UX audit checklist: what to check and how to run one in seven steps

A UX audit checklist is a structured list of what to inspect on a website or app, area by area, to find where users struggle and why: usability heuristics, accessibility, forms, navigation, content, speed and analytics. Used well, it turns opinions about a product into a ranked list of problems, each with evidence, a severity and a recommended fix.

Last updated: 21 October 2026.

This guide gives you the full checklist, a seven-step method for running a UX audit (alone or with an agency), a severity scale you can copy, and the deliverables a good audit should end with.

What is a UX audit, and when do you need one?

A UX audit (also called a usability audit or a website UX review) is an expert evaluation of an existing product against known principles of usability, accessibility and design, cross-checked with data about how people actually use it. It is not a redesign. It is the diagnosis that tells you whether you need one, and where to start.

You usually need one in four situations: conversion or sign-ups have stalled and nobody agrees why; a redesign is planned and you want to keep what works; support keeps answering the same questions; or a legal or accessibility review is coming. An audit is also a sensible first step before handing a product to a new agency, because it gives both sides the same facts.

In short: an audit looks at the product as it is, finds the friction, explains why it happens and ranks the fixes. It costs a fraction of a redesign and often shows that a redesign is not needed at all. The checklist below is the backbone; the method after it is what makes the findings trustworthy.

At Odduel, a creative and technology agency in Barcelona and São Paulo, audits are often the first piece of UX/UI design work we do for a client, because they set the priorities for everything that follows. AI helps with the repetitive parts, such as crawling pages, collecting screenshots and running automated accessibility scans, so the time goes into judgement: reading the evidence, deciding severity and writing recommendations a team can act on.

UX audit, usability testing or accessibility audit: what is the difference?

These three are often confused, and buyers are regularly quoted for one when they need another. The table sets out the differences.

	UX audit	Usability testing	Accessibility audit
Who judges	Experts, against principles and data	Real users doing real tasks	Experts and tools, against WCAG
Main question	Where is the friction, and why?	Can people complete key tasks?	Can disabled people use it?
Evidence	Heuristics, analytics, recordings	Observed sessions, task success	Success criteria, assistive technology checks
Typical length	One to three weeks	One to two weeks per round	One to three weeks
Best output	Ranked findings and fixes	Proof of what fails and how badly	Conformance report and fix list
Best used	First, to find and rank problems	To confirm the biggest problems	Alongside, or as part of, the audit

A thorough UX audit includes a lighter accessibility pass and recommends usability tests for the findings it cannot settle on evidence alone. For the legal side of accessibility, our guide to website accessibility goes into more detail.

The UX audit checklist, area by area

Work through each area on your most important journeys, not on every page. For a shop that means product, basket and checkout; for a service business, the service pages and the enquiry form; for an app, onboarding and the core task. Mark each item as pass, fail or not applicable, and attach a screenshot to every fail.

Usability heuristics

Jakob Nielsen’s ten usability heuristics are still the most common frame. Check that:

• The product shows what is happening: loading states, confirmations after an action, the current step in a multi-step process.
• Words match the user’s language, not internal jargon or department names.
• Users can undo, go back and leave a flow without losing work.
• The same thing looks and behaves the same everywhere: buttons, links, icons, terms.
• Errors are prevented before they happen (sensible defaults, constraints, confirmation of destructive actions).
• Options are visible rather than remembered: no hidden gestures for essential actions.
• Frequent users have shortcuts, such as saved details, search and filters.
• Each screen carries only what serves its task; decoration does not compete with the main action.
• Error messages say what went wrong and how to fix it, in plain words.
• Help is available where the question arises, not only on a separate page.

