Card Sorting UX Template: Complete Guide & Free Resources
Running a card sort study for the first time? Use these proven templates to set up professional UX research in minutes.
Quick Start: 5-Minute Template
Use this template to launch your first card sort study today:
Basic Study Template
Study Goal: [Define what you want to learn]
- Example: "Understand how users group our product features"
Study Type:
- ☐ Open (users create categories)
- ☐ Closed (you provide categories)
- ☐ Hybrid (mix of both)
Cards (15-30 items):
Card 1: [Item name]
Card 2: [Item name]
Card 3: [Item name]
...
Categories (for closed/hybrid only):
Category 1: [Name]
Category 2: [Name]
Category 3: [Name]
Instructions for Participants: "Please group these items in a way that makes sense to you. Create categories that feel natural."
Target Participants: [Number] participants Timeline: [Start date] to [End date]
Create your card sort study now →
Complete Card Sorting Templates by Use Case
1. Website Navigation Template
Best for: Redesigning site menus and navigation
Setup:
- Study Type: Open card sort
- Number of Cards: 20-30 pages/sections
- Participants: 20-30 users
- Analysis Focus: Common groupings, category names
Example Cards:
- Homepage
- About Us
- Contact
- Products
- Services
- Blog
- Case Studies
- Testimonials
- FAQ
- Pricing
- Support
- Documentation
- Login
- Sign Up
- Privacy Policy
- Terms of Service
Instructions Template: "We're redesigning our website. Please organize these pages into groups that make sense to you. Name each group with a label that describes what's in it."
2. App Information Architecture Template
Best for: Organizing app features before development
Setup:
- Study Type: Hybrid card sort
- Number of Cards: 25-40 features
- Participants: 15-25 users
- Analysis Focus: Feature discoverability, menu structure
Suggested Categories:
- Account & Settings
- Main Features
- Tools
- Help & Support
- Social
Example Cards:
- Profile Settings
- Notifications
- Privacy Controls
- Theme Selection
- Language Settings
- Dashboard
- Analytics
- Reports
- Export Data
- Share
- Invite Friends
- Chat Support
- Help Center
- Tutorial
Instructions Template: "Imagine you're using our app. Please organize these features into the categories provided, or create new categories if needed."
3. E-commerce Product Categories Template
Best for: Organizing product catalogs
Setup:
- Study Type: Closed card sort (validate existing categories)
- Number of Cards: 30-50 products
- Participants: 30-40 shoppers
- Analysis Focus: Category fit, misplaced items
Example Structure:
Categories:
- Clothing
├─ Men's
├─ Women's
└─ Kids'
- Accessories
- Footwear
- Sale Items
Instructions Template: "Please place each product in the category where you'd expect to find it when shopping."
4. Content/Documentation Organization Template
Best for: Help centers, knowledge bases, documentation
Setup:
- Study Type: Open card sort
- Number of Cards: 20-35 articles/topics
- Participants: 20-30 users
- Analysis Focus: Natural groupings, findability
Example Cards:
- Getting Started Guide
- Account Setup
- Password Reset
- Billing & Payments
- Subscription Plans
- API Documentation
- Integration Guides
- Troubleshooting
- Common Errors
- Feature Tutorials
- Video Guides
- Release Notes
- Best Practices
Instructions Template: "Imagine you're looking for help. Please organize these topics into groups that would make it easy to find what you need."
Card Sorting Study Planning Template
Use this comprehensive template for any card sort project:
1. Research Goals (5 minutes)
Primary Question: [What do you want to learn?]
