How to run a Top Task Analysis for your website

They’re bursting at the seams with calls to action, promotional banners, product highlights, blog teasers, pop-ups, lead magnets, live chat bubbles… and that’s just the homepage. Somewhere in the chaos, your user’s priorities are getting lost.

It’s a common trap and the result of building a website around what we want people to do, not what they came to do. So what’s the solution? Top task analysis.

It’s all about clarity. Most people come to a website to do a small number of key things and everything else is just a distraction.

When you get clear on what those key things are, everything gets easier - from homepage design to navigation, to what copy to keep and what to kill.

Signs this might be a problem for you

• You don’t know the main reason people visit your website

• Your team can’t agree on what the site is really for

• You’re adding new features or content regularly, but performance isn’t improving

• Bounce rates are high, conversion rates are low

• You’ve redesigned your site recently, but it still “feels confusing”

If any of these scenarios feel familiar, then it might be time to perform a top task analysis.

What is a top task analysis?

Top task analysis is like Marie Kondo for your website. You find the few tasks that spark real value - and tidy up the rest.

At its core, it’s about creating a hierarchy to the content on your website. You gather a long list of potential user tasks - everything someone might want to do (or can do) on your site. Then, you get real users to tell you what actually matters to them.

But what’s wrong with a bit of choice you might ask?

Too many options leads to choice-paralysis. When users see too many paths, they either pick the wrong one or give up entirely.

Here’s how to perform a top task analysis:

1. Create a long list of potential tasks including everything from “book a demo” to “find your opening hours” to “download a pricing guide”. At this stage we want anything and everything people could do on the site.

2. Rationalise the list by grouping similar tasks, remove duplicates and tighten up the language so everything’s clear and distinct.

3. Send the list to your users and ask them to pick their top 5 tasks.

4. Analyse the results and look for patterns. Often you’ll find that 3-5 tasks dominate the list and these are your top tasks.

5. Reprioritise your site around these top tasks, making sure they’re easy to find and easy to complete. Everything else should be reconsidered and/or deprioritised in comparison.

What are the benefits of top task analysis?

• Your homepage becomes more focused

• Your navigation becomes more intuitive

• You stop arguing over what’s important - because users have already told you

• Your metrics improve, without major redesigns

Your website’s job isn’t to be everything to everyone. It’s to do a few important things really well.

So, what could you stop doing today that would improve your website tomorrow?