UX Audit

Introduction

What is it?

A UX audit is an analysis conducted by experts to evaluate the overall user experience of a website or app. This process involves assessing interface design, user flows, accessibility and engagement metrics to identify any issues that may impact user satisfaction. They are often performed prior to redesigns or in response to declines in performance, helping to ensure that user needs align with business objectives.

Why do it?

An audit is essential for:

Improving User Engagement: Helps find and fix problems that make it hard for users to navigate your site or app.
Optimising Conversion Rates: Makes changes to the design that encourage more visitors to make a purchase or take action.
Reducing Support Costs: Addresses common issues that cause users to reach out for help, lowering support requests.
Enhancing Accessibility: Ensures everyone, including people with disabilities, can easily use your website or app.
Data-Driven Decision Making: Uses tools to collect information about how users interact with your site, guiding improvements based on actual user behaviour.

We created a UX Audit template in Figjam. Have a look at this file to know more about Audits.

Link to UX Audit Template

Use case

Micadoni: reshaping a store's website

Micadoni is an online store for home furniture. Although at first glance their website looked nice, it was not performing as it should. That’s where the UX/UI team stepped in with an audit. Take a look at our approach using this Figma link.

Step by Step Guide

1. Define Scope and Goals 2. Expert review 3. Check Copywriting 4. Collect Data 5. Report Findings 6. Prioritization

Step 01

Define Scope and Goals

Before conducting an audit, organising a kick-off meeting is essential to ensure everyone is on the same page. Additionally, an assumption mapping workshop can help identify the points you want clarified during the audit.
Before conducting an audit, you should have an idea of:

What problems are users experiencing?
What are the main user flows?
Which business metrics need improvement (e.g., sign-ups, conversions, retention)?
What user research or analytics data is available?

Step 02

Expert review

With a group of experts, review the interface against heuristic principles and best practices:

Navigation & Information Architecture: Is content easy to find?
Usability & Accessibility: Are interactions intuitive and inclusive?
Performance & Speed: Are load times optimized?
Visual Hierarchy & Readability: Is content easy to scan?
Conversion & Engagement: Are CTAs clear and persuasive?

Make sure to:

Annotate problem areas with sticky notes.
Highlight inconsistencies in design components.
Compare desktop vs. mobile experiences.

Resources

Ten Usability Heuristics

Jakob Nielsen created 10 general usability guidelines for good interaction design, called: “heuristics”. Use them as a checklist to evaluate any mobile or desktop interface.

Link to 10 Usability Heuristics for User Interface Design

Step 03

Check Copywriting

Evaluate content clarity and tone:

Are error messages clear and do they provide adequate solutions?
Are “call to action” (CTAs) action-oriented and benefit-driven
Does microcopy guide users effectively
Is tone consistent across the experience
Is the language simple, inclusive, and easy to scan
Is the content localized properly and SEO-friendly (if relevant)

Step 04

Collect data

Methods like benchmarking, user research, and web analytics bring in insights from external sources—like real users, competitor standards, and actual usage data—which help us see beyond internal assumptions. By using this outside perspective, the audit becomes more objective and focuses on real improvement opportunities.

Benchmark

By comparing your product or website to others in the same industry, you will see how well you’re doing and where you can improve by looking at competitors or best-in-class examples.

Webanalytics

Use heatmaps and session recordings to:

Identify rage clicks and dead zones.
Pinpoint underperforming pages.
Validate hypothesis-driven design decisions.

User Research

Conduct user tests and analyse session recordings:

A/B Testing: compare different versions of a UI to see which drives better engagement or conversion.
Heatmaps & Session Recordings: visualise user interactions to understand where they click, scroll, or drop off.
User Surveys: capture direct feedback to uncover pain points, expectations, and satisfaction levels.

Step 05