Success Metrics:
- Identify natural groupings
- Validate category names
- Test findability
- Discover mental models
- Other: __________
Stakeholders:
- Who needs the results? __________
- When are results needed? __________
2. Study Design (10 minutes)
Study Type Decision:
Choose Open if:
- ✅ You're starting from scratch
- ✅ You want to discover categories
- ✅ You need category name ideas
- ✅ It's exploratory research
Choose Closed if:
- ✅ You have existing categories
- ✅ You want to validate structure
- ✅ You're testing specific hypotheses
- ✅ It's evaluative research
Choose Hybrid if:
- ✅ You have ideas but want flexibility
- ✅ You want to test + discover
- ✅ You're refining an existing structure
Card Selection:
- How many items to test? [15-40 recommended]
- Which items are most important? __________
- Any items to exclude? __________
Card Writing Checklist:
- Use clear, simple language
- Keep names short (2-5 words)
- Avoid jargon unless testing with experts
- Make cards mutually exclusive
- Use consistent naming style
- Test readability with a colleague
3. Participant Recruitment (15 minutes)
Target Audience:
- Who should participate? __________
- What characteristics matter? __________
Sample Size:
- Open card sort: 20-30 participants
- Closed card sort: 30-40 participants
- Hybrid: 25-35 participants
Recruitment Plan:
- Email to customer list
- Social media post
- UserTesting.com
- Internal team
- User research panel
- Other: __________
Screening Questions:
- [Question to ensure right audience]
- [Question to verify experience level]
4. Study Instructions (5 minutes)
Template Structure:
Welcome Message:
"Thank you for participating! This will take about 10 minutes."
Context:
[Brief explanation of what you're designing/testing]
Task:
[Clear instruction on what to do]
Example (if needed):
[Show an example of grouping]
Questions?:
[Contact email for questions]
Example Instructions:
For Open Sort: "Please organize these features into groups that make sense to you. Create category names that describe each group. There are no right or wrong answers—we want to understand how you think about these items."
For Closed Sort: "Please place each item into one of the categories provided. Choose the category where you'd most expect to find it."
5. Analysis Plan (Included in tool)
Card Sort automatically provides:
- Similarity Matrix: Which cards are grouped together
- Popular Groupings: Most common structures
- Agreement Analysis: Consistency across participants
- Category Suggestions: AI-recommended names (Pro)
What to look for:
- Cards grouped together 70%+ of time → strong relationship
- Cards with under 40% agreement → may need rewording
- Category names that appear frequently → use in design
- Surprising groupings → investigate further
- Outlier participants → may need different user flow
Card Sorting Best Practices Checklist
Before Your Study
✅ Planning
- Define clear research goal
- Choose appropriate study type
- Create 15-40 cards (not too many)
- Write clear, concise card names
- Test cards with 2-3 people first
✅ Participants
- Recruit representative users
- Plan for 20-40 participants
- Screen for relevant experience
- Prepare incentives if needed
✅ Instructions
- Write clear task description
- Keep instructions simple
- Provide context (but not too much)
- Avoid leading language
During Your Study
✅ Launch
- Test the study link yourself first
- Send to small group first (5 people)
- Monitor first responses
- Check for confusing cards
- Send reminder emails after 3-5 days
✅ Communication
- Be available for questions
- Thank participants promptly
- Send reminders to non-completers
After Your Study
✅ Analysis
- Wait for target sample size
- Review similarity matrix
- Identify strong patterns (over 70% agreement)
- Note surprising findings
- Look for confused cards (under 40% agreement)
- Review suggested category names
✅ Reporting
- Document top 3-5 findings
- Show visual groupings
- Recommend category structure
- Include participant quotes
- Share with stakeholders
- Plan next steps
Common Card Sorting Mistakes to Avoid
❌ Too Many Cards
Problem: Participants get fatigued after 40 cards Solution: Keep it to 15-40 cards. Split into multiple studies if needed.
