A UX audit checklist is a list of pass-or-fail tests that shows where your website makes life hard for visitors. This one has 30 points across six areas: first impressions, navigation, mobile, speed, trust and accessibility. Most people can work through it in about 15 minutes.

Plenty of checklists run to 80 items. Half of them are nice-to-haves that won't change a single sale. The points below come from the problems we keep running into on audits for brands like Barbeque Nation, Tanishq and Behno, so each one is worth your time.

How to Use This Website UX Audit Checklist

Open your site in one tab and this checklist in another. Mark each point as a pass or a fail, then count your passes. The score at the end tells you what to fix first.

A few rules make it more honest:

• Use your phone for the mobile section. A browser's responsive mode hides problems a real device shows.

• Test as a first-time visitor. Open a private window, and try not to rely on what you already know about your own site.

• Fail anything you're unsure about. A "kind of" pass is a fail.

What Do Visitors See in the First Few Seconds? (Points 1–5)

In the first few seconds, a visitor should understand what you offer, who it's for and what to do next. If your homepage can't answer all three before they scroll, these five points will show you why.

1. The value proposition is clear without scrolling. Read your hero line out loud. "Empowering innovation" fails. "Online booking for 200+ restaurants" passes.

2. There's one obvious main CTA above the fold. Three competing buttons is a fail. So is none.

3. The page shows its main content quickly on mobile. Run your homepage through PageSpeed Insights. Google counts a Largest Contentful Paint of 2.5 seconds or less as good. We cover this properly in the speed section.

4. Nothing jumps around while the page loads. If text shifts or a button moves just as you go to tap it, that's layout shift. It's annoying, and it's one of Google's Core Web Vitals.

5. The eye knows where to go. Headline, then subheading, then CTA. If everything is the same size and weight, nothing stands out.

Fail three or more here? Fix the top of your homepage before anything else on this list.

Can Visitors Find What They Need? (Points 6–10)

Good navigation lets people reach key pages without guessing. Each click should feel like it's getting them closer. Confusing menus and filters are among the most common problems we find, especially on ecommerce sites.

6. Key pages are easy to reach from the main menu. Try getting to pricing, a top product or service, and contact. Forget the old "three-click rule". Nielsen Norman Group found that what matters is whether each click feels like progress, rather than the exact number of clicks.

7. Menu labels say what's behind them. "Pricing", "Case Studies" and "Contact" pass. "Solutions", "Explore" and "Platform" usually don't.

8. Site search returns useful results. Search for your best-selling product. Irrelevant, empty or slow results are a fail.

9. People always know where they are. Breadcrumbs, a highlighted menu item or a clear page title. If you need the back button to get your bearings, fail it.

10. The footer catches lost visitors. Contact details, key service pages, policies. A thin footer leaves people stranded.

When we audited Tanishq's jewelry store, unclear navigation was one of the main issues we flagged. It's rarely the most exciting fix, but it's often one of the most valuable. Our UX audit services map exactly where people get lost on your site.

Does Your Mobile Experience Actually Work? (Points 11–16)

A responsive site isn't the same as a usable one on a phone. These checks catch the problems that only show up under a thumb, on a small screen, with a patchy connection. Do this section on a real phone.

11. Buttons are big enough to tap. Apple recommends touch targets of at least 44 by 44 points, and Google's Material Design suggests 48 by 48. WCAG 2.2 sets a 24 by 24 pixel minimum. If you keep hitting the wrong link, fail it.

12. No page scrolls sideways. Any horizontal scroll means something is too wide.

13. Forms suit a phone keyboard. Fields run full width, the email field brings up the email keyboard, the phone field brings up the number pad, and labels stay visible while you type.

14. Images and videos fit the screen. Nothing spills off the edge, and text inside images is still readable.

15. The menu opens, scans and closes easily. Closing it should take one obvious tap.

16. The main CTA sits within thumb reach. On long mobile pages, a sticky button or a repeated CTA near the bottom saves a lot of scrolling back up.

