Chalkmark vs. First Click Testing

In this article, we will tell you about the difference between two very similar tools, and compare their performance, price, etc. First, let’s go through the basics so that we can then continue to compare the two tools.

What is first click testing?

First click testing is a way of testing the usability of your website, helping you better understand the user’s way of thinking. 

It is pretty self-explanatory, but let us be a bit more specific. First click testing shows you the precise thing your users clicked on first when entering your website. This can tell you many things about how your pages are structured, as well as points out what needs to be improved on your website so that it guides users towards success! 

Why do you need first click testing?

The first click is a great way to test what grabs your users’ attention the most when they first arrive on the website. For example, if you run a shop, you can track whether your new deal is visible and people are clicking on it. Or, if there’s something important on your website, you can try and make it more visible.

You can also ask users to find specific information on your website and then see how they deal with the task at hand. If they find everything you instructed them to look for on the first click, great, that means your users are familiar with your website and it doesn’t confuse them. 

However, if they were unable to find the information, there’s probably something wrong with your design. Take your findings, try to figure out where the problem might be, and fix it so that your users don’t leave your website disappointed after having a bad user experience. 

The possibilities of UXtweak

UXtweaks First Click Testing offers everything needed to get and decipher your users first click! This includes great sharing features, analysis with click maps, exporting data to .csv and .pdf, as well as the ability of users to comment on the tasks set by you. 

And what’s best is that the only thing you need to conduct this type of testing is an image. No importing, no connecting, just a screenshot of whatever you want to test and get rolling. This way, you can test your website, your competitors website, design prototypes, and so much more! 

Recruiting participants for your first click study with UXtweak is also a piece of cake. You only need to share your study URL link with your potential participants, or just use the Recruitment Widget to turn your website visitors into participants.

Both of these methods are free, however, if you need a little extra push and a budget, we recommend ordering study participants from UXtweak User Panel, which gives you access to 155+ million participants from 130+ countries with 2000+ profile attributes. 

The price for a participant for a short study (such as first click testing one) hovers at around $6. This is subject to change, however, depending on the profile attributes of your participants and the size of your study.

The Possibilities of UXtweak extend farther than First Click Testing. You can test just about everything in every stage of the designing process. It is a complex but comprehensive platform, which can be used in many many ways and has research tools for every situation you find yourself in.

Test your website’s information architecture with Card Sorting and Tree Testing and find out how to categorize your content on your website. Then, continue by testing your prototypes using our Prototype Testing tool. After the prototype has been launched, you can test your website for common usability issues with our Website Testing tool. 

With our recently launched tools, you are also able to perform Mobile Usability Testing as well as Competitive testing to compare yours and competitor’s products.

The possibilities of Optimal Workshop

Chalkmark offers everything a first click test should have, but what really takes the cake is the analysis tab. Not only can you access click maps, but you can also generate a grid map as well as a heat map that will show you everything you need to know about a user’s behavior. 

As an added bonus, you can also grayscale the image, which will help you with differentiating between your website and the results of the study.

OptimalWorkshop provides 4 other tools, card sorting, and tree testing (named OptimalSort and Treejack), surveys (named Questions), and a tool for qualitative research called Reframer. The tool base is solid, but not as extensive as UXtweak’s. 

A qualitative research tool can do most of the base tasks a UX tool should, including testing usability, having easy sharing options, and analytics to show your team or shareholders. 

OptimalWorkshop allows you to share your study via a URL link, but also offers a user panel of their own. You can choose from 50+ million study participants and over 80 languages. However, one participant starts at around $10, which can be a little heavy on the budget, especially in bigger studies which need an extensive participant pool. 

Pricing comparison

Both tools offer 4 pricing plans. oth have a free plan option and an enterprise option, which works as a build-your-own plan. 

UXtweak’s Plus plan starts at $99 per month. OptimalWorkshop’s Pro plan starts at $249 per month. 

It is only fair to say that UXtweaks’ Pro plan can have only 2 active studies at the same time, while Pro from OW enables you to have several active studies simultaneously. UXtweak limits your number of responses to studies to 40, while OW allows you to have as many responses as you’d like. 

The other pricing plans offered are UXtweak’s Business, which is $179/per user/per month, and OWs Team plan, which is $249/per user/per month. The only difference between the OW Pro and Team plan is that you can add up to 8 other collaborators to your plan and get priority support. UXtweaks’ Business plan builds on the base of the Plus plan, but adds an unlimited number of studies and 1000 respondents/per month, as well as priority support.

In conclusion, when it comes to paid subscriptions, UXtweak’s Business Plan and OW’s Pro both offer unlimited capabilities, however, UXtweak does it for a much more affordable price.

When billed annually, UXtweak is definitely the cheaper option.  

Reviews comparison

Let’s take a look at the reviews gathered from Capterra.com to shine a light on what users themselves think about the platforms.

According to Capterra, the average rating of UXtweak is 4.9/5.0, while OW scores 4.4/5.0. 

Customers rate the ease of use of UXtweak at 4.8 stars out of 5, and 5 out of 5 stars for customer service.  

On the other hand, OptimalWorkshop gets 4.4 stars out of 5 for ease of use and 5 out of 5 stars for customer service.

Which tool handles first click testing better?

Let’s take a look at a side by side comparison of First Click Testing of both tools so that you can pick the one that suits you the best. 

Advantages of UXtweak’s First Click Testing

• Completely free
• Easy sharing via URL
• Option to have study participants imported from the User Panel
• Easy study setup with only a few clicks
• User-friendly UI
• Deep analytics with sharing options
• Only one screenshot is needed to start the study
• 3 ways to get study participants

Disadvantages of UXtweak’s First Click Testing

• The only visual representation of how users clicked is a click map – no heat map or grid map.

Advantages of Chalkmark

• Completely free
• Import study participants from OW User Panel
• Sharing via URL
• Ease of use 
• Speed of interface

Disadvantages of Chalkmark

• Quite pricey paid plans
• Not many tools to combine Chalkmark with
• Only two ways to get study participants

Here’s a handy comparison table to sum it up for you:

Chalkmark vs. First Click Testing: Conclusion

Both platforms are very useful when testing, however, UXtweak comes on top. With more tools to combine with First Click Testing, lower price, and more ways to recruit participants, UXtweak has “more bang for your buck” if you get what we mean. OptimalWorkshop has its ups and downs, but if you are only looking for first-click testing, their reinventions of the tool are similar on the surface.  

If you want to conduct your first First Click Testing study completely for free, register now and start testing with UXtweak.