, you can boost your hourly rate substantially.

How and when UserCrowd pays

Usability pays through PayPal.

To receive payment, you must have accumulated a minimum of 100 credits ($10) and request a payout.

Once you’ve made the request for payout, the quality assurance team at UserCrowd will check your responses for minimum standards of quality before sending the payment.

Payments may take up to four weeks, though many users report receiving recent payments within two or three weeks from the date it is requested.

Tips for making more money

Because there are so many complaints about the lack of test availability through UserCrowd, many testers have developed their own strategies for improving their earnings.

One of the most common suggestions is to use UH along with other earning opportunities so you can maximize your time and take tests whenever you are alerted to available tests.

Working with the UserCrowd tab always open means you can navigate to the page promptly when notified about available tests.

If you are not interested in keeping the tab open, remember the suggestion mentioned above and take advantage of the notification setting so you can still be notified of available tests.

One user explains that taking advantage of the notifications increased his earnings from about two dollars a month to around $10 monthly.

Average users are reporting between three and 10 tests daily, depending on how much time they spend at their computers in an average day.

UserCrowd alternatives: More usability testing jobs

Working for other design testing platforms may require additional tools and equipment, such as microphones, screen capture tools, tablets, or mobile phones.

These are a few of the other opportunities in test design you might be interested in to boost your income.

Here are a few:

1. UserTesting

UT is one of the most well known sites in this space. They pay $10 per test. For more details read our comprehensive review of User Testing.

2. Enroll

Tasks typically pay 10 cents and take very little time. Available worldwide for people aged 13 and over.

3. Amazon Mechanical Turk (MTurk)

Another site that offers a selection of short tasks, called microtasks, for quick payments, MTurk offers a wealth of low-paying tasks and pays through Amazon Payments which you can convert into Amazon gift cards or transfer to your bank.

4. StartUpLift

Asks questions about startup websites and pays $5.00 per completed tests. Payments are made once a week via PayPal.

5. Testing Time

This platform requires you to have Skype for testing products, apps, and websites and pays up to $53 for tests that take 30-90 minutes to complete.

6. UserTest

UserTest requires a microphone and screen capture software for tests and pays approximately $10 for tests that take approximately 20 minutes to complete.

7. ErliBird

ErliBird is a beta testing platform. You get to test apps, websites and hardware. You are paid $10 per completed test. Read our ErliBird review for more details.

Final words

To conclude this review, I’d say UserCrowd isn’t going to replace your day job but it can be a great source of extra income.

In fact, combined with other paid testing sites, it is not too far-fetched to think you can earn an extra $100 or $200 a month as a website and design tester.