Is Your Site Fast Enough? (Points 17–20)

Speed problems cost you twice: visitors leave, and Google treats poor Core Web Vitals as a negative signal. Test your homepage and your most important template, such as a product page or pricing, in PageSpeed Insights on mobile.

17. Largest Contentful Paint is 2.5 seconds or less. That's Google's "good" threshold. Over 4 seconds is rated poor.

18. Interaction to Next Paint is 200 milliseconds or less. If there's a noticeable pause between tapping and something happening, the site feels broken.

19. Images are sized and compressed properly. Use modern formats like WebP or AVIF, serve images at the size they're shown, and lazy-load anything below the fold.

20. Scripts don't block the page from showing. Heavy JavaScript, chat widgets and tracking tags are the usual culprits. Defer what isn't needed straight away.

Our Barbeque Nation booking site was rebuilt mobile-first on Next.js, partly because slow pages were hurting bookings during peak hours. Read the Barbeque Nation case study for the full story.

Does Your Site Build Enough Trust to Convert? (Points 21–26)

Visitors need a reason to believe you before they hand over money or details. Trust signals placed where people hesitate, such as near prices, forms and checkout, do more than the same signals hidden on a separate page.

21. Social proof is visible early. Reviews, ratings or client logos near the top of key pages. If they live only on a testimonials page, fail it. Our audit of the travel marketplace JustWravel flagged unclear trust signals as one of the main reasons people hesitated to book.

22. Security cues sit next to payment and personal details. Payment logos and "secure checkout" wording belong at the moment of entry, rather than in the footer.

23. Contact details are easy to find from any page. Especially for higher-value purchases.

24. Pricing is shown, or the reason it isn't is explained. A bare "contact us for pricing" makes people suspicious. If prices vary, say what changes them.

25. Returns, refunds or cancellation terms are visible before commitment. Baymard Institute lists an unsatisfactory returns policy among the reasons shoppers abandon checkout. Put it on product or pricing pages.

26. CTAs say what happens next. "Book my free call" beats "Submit". "Download the guide" beats "Click here".

Is Your Site Accessible to Everyone? (Points 27–30)

An accessible site works for people using screen readers, keyboards or zoom, and it tends to be easier for everyone else too. It also lowers legal risk: US sites face ADA claims, and the UK's Equality Act 2010 covers online services. If you sell into the EU, the European Accessibility Act has applied since June 2025.

27. Text meets WCAG AA contrast. That's a ratio of at least 4.5:1 for body text. Check it with WebAIM's free contrast checker. Light gray on white is the classic fail.

28. Meaningful images have descriptive alt text. Product shots, hero images and charts all need it.

29. The whole site works with a keyboard. Tab through every link, menu, form and button. If you get stuck or can't see where focus is, fail it.

30. Forms have visible labels and specific error messages. "Please enter a valid email address" helps. "Invalid input" doesn't.

What Does Your UX Audit Checklist Score Mean?

Count your passes out of 30. A score of 25 or more means the basics are solid, 18 to 24 means real problems are costing you, and below 18 means UX friction should be your top priority.

A checklist tells you what fails. It can't tell you why, or which fix will make the biggest difference for your business. That's the gap a professional audit fills.

When to bring in a professional UX audit

If you scored below 24, or your failed points sit in checkout, pricing or sign-up, it's worth getting expert eyes on the site. The Mad Brains scopes every audit to your site and goals, from a focused review of one flow to a full audit with wireframes and a roadmap. See what's included on our UX audit services page, or read our guide to UX audit costs to see what affects the price.

Conclusion

Run the checklist on your most valuable page this week, whether that's checkout, pricing or sign-up. Then fix the three failed points closest to revenue before touching anything else.

If you'd like a second opinion on what you found, talk to our UX audit team and we'll tell you where we'd start.

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