What is a UX audit?

A UX audit is a document that describes UX errors in the functioning of a website, shop or application. We can call a UX error anything that blocks the fulfilment of business goals (e.g. conversion through a contact form, sales in an online shop) or makes the user experience negative. In this article, you will find out in more detail what a UX audit is and learn about many basic UX errors.

A simple example of UX errors. According to a 2017 study, in-store sales are blocked by:

• additional cost imposed in the shopping cart,
• the need to create an account
• or too long a purchasing process.

This causes the basket to be rejected and the shop to exit.

It is precisely such errors that are described in the UX audit. If the auditor notices that additional costs are imposed in the shopping basket, he will write about this and, more importantly, give instructions on how to eliminate these errors from the shop.

Why are we talking about this example? Because a UX audit is not about pointing out little things like "...the colour of the buttons is wrong." without context. A UX audit is about pointing out all the shortcomings that will hinder a company's revenue generation or annoy users.

That is why this topic has now become fashionable. Millions of websites, shops and apps are badly designed, and the drop in sales through the recession has caused people to look for reasons. In our career there have been UX mistakes such as:

• it was not possible to disable pop-ups,
• the filters in the shop did not work,
• The server was constantly being overloaded and a 503 error appeared,
• The page took more than 10 seconds to load,
• inaccurate information or lack thereof,
• and hundreds of other errors.

These are critical examples where users simply fled the site. It's as if there was already £100 on the counter in a shop, but the salesperson, in the course of looking for a product in stock, said he would take a cigarette break. The customer, annoyed, takes the 100 zloty and leaves.

This is why the term SXO was coined. It is the use of a strategy based on building the visibility of the site, but also increasing conversions. So what if we bring 10x more users to the site through SEO if they don't convert. By working on pulling users in and improving the UX, you can achieve the best results.

You already know what a UX audit is, sowhat's worth remembering?

• We can call a UX error anything that blocks the fulfilment of business goals (e.g. conversion through a contact form, sales in an online shop) or makes the user experience negative;
• A UX audit aims to identify errors and solutions on a website, shop or app to improve the net profit generated;
• A UX audit not only points out errors, but also gives recommendations and examples of how they can be improved;
• Correcting errors from the UX audit should also improve the user experience;
• A UX audit should be carried out as part of SEO activities;

What value does a UX audit bring?

When a client notices that their digital product doesn't live up to expectations, doesn't work as it should - they look for solutions or have the site redesigned straight away. Doing an audit before undertaking any development/design work saves a ton of money and achieves much better results. Sometimes correcting individual errors on a site will significantly improve conversions, a completely new design is not necessarily required.

• Masses of structured knowledge about User Experience
• Pointed errors that limit conversions or increase bounce rates
• Benchmarks gathered from competitor analysis
• A ready-made guide to the steps to take to improve product performance
• Additional product/brand development ideas

What are the advantages of a UX audit?

A UX audit is based on the knowledge, research and experience of UX auditors. As well as scoring the weak elements of a product, an expert UX audit also includes:

• Examples gathered from competition analysis
• Masses of structured knowledge in the field of UX/Web development
• A list of steps to be taken when developing a product
• Ideas for further product/brand development