From Clicks to Context: How to Measure What Users Actually Feel

From Clicks to Context: How to Measure What Users Actually Feel

Clicks are easy. They’re clean, trackable, and look great on a dashboard but in UX research, clicks don’t always tell the full story. They tell you what happened, but not always the “why”. Behind every click is a feeling. A moment of confidence, confusion, hesitation, or trust. And if you’re only looking at the numbers, you’re probably missing what really matters.

I’ve learned this the long way (more on that later). The takeaway is simple: quantitative data shows the general behavior, qualitative insight explains it. You need both.

Why You Need Both Numbers and Narratives

A 92% task success rate sounds great. Until you watch the video recordings and realize people were hesitating, backtracking, and second-guessing every step. That’s the danger of treating UX research like a scoreboard. Metrics matter, but they need context.

At Useberry, we often remind teams that great UX research blends two perspectives:

• Quantitative: What users did (clicks, paths, drop-offs, completions)
• Qualitative: What users thought and felt (comments, expressions, confusion, tone)

When you rely too much on just one type of data, you either fly blind or drown in feedback without direction. The real power comes from mixing the two. Numbers give you the shape of the experience, but narratives give it meaning. Together, they help you uncover usability issues, friction, and opportunities for improvement that wouldn’t show up in charts alone.

Building Bridges: The Role of Mixed Methods UX Research

Mixed methods UX research brings together qualitative and quantitative approaches to paint a fuller picture of your users’ experience. Teams that pair success metrics with think-aloud videos, or tasks with follow-up questions, consistently make better design decisions.

Some combinations we see working particularly well include:

• First Click & Single Task Tests with a self-rate Likert scale for confidence : Shows if users completed the task and how confident they were about their choices.
• Usability testing where users are encouraged to think out loud: Highlights where users focused and what they were thinking.
• Preference Tests with post-task questions: Reveals which design users prefer and why.

By combining these methods, researchers gain clarity on what users are doing and the context behind it. That context is what turns good research into actionable insight.

A Simple Testing Flow That Brings It All Together

If you’re wondering how to set up a mixed-method UX study using Useberry, here’s a quick and effective approach using our testing blocks:

1. Task Block – Ask participants to complete a specific task (like finding the contact form).
2. Post-task Question – Ask something like, “How confident are you that you have completed the task successfully?”
   1. This question alone will give you a number but won’t tell you how they felt about it! To get the “why”, setup a follow up question or encourage participants to think out loud while answering the question then review the voice recordings.

Another Example:

1. Preference Block – Let them compare two versions
2. Open-Ended Question – Ask them to explain their choice

This entire flow can be created in minutes. But the depth of insight it delivers is long-lasting. It not only shows where users succeed or fail, but also how they feel about the process.

You can explore the testing methods available on our platform in detail here and take a demo of each task to see how they work: useberry.com/blocks

How I Approach UX Research (as a Marketer)

From a marketing perspective, I used to rely heavily on analytics. Click-through rates, bounce rates, and drop-off points told me how campaigns performed. Or so I thought. Over time, I learned those numbers only tell part of the story. A low bounce rate might look great until you realize users were just stuck or confused. A high CTR might mean people clicked fast, but not necessarily with high intent.

Now, before launching anything major, I run a quick test. I review the click tracking to see where people focused or clicked first. Then I read the answers to the open-ended questions to understand what stood out and what was unclear. Sometimes I throw in a preference test if we have multiple different creatives that are both worth going live. And I always watch the video recordings to see the real experience in action. That blend of numbers and narrative has become a habit. It keeps me honest and helps the team avoid assumptions.

Let Useberry Help You Get Better Insights From Your Data

Useberry makes it easy to run mixed-method UX research from a single platform:

• Test prototypes or live websites
• Mix and match variety of UX testing methods in one study or choose from a large variety of professional UX Research Templates with already built-in structure
• Find users from our participant pool or use share link option to recruit your own

Whether you’re testing a first draft or refining a polished design, getting both behavioral and emotional feedback helps you make smarter decisions, faster.

From Clicks to Confidence

UX research isn’t about choosing between numbers and narratives. It’s about using both to uncover the full picture. Clicks show us what users do. But if we stop there, we risk making decisions in a vacuum. Context help us understand the why, the emotion, the intent, it is where you find the best users insights.

Whether you’re a UX researcher, designer, or even a marketer like me, embracing quantitative and qualitative together makes your decisions better, even if it is a little harder then just reviewing a spreadsheet. And that leads to better products, better decisions, and a better experience for everyone.