Accessibility (WCAG 2.2)

The reference is the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.2 published by the W3C; level AA is the usual target in Europe. An audit will not replace a full conformance review, but it should check:

• Text contrast of at least 4.5:1 for body text and 3:1 for large text and interface parts.
• Every function works with the keyboard alone, in a logical order, with a visible focus indicator that is not hidden by sticky headers or banners.
• Images carry meaningful alternative text; decorative images carry an empty one.
• Headings follow a logical order, and each page has one main heading.
• Form fields have visible labels, and errors are announced in text, not by colour alone.
• Targets are large enough to tap: WCAG 2.2 asks for at least 24 by 24 CSS pixels or enough space around them.
• Dragging is never the only way to do something.
• Users are not asked to type the same information twice in one process, and sign-in does not depend on a memory or puzzle test.
• Motion can be reduced, and nothing flashes.
• The page still works when zoomed to 200 % and at a width of 320 pixels.

Forms and checkout

Forms are where intent turns into revenue, and where most avoidable losses happen. Check that:

• Every field is necessary; optional ones are marked or removed.
• Labels sit above the fields and stay visible while typing.
• Input types match the data, so phones show the right keyboard for email, numbers and telephone.
• Validation happens at the right moment, with messages next to the field.
• Addresses, names and phone numbers accept international formats.
• Guest checkout is possible, and account creation is offered after the purchase.
• Costs such as delivery and taxes are shown before the last step.
• Consent and marketing choices are separate, unticked by default, as GDPR requires.
• The confirmation page and email say what happens next.

Navigation and information architecture

• The main navigation uses the words customers use and holds a manageable number of items.
• Users can always tell where they are (current page marked, breadcrumbs on deep pages).
• The most important tasks are reachable within a few clicks from the home page.
• Search exists where the catalogue or content needs it, tolerates typos and shows useful results for empty queries.
• Mobile navigation offers the same destinations as desktop.
• Links look like links at rest, not only on hover.
• Error pages offer a way forward instead of a dead end.

Content and visual hierarchy

• The first screen of each key page says what it is, who it is for and what to do next.
• Headings can be scanned and make sense on their own.
• Paragraphs are short and front-load the point.
• Prices, terms and delivery information are easy to find, not hidden in small print.
• Calls to action are specific (“Book a call”, “Add to basket”), with one clear primary action per screen.
• Images show the real product or service and support the text.
• Trust signals (reviews, guarantees, contact details) sit near the decision point.
• Translated pages are complete and do not fall back to another language halfway through a journey.

Performance

Speed is part of UX. Use field data where you have it, and Google’s published Core Web Vitals thresholds. Check:

• Largest Contentful Paint, Interaction to Next Paint and Cumulative Layout Shift on mobile, for your key templates.
• Images are sized for the screen and served in modern formats.
• Nothing moves under the user’s finger while the page loads: banners, fonts and adverts reserve their space.
• Cookie banners, chat widgets and tracking scripts do not block the first view.
• Pages remain usable on a slow mobile connection.

Analytics and evidence

An audit without data is an opinion. Before drawing conclusions, check that:

• Analytics is installed on every template, respects consent, and records the events that matter (form starts, form submits, add to basket, checkout steps).
• Funnels exist for the key journeys, so you can see where people leave.
• Site search queries are recorded, because they show what users could not find.
• Session recordings or heatmaps, where consent allows, cover the pages under review.
• Support tickets, sales notes and reviews are collected, since they name problems in the customer’s own words.

How do you run a UX audit in seven steps?

The checklist tells you what to look at; the method makes the result reliable and keeps it from turning into a list of personal tastes.

1. Set the goals and scope. Agree which business outcomes matter (enquiries, sales, sign-ups, fewer support calls), which journeys to audit and on which devices. Three to five journeys is usually enough.
2. Gather the evidence. Collect analytics, funnels, search terms, support themes, previous research and any existing design system. Note what the data cannot tell you.
3. Define the users and their tasks. Write down who uses each journey and what they are trying to get done, so every finding is judged from their side, not the team’s.
4. Walk the journeys with the checklist. Go through each journey on mobile and desktop, step by step, marking fails and taking screenshots. Two reviewers working independently catch more and argue less.
5. Test accessibility and speed. Run automated scans, then check by hand with the keyboard and a screen reader on the key pages; measure Core Web Vitals on real templates.
6. Rate and rank the findings. Merge duplicates, give each finding a severity (scale below), estimate the effort to fix it and sort by impact against effort.
7. Report, present and plan. Write each finding as problem, evidence, impact and recommendation; present it to the people who will act on it; and turn the top items into a roadmap with owners.

