The UX Audit Checklist: A Senior Designer's 60-Point Framework

A UX audit is the fastest way to surface the 20% of problems causing 80% of the pain in a product. Done well, an audit produces a prioritised list of issues, evidence for each, and a recommendation the team can ship in the next sprint. Done badly, it is a 90-page PDF that everyone files and nobody reads.

This is the 60-point checklist I run through on every audit, organised by surface area, with the report structure I use to turn findings into action.

Before the audit — set the scope

Audits expand without limits unless you scope them. Pick one or two journeys, not the whole product. 'Onboarding to first activation' and 'free-to-paid conversion' are scopes. 'The entire app' is not.

Agree the deliverable in writing: a prioritised report, a Loom walkthrough, a Figma annotated screenshots file, and a 30-minute review session. The deliverable shape decides what the audit measures.

Navigation and IA — 8 checks

• Is the primary navigation visible on every page?
• Can a user reach any major section in two clicks or fewer?
• Is the active state of the current section obvious?
• Do labels match user vocabulary, not internal jargon?
• Is breadcrumb or back behaviour consistent across the product?
• Does the mobile nav collapse predictably?
• Are deep links to internal screens preserved on refresh?
• Is search present where it is needed?

Content and copy — 8 checks

• Is the headline on every page benefit-led, not feature-led?
• Does microcopy answer questions before users ask them?
• Are CTAs verbs, not nouns ('Start free trial' beats 'Free trial')?
• Is jargon defined or removed?
• Are errors written in plain English with a next step?
• Are empty states treated as opportunities, not 'No data'?
• Is reading level appropriate for the audience?
• Are dates, currencies and units localised correctly?

Visual design and hierarchy — 8 checks

• Is there one primary action per screen?
• Does typographic hierarchy survive a five-second squint test?
• Is colour used semantically (success/warning/danger) and consistently?
• Is spacing on a consistent scale, not arbitrary?
• Are icons recognisable without labels, or labelled when not?
• Is dark mode supported and genuinely usable?
• Are illustrations on-brand and consistent in style?
• Does the layout breathe — or is it dense and tiring?

Forms — 6 checks

• Are required fields marked clearly?
• Is inline validation in place for every field?
• Are error messages specific ('Email must include @') and adjacent to the field?
• Are inputs the right keyboard type on mobile (numeric for OTPs, email for emails)?
• Is autofill enabled and labelled correctly?
• Is there a clear way to recover from an error without losing data?

Mobile responsiveness — 6 checks

• Do all primary actions land within the thumb zone on a 6.1" phone?
• Are tap targets at least 44px with adequate spacing?
• Do modals and bottom sheets respect safe-area insets?
• Are tables and wide content adapted, not just horizontally scrolled?
• Does the keyboard not cover the active input?
• Are gestures (swipe, pull-to-refresh) used where users expect them?

Accessibility — 8 checks

• Is contrast WCAG AA on every text/background combination?
• Is every interactive element reachable by keyboard?
• Is focus order logical and visible?
• Are images, icons and buttons labelled for screen readers?
• Are colour cues paired with a second signal (icon or text)?
• Does the page work at 200% zoom without breaking?
• Are forms associated with labels, not placeholders alone?
• Are skip-to-content links present on long pages?

Performance — 4 checks

• Largest Contentful Paint under 2.5s on a mid-range mobile?
• Cumulative Layout Shift under 0.1?
• Skeletons in place of spinners on every list?
• Images served as modern formats (AVIF/WebP) at the right size?

Conversion — 6 checks

• Is the value proposition above the fold on every landing page?
• Is there one primary CTA per page, repeated at logical scroll points?
• Is social proof close to the CTA, not buried in a footer?
• Is friction removed before payment (guest checkout, saved cards)?
• Are upsells limited to one moment, not scattered?
• Does the post-conversion screen drive a next action?

Errors and edge cases — 6 checks

• Does every error state explain what happened and what to do?
• Are 404, 500 and offline states designed, not default browser pages?
• Are destructive actions confirmed and reversible where possible?
• Are long-running actions surfaced (queues, background tasks)?
• Are session timeouts warned before they trigger?
• Is there a way to contact support with relevant context pre-filled?

The report — how to make it land

A great audit report is short, prioritised and actionable. Open with a one-page executive summary (three biggest issues, three biggest wins, expected impact). Follow with the prioritised findings, each with: a screenshot, the issue, the evidence, the recommendation, and a rough effort estimate. End with a 30-60-90 day roadmap.

Walk the team through it live. Reports that arrive in inboxes get filed; reports that are presented get shipped.

Final word

A UX audit is a tool, not a verdict. Use the checklist to surface issues; use the report to drive action; use the follow-up to measure impact. The goal is not a pretty document — it is a better product in the next two sprints.