Service gives Web site feedback

Is your Web site telling people what you want them to hear?

A new service launched today will tell you just that, or at least have a group of paid Internet users tell you.

Called TestNow, the service from El Segundo, California-based Concept Test, will conduct a survey of Internet users on how well organized and easy to use your Website is.

"Businesses who use this service can get a good idea very quickly about any usability issues associated with a Web site," company executives said in a prepared statement. "Since a typical SiteTest uses 100 respondents and can be completed in 24 hours, clients get a lot of information in a very short period of time."

Users of the service log on to the TestNow account page and schedule a test. From the account page, a user can provide details for the survey and then review the report. A user can also change, delete, add custom questions, or otherwise modify the survey to suit particular needs.

Questions can either be open ended or multiple choice. For example, a survey question may ask if "The purpose of this site was easily understood." The tester has a range of answers from "strongly agree" to "strongly disagree." Other questions ask whether the site loads fast enough, if graphics are appealing and helpful, or whether the site was well organized.

Once the survey is ready, TestNow sends it out to the panel of Internet users. Results are compiled and returned to the client within 24 hours.

The panel is comprised of people who sign up to take the survey and are paid about $2.50 per survey. The maximum amount they can receive in a two-week period is $50.

The cost of the service to clients is $995. Some of TestNow's clients include IBM, First Chicago NBD, Excite, and Compaq.