User experience is the sum of every micro-decision in your product — from button placement to loading time to error message copy. A UX audit is the systematic process of evaluating these decisions against measurable outcomes and user behaviour data.
Unlike usability testing (which observes users in real-time), a UX audit primarily analyses existing data: analytics, session recordings, heatmaps, and user feedback. Done well, it surfaces actionable improvements with clear ROI — fewer drop-offs, higher conversions, reduced support load.
Here are the 15 metrics and checks that should feature in every comprehensive UX audit.
Conversion & Funnel Metrics
Overall Conversion Rate by Traffic Source
Break down conversion rates by organic, paid, social and direct traffic. Significant disparities often reveal UX issues specific to landing page experiences for particular segments.
Funnel Drop-off by Step
Map every step of your primary conversion funnel and measure the percentage of users who exit at each stage. Steps with exit rates above 30% deserve immediate investigation via session recordings.
Form Completion Rate & Field-level Abandonment
Use tools like Hotjar or FullStory to identify which form fields cause the most friction. Often a single confusing label or unnecessary required field is responsible for 20%+ form abandonment.
"In a recent audit for an Indian fintech client, we discovered that a single ambiguous field label ('Reference ID') was causing 34% of users to abandon the onboarding form. One copy change increased completions by 28%."
Engagement & Navigation
Scroll Depth on Key Landing Pages
If your call-to-action is below the fold and 60% of users never scroll that far, the CTA is effectively invisible to most visitors. Scroll depth data tells you where to place critical elements.
Click Map Analysis for Primary CTAs
Are users clicking where you expect them to? Click maps reveal when users interact with non-interactive elements (a common sign of confusing UI design) or ignore primary CTAs entirely.
Internal Search Usage & Failure Rates
High internal search usage indicates navigation isn't helping users find what they need. High search failure rates (searches with no results or immediate exits) reveal content gaps.
Performance Metrics
Core Web Vitals (LCP, CLS, INP)
Performance is UX. Target LCP under 2.5s, CLS under 0.1, and INP under 200ms. Failing these thresholds directly correlates with higher bounce rates and lower conversions — Google's research shows a 1-second delay in mobile load time can reduce conversions by up to 20%.
Time to Interactive (TTI) by Device
Segment performance data by device type. Mobile users on mid-range Android devices often experience dramatically worse performance than desktop users — but they may represent a significant portion of your audience, especially in India.
Accessibility & Inclusivity
WCAG 2.2 AA Compliance Score
Run automated accessibility checks with tools like axe or Lighthouse. Common failures: insufficient colour contrast, missing alt text, unlabelled form controls, keyboard navigation traps. WCAG compliance is also increasingly required for enterprise and government clients.
Colour Contrast Ratio on Primary Text
WCAG AA requires a minimum 4.5:1 contrast ratio for normal text. Many "modern" design systems use low-contrast grey text that fails this threshold — particularly harmful for users with visual impairments.
Mobile Experience
Mobile Conversion Rate vs Desktop
A mobile conversion rate significantly lower than desktop (less than 60% of desktop rate) indicates mobile UX issues. Audit session recordings on mobile specifically — problems invisible on desktop often appear clearly here.
Touch Target Size Compliance
Interactive elements should be at least 44×44px on mobile (Apple HIG standard) or 48×48dp (Google Material Design). Undersized touch targets cause accidental taps and frustrated users — audit this with DevTools device simulation.
User Satisfaction
Net Promoter Score (NPS) Trend
Track NPS quarterly. Segment responses to identify whether promoters and detractors cluster around specific features or user flows — this directs your UX investment most efficiently.
Support Ticket Categorisation
Group support tickets by feature or flow. Any feature generating disproportionate support volume has a UX problem. Fix the interface, not just the documentation.
Task Completion Rate in Usability Tests
Conduct moderated or unmoderated usability tests with 5–8 representative users quarterly. Measure the percentage who can complete core tasks unassisted. Below 70% completion on any critical task warrants urgent redesign.
Running the Audit
A comprehensive UX audit typically takes 2–4 weeks and involves three phases:
- Data collection: Pull analytics, set up heatmaps and session recordings, collect NPS and support ticket data
- Analysis: Identify patterns, prioritise by impact (conversion/revenue effect × frequency of occurrence)
- Prioritisation: Rank findings by a combined score of impact and implementation effort. Quick wins first, major redesigns in the next sprint cycle.
The output should be a prioritised list of specific, actionable recommendations — not a general assessment of "the UX needs work". Every recommendation should connect to a measurable metric that will improve when it's addressed.
