6 Tips for Better Tree Testing

A tree is a pretty good metaphor for a great many things, including information architecture for a website, app, or digital platform.

Branches, structure, pathways…it all fits.

With spring in full swing, let’s talk about taking care of “trees” in digital products:

Tree testing is a simple UX method that strips away design and focuses on one thing: can people actually find what they’re looking for in your site structure?

You’re basically giving someone a sitemap (just the navigation—no visuals) and asking: “Where would you go to find this?”

It’s kind of like a scavenger hunt—and arguably just as fun, for a niche crowd—but with the added benefit of producing actionable insights that can improve user flows and conversions.

If users hesitate, backtrack, or get lost along the way, your website’s “tree” might need some pruning.

Here are some helpful hints and best practices for getting the most out of a tree test:

1. Stick to bare structure.

Use your actual navigation structure, but remove all visual cues. Doing this isolates whether your labels and hierarchy make sense on their own, absent any unconscious context provided by the UI design.

2. Use plain, everyday language.

Write tasks based on how users think—not the way your organization labels things. (This helps avoid leading language, which could skew your results.)

For example:
Don’t ask users to “find information about Waste Management Services.”
Ask: “Where would you go to check your trash pickup schedule?”

Don’t ask users to “locate Financial Aid Resources.”
Ask: “Where would you go to find out how to pay for college?”

3. Test the gray areas.

Be intentional about what you choose to “stress test.” The obvious paths will perform well, so focus your questions on the ambiguous, which is content that could reasonably live in more than one place. That’s where confusion lurks, and even wrong answers can provide valuable insight (see next tip).

4. Watch for backtracking.

Success rate matters, but it’s only part of the story. Tracking how users got to their answers—right or wrong—can be equally revealing. Lots of second-guessing could indicate unclear labeling or grouping. Consensus around wrong paths (i.e., a pattern of “confidently incorrect” answers) might mean you should consider moving or cross-linking the target content.

5. Iterate (because you can)!

One of tree testing’s biggest advantages is that it’s quick and inexpensive to repeat, especially compared to other research methods. Run it early, tweak your structure, and re-test before investing time and resources in design and development. Many popular tree testing tools let you “buy” or recruit participants on demand, so you don’t have to worry about bringing (or depleting) your own users for multiple rounds of testing.

And one caution:

6. Don’t overcorrect based on a single outcome.

It can be tempting to treat every result as a mandate for revision, but patterns matter more than individual data points. Look for consistent confusion across multiple users. Consider whether it makes sense to cross-link content (versus relocating it). And if time/resources allow, validate any “big” changes with a follow-up round of testing.

Here are some digital tools—as well as tried-and-true offline methods—for conducting your own tree test:

• UXtweak – Generous free tier, easy setup, solid analytics
• Optimal Workshop (Treejack) – Paid, but offers trial access/demos
• Low/No budget DIY option: Google Forms + sitemap – Scrappy, but effective for internal validation
• In-person analog version: Break out a pack of index cards. Write the navigation items on them. Run the exercise in person by showing only the top-level navigation cards at first, then revealing lower levels in the hierarchy as the person makes choices.

You can have beautiful UI design, great content, and solid tech, but if users don’t understand your sitemap, then it’s all for “knot.” (Sorry…couldn’t resist.)

When people can’t find what they’re looking for (and fast), they bounce—both figuratively and analytics-wise. If they’re determined enough, they might follow up with a call or email to get an answer that should have been easy to find online. But even this “best-case scenario” creates extra work for your team and a potentially frustrating experience for everyone involved.

Thoughtful tree testing helps you nip navigation problems in the bud—rooting your site in information architecture that has proven intuitive for real-life users. (OK, I promise that’s the last of the tree puns.) 🌳