<h1>30 excellent free ux&nbsp;tools</h1> <small class="post-meta"><b>Posted:</b> February 28, 2011 | <b>Author:</b> <a href="http://usabilitygal.wordpress.com/author/usabilitygal/" title="Posts by usabilitygal">usabilitygal</a> | <b>Filed under:</b> <a href="http://usabilitygal.wordpress.com/category/uncategorized/" title="View all posts in Uncategorized" rel="category tag">Uncategorized</a> | <a href="http://usabilitygal.wordpress.com/2011/02/28/30-excellent-free-ux-tools/#respond" title="Comment on 30 excellent free ux&nbsp;tools">Leave a comment &#xbb;</a></small> <p><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="http://www.uxforthemasses.com/free-ux-tools/">uxforthemasses.com</a> have created a <a href="http://www.uxforthemasses.com/free-ux-tools/">great list</a> of 25 free ux tools for doing things like&nbsp;prototyping, annotating, screen grabbing, site mapping, usability testing, accessibility and analytics (thanks guys!). Some of the items aren&#x2019;t really free (they just have a free trial), i&#x2019;ve included them anyway as they&#x2019;re still really useful and i&#x2019;ve added a few of my own.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size: medium;"><strong>Prototyping tools</strong></span></p> <p><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="http://pencil.evolus.vn">Pencil</a></span></p> <p><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="http://www.lucidchart.com">LucidChart</a></span></p> <p><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="http://balsamiq.com">Balsamiq</a></span></p> <p><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="http://www.serena.com/products/prototype-composer/">Serena</a></span></p> <p><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="http://www.flairbuilder.com/">Flairbuilder</a> (15 day free trial)</span></p> <p><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="http://www.openoffice.org/">Powerpoint</a> (Open office version is free)</span></p> <p><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paper_prototyping">Paper prototyping</a></span></p> <p><span style="font-size: medium;"><strong>Annotation tools</strong></span></p> <p><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="http://www.protonotes.com">Protonotes</a></span></p> <p><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="http://www.webnotes.net">WebNotes</a></span></p> <p><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="http://www.diigo.com">Diigo</a></span></p> <p><span style="font-size: medium;"><strong>Design tools</strong></span></p> <p><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="http://www.ipsum-generator.com">Lorem Ipsum Generator</a></span></p> <p><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="http://www.iconico.com/colorpic">ColorPic</a></span></p> <p><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="http://www.netvibes.com">Netvibes</a></span></p> <p><span style="font-size: medium;">Pen and paper! The simplest and arguably the best. Frees your mind to be creative, can be used anywhere and is ultra quick.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size: medium;"><strong>Screen grab tools</strong></span></p> <p><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="http://www.techsmith.com/jing/free/">Jing</a></span></p> <p><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/screengrab/">Firefox plugin</a></span></p> <p><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="http://browsershots.org">Browsershots</a></span></p> <p><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="http://www.evernote.com/">Evernote</a></span></p> <p><span style="font-size: medium;">Cmd shift 4 &#x2013; If you&#x2019;re using a mac you can use cmd shift 4 to capture a portion of the screen or cmd shift 3 to capture the whole screen.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size: medium;">Print screen &#x2013; On Windows PCs you can just use the print screen function and paste it into Word, or Powerpoint if you want to do a click through prototype.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size: medium;"><strong>Sitemapping tools</strong></span></p> <p><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="http://www.xmind.net">XMind</a></span></p> <p><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="http://freemind.sourceforge.net">Freemind</a></span></p> <p><span style="font-size: medium;"><strong>Usability testing tools</strong></span></p> <p><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="http://camstudio.org">CamStudio</a></span></p> <p><span style="font-size: medium;"><strong>Remote usability testing tools</strong></span></p> <p><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="http://beta.usabilla.com/">Usabilla</a></span></p> <p><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="http://www.optimalworkshop.com/treejack.htm">TreeJack</a></span></p> <p><span style="font-size: medium;"><a onclick="return mugicPopWin(this,event);" oncontextmenu="mugicRightClick(this);" href="http://www.skype.com">Skype</a></span></p> <p><span style="font-size: medium;"><a onclick="return mugicPopWin(this,event);" oncontextmenu="mugicRightClick(this);" href="http://www.loop11.com">Loop11</a> </span></p> <p><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="http://www.fivesecondtest.com">Five second test</a></span></p> <p><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="http://silverbackapp.com/">Silverback</a> (free for 30 days)</span></p> <p><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="http://www.surveymonkey.com">Survey Monkey</a></span></p> <p><span style="font-size: medium;"><strong>Usability reviewing tools</strong></span></p> <p><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="http://www.conceptfeedback.com">Concept feedback</a></span></p> <p><span style="font-size: medium;"><strong>Analytics tools</strong></span></p> <p><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="http://www.google.com/analytics">Google analytics</a></span></p> <p><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="http://www.labsmedia.com/clickheat">ClickHeat</a></span></p> <p><span style="font-size: medium;"><strong>Accessibility tools</strong></span></p> <p><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/accessibility-evaluation-toolb">Accessibility evaluation toolbar</a></span></p> <p><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="http://www.totalvalidator.com">Total validator</a></span></p>