After the fixes ship, repeat the measurement on the same journeys. That is the only honest way to know the audit was worth it.

How do you rate the severity of UX problems?

A severity scale stops every finding from sounding equally urgent. This one, adapted from common practice, is simple enough for a whole team to use the same way.

Severity	Name	What it means	Example	When to fix
4	Critical	Users cannot complete a key task, or a legal duty is breached	Checkout fails on one payment method; form unusable with the keyboard	Immediately
3	Major	Users complete the task with real difficulty or many give up	Delivery cost revealed only at the last step	This sprint or next
2	Minor	Causes hesitation or errors that users can recover from	Unclear error message on a password field	Planned backlog
1	Cosmetic	Inconsistency with little effect on the task	Two button styles for the same action	When the area is next touched

Rate severity on three questions: how often the problem occurs, how badly it blocks the task, and whether users can get round it. Then set effort beside it. A major problem that takes an hour to fix goes before a critical one that needs a rebuild only if the critical one can be contained in the meantime.

What deliverables should a UX audit include?

Ask for these before you sign, whoever does the work:

• An executive summary of one or two pages: the main findings, what they cost the business and the first actions.
• The findings register, a spreadsheet or table with every issue: journey, screen, description, screenshot, heuristic or WCAG criterion, severity, effort and recommendation.
• Annotated screens showing each problem where it occurs.
• An accessibility summary listing the WCAG 2.2 criteria that failed on the pages reviewed.
• A performance snapshot of the key templates on mobile.
• A prioritised roadmap grouping fixes into quick wins, planned work and items that need research or testing first.
• A presentation session with the people who will make the changes, so questions are answered before the work starts.

If the report contains findings without evidence or recommendations without a reason, send it back. If you plan to launch the fixes on a new build, pair the roadmap with a website QA checklist so the new release does not reintroduce old problems.

Who should run a UX audit: in-house or an agency?

An in-house team knows the product and the history, which helps, but it also knows the workarounds and has opinions about past decisions. An outside team brings fresh eyes and experience across many products, but needs time to learn your business and customers.

A practical split works well: your team supplies data, access and context; an external reviewer runs the walkthroughs, rates severity and writes the report; and both sides agree the roadmap together. If you are new to commissioning design work, our UX/UI design guide for decision makers explains how to brief and judge it.

How long does a UX audit take, and what drives the cost?

Most audits of a focused scope take one to three weeks, depending on how many journeys and devices are included and how much data is ready. Four things drive the cost: the number of journeys, the depth of accessibility testing, whether usability tests with real users are added, and the level of detail in the deliverables.

The largest share of the effort is the expert review and the write-up, not the tooling. Automated scans and data collection take a fraction of the time. A fixed quote should follow a short brief that names the journeys, devices, languages and deliverables; if a quote does not say what it covers, ask.

How often should you run a UX audit?

Run a full audit before any redesign and after major changes in product, audience or market. Between those, a lighter review of the key journeys once or twice a year keeps problems from piling up, together with a check of analytics after each release. Accessibility deserves a regular rhythm of its own: in the European Union, the European Accessibility Act has applied to many consumer services, including e-commerce, since 28 June 2025.

Questions people ask

If you want a clear, ranked view of what holds your website or app back, start with an audit of your three most important journeys; it will tell you whether you need fixes, testing or a redesign. See how we approach UX/UI design and audits, or talk to us about your product and we will propose a scope after a short brief.

Further reading: AI in UX design: what it changes, and what it does not.