❌ Vague Card Names
Problem: "Resources" could mean anything Solution: Be specific: "Video Tutorials" instead of "Resources"
❌ Leading Instructions
Problem: "Group these into Products, Services, and About sections" Solution: Let users create their own categories in open sorts
❌ Wrong Study Type
Problem: Using closed sort when exploring new ideas Solution: Use open sort for discovery, closed for validation
❌ Too Few Participants
Problem: 5-10 participants doesn't show patterns Solution: Aim for 20+ (open) or 30+ (closed)
❌ Ignoring Outliers
Problem: Dismissing unusual groupings Solution: Investigate—might reveal important user segments
❌ No Follow-up
Problem: Card sort shows what, not why Solution: Interview 3-5 participants about their choices
Sample Card Sort Results Template
Use this template to share findings with your team:
Study Overview
- Goal: [Research question]
- Method: [Open/Closed/Hybrid]
- Participants: [Number] users
- Cards: [Number] items
- Date: [When conducted]
Key Findings
1. Primary Categories Identified Users naturally grouped items into [X] main categories:
- Category 1: [Name] - [Description]
- Category 2: [Name] - [Description]
- Category 3: [Name] - [Description]
2. Strong Groupings (over 70% agreement)
- Item A + Item B: [XX%] grouped together
- Item C + Item D: [XX%] grouped together
3. Weak Groupings (under 40% agreement)
- Item X: Only [XX%] agreement - needs clarification
- Item Y: Split between categories - may need different approach
4. Surprising Insights
- [Unexpected finding 1]
- [Unexpected finding 2]
Recommended Information Architecture
Main Navigation:
├─ Category 1
│ ├─ Item A
│ ├─ Item B
│ └─ Item C
├─ Category 2
│ ├─ Item D
│ └─ Item E
└─ Category 3
├─ Item F
└─ Item G
Next Steps
- [Action item 1]
- [Action item 2]
- [Follow-up research needed]
Ready-Made Card Sort Studies
Copy these complete study templates directly:
Template 1: SaaS Product Navigation
Goal: Organize product features for main navigation Type: Hybrid Cards: 30 features Categories: Dashboard, Tools, Settings, Help Time: 10 minutes Participants: 25 users
Template 2: E-commerce Site Menu
Goal: Test product categorization Type: Closed Cards: 40 products Categories: By use case, By product type, By price Time: 12 minutes Participants: 35 shoppers
Template 3: Mobile App Feature Menu
Goal: Discover natural feature groupings Type: Open Cards: 25 features Categories: User-created Time: 8 minutes Participants: 20 users
Template 4: Help Center Organization
Goal: Structure support documentation Type: Open Cards: 30 articles Categories: User-created Time: 10 minutes Participants: 25 users
Tools to Use with Templates
Free Card Sort Tool
- Setup Time: 5 minutes with template
- Price: Free for 3 studies
- Best For: Quick setup with templates
- Participants: 50 responses per study
- Analysis: Automatic similarity matrix
Spreadsheet Template (DIY)
- Setup Time: 2 hours
- Price: Free
- Best For: Extreme budget constraints
- Analysis: Manual
- Drawback: Poor participant experience
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: How many cards should I include in my study? A: 15-40 cards is ideal. Below 15 doesn't provide enough data. Above 40 causes participant fatigue.
Q: Should I randomize card order? A: Yes! Randomization prevents order bias. Card Sort automatically randomizes for each participant.
Q: How do I know if my results are reliable? A: Look for over 70% agreement on key groupings. If cards show under 40% agreement, they may be unclear or need rethinking.
Q: Can I reuse these templates? A: Absolutely! These templates are free to use and adapt for your projects.
Q: What if participants create too many categories? A: In open sorts, 5-10 categories is typical. If users create 15+, your cards might be too diverse or you may need multiple studies.
Q: Should I include instructions on how many categories to create? A: For open sorts, don't limit creativity. Let users create as many categories as they need.
Template Download & Next Steps
Quick Start Checklist
- Choose your template from the use cases above
- Customize the cards to your content
- Set up the study in Card Sort (takes 5 minutes)
- Share with participants via email or link
- Analyze results automatically
- Implement findings in your design
Create Your Study Now
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