The 5-second test is a method that comes from marketing and is designed to measure the user’s evaluation of a product, advertisement, or website after only a very brief impression of 5 seconds.
How Does a 5-Second Test Work?
The preparation of a 5-second test is similar to other user-based test procedures: The first task is to determine who will use your product later on and define how to recognize and attract them to participate in your 5-second test.
Since the 5-second test is primarily used to check the first impression of a website, conducting a test purely remotely poses little to no problems. This approach also simplifies the recruitment of potential participants because you can use social media campaigns, for example, to reach people from the user group in a targeted manner. If your focus is not on websites but on another solution, you may have to work with on-site tests. But the procedure is analogous.
After determining who will take your test, you prepare the test with a mini-test guide. A 5-second test consists of two parts:
- From the 5-second confrontation of the users with the solution to be tested
- From the post-confrontation interview
The 5-second test is relatively short overall (but longer than 5 seconds...) and can be completed in less than 10 minutes per participant. In the first part, the users are shown the solution and have 5 seconds to look at it. After 5 seconds, the solution is covered, closed, or hidden so that no further information or impressions can be gathered. Questions are then asked of the participants to find out what impression the users have of the solution and how well the solution can present what is on offer in a way that can be quickly understood. Typical questions that could be asked include the following:
- What is this website, page, or screen about?
- What does the company do/offer?
- What impression did you get of the company?
- How competent do you consider the company behind this website, page, or screen?
You can decide for yourself which questions to ask. The important thing is that you can capture two types of information with a 5-second test:
- Objective data on the comprehensibility of the offer within a short period
- Subjective data on the impression left by the solution
Based on the answers to the sample question “What does the company offer?” you can objectively conclude whether the offer has been formulated in an easy-to-understand and graspable way. However, all opinions and evaluations of the participants are purely subjective.
In most cases, 5-second tests are used to obtain both data types. A comparison with competitor solutions can also provide insights into how well your solution is understood compared to others.
When Is a 5-Second Test Used?
A 5-second test is always appropriate when you want to check how quickly understandable the content on a page or screen is and what first impression the solution leaves. You can either work with an existing live system or show users a visually designed website prototype. In any case, the design of the prototype must correspond to the later design. Otherwise, the results of the 5-second test cannot be used. Of course, this rule does not only apply to the main screen; a 5-second test can also be used for testing any other screen so that, for example, a call-to-action (CTA) area on a website can also be tested.
Another application of this test method is the analysis of advertising, including banners and other advertisements—theoretically in the digital area as well as in the print area. Especially in advertising, quick absorption of information is extremely important, as little time is invested in understanding ads.
What Do You Need for a 5-Second Test?
You don’t need much to conduct a 5-second test. On the one hand, you need participants from the appropriate target group and, on the other hand, the solution or the advertisement to be tested and the questions you want to ask.
Whether you conduct a 5-second test in person or remotely depends on your preference and the availability of participants and your product. Since the test is usually so short, a remote format lends itself in most cases.
In addition, digital platforms are available to support you in performing the 5-second tests and automatically hide the solution (then it is an image) after the 5 seconds. This feature, of course, makes the whole test procedure much more correct and stress free for the moderator. In case of doubt, a stopwatch can do as well. To conduct this test, you’ll require the following materials:
- A list of criteria for the selection of suitable participants for your test (screener)
- A mini-test guide that specifies which questions you want to ask in the follow-up
- A visually designed version of the prototype or the actual solution or advertisement at issue
- The ability to stop the time on a second basis (stopwatch or test platform)
- Documentation of the results
What Are the Advantages of a 5-Second Test?
The 5-second test is speedy and easy to perform. You do not need particularly long preparation, special methodological knowledge, or expensive equipment. However, the formulation of the questions should be well thought out. Otherwise, the method is ideally suited for beginners to get a first impression of the effect of their solution.
The 5-second test is quite easy to perform remotely due to its structure, so it also becomes easy to include people from different regions or even nations in the test.
Additionally, because the test is concise, it is usually easy to find people willing to participate in the 5-second tests. Alternatively, different solutions or designs can be included in the test, which extends the test duration but often keeps it within a manageable and short scope.
What Are the Disadvantages of a 5-Second Test?
The 5-second test—due to its brevity—is, unfortunately, unable to make objective statements about the usability and UX of the solution. The only objective data obtained from this test relates to the comprehensibility of the initial content. This information is worth a lot but cannot compete in scope and depth with other usability and UX tests. As a result, the informative value is minimal.
In addition, a visually mature prototype or a finished application already in live operation is required for the implementation. Feedback based on wireframes is unsuitable for applying 5-second tests since the visual design significantly influences the steering of attention.
What Are the Alternatives to a 5-Second Test?
The 5-second test is unique in its orientation among other usability and UX methods. A few other formats that test similar aspects. If comprehensibility is in focus, then usability and UX testing or usability and UX sprints are plausible. In these cases, however, the participants naturally will need more time to interact with the solution and should be allowed to explore the content in a calm manner. Therefore, the results are only comparable to a limited extent.
Online surveys can also be used to record first impressions. However, since online surveys are unmoderated, a follow-up survey with open-ended questions often produces worse results than a face-to-face survey. In addition, an online survey either does not contain pictures or only contains pictures, resulting in the solution’s viewing time being significantly longer compared to that of the 5-second test. Thus, no real alternative to the 5-second test exists if your goal is to record initial impressions.
The below table shows the profile for this method.
Editor’s note: This post has been adapted from a section of the book Usability and User Experience Design: The Comprehensive Guide to Data-Driven UX Design by Benjamin Franz and Michaela Kauer-Franz. Benjamin received his doctorate in engineering; his UX-related dissertation on highly automated driving was awarded the Walter Rohmert Research Prize. In his jointly founded and managed company, Custom Interactions, he focuses on user interface design. He also works as a lecturer and a keynote speaker. Michaela has a doctorate in psychology with a focus on product design and user experience. Together with Benjamin Franz, she founded the data-driven UX agency Custom Interactions, which they manage together. She also contributes her extensive experience as a trainer, a lecturer at Technische Universität Darmstadt, a speaker, and on an International Organization for Standardization (ISO) committee.
This post was originally published 6/2025.
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