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Reddit Usability Test

Reddit is one of the biggest platforms in the world, but its everyday flows still trip people up. We ran a comprehensive usability study of the mobile app to find out where, and what to fix.

First screen of the Reddit app shown in a phone mock up

Project type

UX research case study

My role

UX Researcher

Tools

Figma
Miro
Canva
Google Docs
Google Forms
Zoom

Prefer a presentation?

Final report

27

usability issues found in the heuristic evaluation

10

Nielsen heuristics used to evaluate the app

5

participants across two user groups

74

average SUS score

The problem we found

Reddit is one of the largest platforms in the world, yet my team kept hitting the same friction: confusing icons, unclear flows, and features that felt out of place.

The goal

Find out what is broken, who it affects, and where the biggest opportunities are, through a heuristic evaluation, a competitive analysis, and live user interviews.

Heuristic evaluation

We reviewed the app against Nielsen's 10 heuristics and found 27 usability issues. Five stood out: consistency and standards, aesthetics, flexibility and efficiency of use, user control and freedom, and help and documentation.

Full heuristic evaluation
Five heuristics we prioritized: consistency of standards; flexibility and efficiency of use; aesthetic and minimalist design; help users recognize, diagnose, and recover from errors; help and documentation

Competitive analysis

We compared Reddit to three direct competitors (Quora, Stack Exchange, X) and three indirect ones (Discord, Tumblr, TikTok).

Full competitive analysis Competitive analysis comparing Reddit against Quora, Stack Exchange, X, Discord, Tumblr, and TikTok

Reddit is a powerhouse for community content, but its UI and flows lag behind. Navigation feels heavier, and key actions take more effort.

Usability testing

6 tasks, 5 participants, 45 minutes each. I took notes and observed while my teammate facilitated, and participants finished with the SUS questionnaire.

Screener & participant criteria

We recruited 18 to 35 year olds, Reddit's core demographic: people who had used it for six months or more, and people who knew it but had never used it.

Screener script
Interview notes & affinity diagram

Final report

The average SUS score was 74: the app works, but it doesn't shine. Most participants finished the tasks, but small hiccups piled up in four areas.

  1. Browsing works, creating doesn't

    Everyone found content, but awarding badges or creating communities tripped people up. “This feels like it's for more skilled users.”

  2. Too much stuff, all at once

    Search feels heavier than elsewhere, and content arrives without enough structure. More noise than signal.

  3. Terminology that doesn't travel

    “Reply” versus “join a conversation,” “upvote,” “awards”: newcomers relied on trial and error.

  4. Hidden affordances, unclear feedback

    Collapsing comments and moderator rules were unclear, and error messages never explained what went wrong.

Final report

What I learned

  1. Our assumptions will surprise us

    I expected some tasks to be nightmares, but users picked them up faster than expected. Watching real people is the only way to know.

  2. Pilot testing is non-negotiable

    Pilots surfaced problems we would have missed, like a confusing prompt and a flow that broke the rhythm.

  3. Five participants reveal a lot, more would reveal more

    Five was enough to act on, but production work should test more.

Supplemental materials

Heuristic evaluation Competitive analysis Screener Post-test questions Usability testing plan Usability testing affinity diagram