What Is a UX Audit? A Complete Guide

Understand what a UX audit is, why it matters, and how to run one that delivers actionable insights for your product.

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Sound Familiar?

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Not sure what a UX audit actually includes or how it differs from user testing?

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Wondering if your product needs a UX audit and when to run one?

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Frustrated by lengthy audit processes that take weeks and cost thousands?

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Looking for a clear, practical understanding of UX audit benefits?

Understanding UX Audits: What They Are and Why They Matter

A UX audit is a structured review of your product's user experience. It helps you uncover confusing pages, hidden friction, unclear flows, and usability issues that block users from taking action. A UX audit gives you a clear picture of how people actually interact with your product, which parts cause frustration, and what improvements can make the experience smoother.

When to Run a UX Audit

UX audits are commonly performed:

Before a product launch
During redesigns
When metrics like drop-off rate, sign-up rate, or activation rate start to dip

Unlike user testing, which observes real users completing tasks, a UX audit evaluates your interface against established usability principles—checking for clarity, consistency, hierarchy, and feedback mechanisms.

What a Typical UX Audit Includes

Core Components

Heuristic evaluation - Reviewing against widely accepted usability principles
Flow review - Walking through key user journeys to understand friction points and missed states
UI and content review - Checking buttons, labels, microcopy, and page structure
Accessibility considerations - Ensuring the product is approachable for different users
Prioritized recommendations - Fixes ranked by impact and urgency (P0, P1, P2 levels)

Common Issues Uncovered

During a UX audit, you might discover:

Buttons that don't match user intent
Hard-to-see or low-contrast elements
Missing loading states or success feedback
Complex forms that feel overwhelming
Hidden navigation items
Confusing modals or unclear messages
Steps in a flow that users don't understand
Microcopy that uses internal terminology instead of simple language

These small details add up—a few unclear screens can cause massive drop-off.

Traditional vs. Modern UX Audits

Traditional Approach:

Performed by UX designers, consultants, or agencies
Takes days or weeks
Requires Figma files, prototypes, or live links

Modern AI-Powered Approach:

Accessible for founders, designers, and product teams of any skill level
Takes minutes instead of weeks
Works with simple screen recordings or walkthrough videos
No design files needed—works with mobile apps, websites, dashboards, or even early wireframes

Tools like Krux AI understand the flow and detect discoverability issues, unclear steps, missing states, and UI friction—delivering a full report with top fixes, microcopy improvements, and flow simplifications.

What Makes a Good UX Audit

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Heuristic-Based Evaluation

Reviews your product against established usability principles like clarity, consistency, visual hierarchy, and user feedback mechanisms.

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Complete Flow Analysis

Walks through key user journeys to identify friction points, missing edge cases, confusing interactions, and unclear next steps.

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Prioritized Recommendations

Delivers P0 (critical), P1 (important), and P2 (nice-to-have) issues ranked by user impact so you know what to fix first.

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Actionable Insights

Provides specific suggestions for improving microcopy, button placement, visual hierarchy, and flow logic—not vague observations.

Frequently Asked Questions

When should I run a UX audit?

You should consider running a UX audit when you're about to launch a new flow, want to identify conversion blockers, are preparing a redesign, notice engagement or retention metrics dropping, want a quick expert-style review without user testing, or need an external perspective without waiting for feedback. UX audits are especially valuable before committing engineering resources to a new feature.

How is a UX audit different from user testing?

User testing observes real users completing tasks and captures their reactions, confusion, and behavior. A UX audit evaluates your interface against established usability principles and heuristics. User testing tells you what users struggle with; a UX audit tells you why they struggle and what to fix. Both are valuable, but UX audits are faster, cheaper, and can be done at any stage—even before you have a working prototype.

Can I run a UX audit on early-stage designs or wireframes?

Yes! Modern AI-powered UX audit tools like Krux AI can analyze early wireframes, sketches, Figma prototypes, or even narrated paper mockups. You don't need a fully functional product. Simply record a walkthrough showing the intended flow and explaining the user journey, and you'll receive a comprehensive audit identifying potential issues before you invest in development.

Ready to Run Your First UX Audit?

Record a quick walkthrough and get a full UX audit report in minutes. Free to start, no credit card required.

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Free forever plan. No credit card required.

Run a Complete UX Audit in Minutes with Krux AI

Krux AI analyzes your product flows from a simple walkthrough video and delivers a comprehensive UX audit with prioritized findings, detailed explanations, and actionable recommendations—no Figma files or prototypes required.

Get audit results in minutes instead of waiting days or weeks

Upload any screen recording—works with apps, websites, prototypes, or wireframes

Receive P0-P2 prioritized issues with clear explanations of user impact

Identify friction, missing states, unclear copy, and discoverability problems automatically