What is it?

Card sorting allows users to categories items and functionalities in your design in a way that makes the most sense to them. It helps to understand how users prioritize, sort, or classify a set of items.

It is all about bridging the gap between how a user understands the subject and how a website or app can match that understanding and present information or functionality to users in a way that is easy to find.

Why is it important?

Card sorting helps design the product (e.g., a website, an app) so users can more easily find what they want. Card sorting results should not be taken at face value as the final answer. It is one data source to consider, and should be triangulated with other information, criteria, and informed intuition when creating a proposed design. Follow-up evaluation such as usability testing is also important.

When to use?

Card sorting is usually used near the beginning of the design process, and can be used to guide the design of the navigation menu and the overall structure (information architecture) of the product.

What to test?

• Which features or content do users think belong in a category?
• Which of the following features or capabilities do users want most or first?

<aside> 💡 Important: 60+ cards is too many. Shoot for around 40 and under so participants don’t get overwhelmed.

</aside>

Types of Card Sorting

Who to test with?

• 15-30 participants, however the more the merrier!
• Recruitment
  • through recruitment companies (e.g. Usertesting.com)
  • friends or any acquaintances whose profile corresponds to your target audience
  • ask your client to connect you with your target users
  • social media platform call-outs (e.g. on Facebook, Twitter, Reddit, LinkedIn, etc.)

Tools for testing:

• Optimal