A UX audit checklist is the structured list of things to review when you evaluate a product’s experience — so you catch the friction that quietly costs you users instead of trusting a hunch. Below is the checklist we run at Biotik on every audit, grouped by area, with what to look for in each.
Work through it in order. You won’t need every item on every project, but these categories are the ones that decide whether people finish what they came to do.
1. First impression & clarity
- Is it obvious what the product does and who it’s for, above the fold?
- Is there one clear primary action per screen?
- Does the message match the traffic that arrives?
2. Navigation & information architecture
- Can people predict where a link or menu item leads?
- Are labels in the user’s language, not internal jargon?
- Is the structure shallow enough that key tasks are two or three clicks away?
3. Key flows
Walk the journeys that matter most — sign-up, onboarding, checkout, upgrade — step by step, and note every hesitation or drop-off.
- Does onboarding get users to their first real win quickly?
- Are there dead ends, loops or unexplained errors?
- Is progress and system status always visible?
4. Forms & inputs
- Are you asking for the minimum, at the latest sensible moment?
- Are labels, formats and errors clear and shown inline?
- Do inputs use the right keyboard, autofill and validation?
5. Content & microcopy
- Is copy specific and scannable, not generic marketing speak?
- Do buttons say what will happen (“Start free trial”, not “Submit”)?
- Are empty states, tooltips and errors actually helpful?
6. Accessibility
Accessibility is both an ethical baseline and, in the EU, in scope for the European Accessibility Act.
- Colour contrast meets WCAG AA; nothing relies on colour alone
- Everything is keyboard-operable with a visible focus state
- Images have alt text; forms have proper labels and ARIA where needed
7. Mobile experience
- Are tap targets big enough and content readable without zoom?
- Do key flows work as well on a phone as on desktop?
- Is nothing important hidden behind hover-only interactions?
8. Performance
Speed is a UX and conversion factor, not a back-end afterthought — see our note on Core Web Vitals.
- Does the main content load fast (good LCP)?
- Is the layout stable as it loads (low CLS)?
- Do interactions respond immediately (good INP)?
9. Trust & conversion signals
- Are pricing, terms and what-happens-next clear before commitment?
- Is there credible proof — real social proof and security cues?
- Are there needless conversion blockers (forced signup, surprise costs)?
From checklist to fixes
A checklist finds issues; prioritisation decides what to do about them. Score each finding by impact and effort, fix the high-impact, low-effort items first, and sequence the rest into a roadmap. A full UX audit does exactly this — and the best-scoring opportunities usually flow straight into conversion rate optimization. Wondering what one costs? See our UX audit cost guide.
