Website Design Audit Checklist

Use this checklist as a starting point for analyzing your website. This list may not be comprehensive of all the elements of a good website.

Remember to keep in mind the goal of your website and the main idea of what it’s trying to convey to users.

The first step for any project is understanding your problem. Your website audit should be a compilation of all of the issues you observe. Do not spend time coming up with solutions or drafting design mockups during this step.

Keep your audit organized in a document. Audits are typically delivered to clients and designers so use terminology and language that is easy to understand for the intended audience.

Page Structure

1. Is there a navigation and footer across all pages on the site?
2. Are there headers, titles, subheadings, etc? Are they legible and do they convey what each page is about?
3. Are there clear CTAs (call to actions) on landing pages? 
4. Is it easy to navigate back to previous pages or the home page (i.e. breadcrumbs)?

Branding

1. Do all the visual elements convey the proper tone of the company/organization?
   Ex: (Logos, Backgrounds, Color scheme, Typography, Icons)
2. Are all the visual elements consistent throughout the site?
3. Is there a lack of visually interesting elements (ex: images, icons, color blocks, etc.)?
4. Are affiliated parties properly displayed? Is there clear contact information (if necessary)?

Functionality

1. Is there any part of the site that doesn’t function as intended?
   Ex: (Broken links, broken search and filter, low res images)

Content

1. Is any of the copy strangely worded or contains grammatical errors?
2. Is there too little or too much content? Is there any vital content that you feel is missing?
3. Is the page content legible and organized to be easy-to-read/skim?

Accessibility

1. Using your knowledge from your accessibility training, how accessible is the site currently?

Accessibility in UX and Graphic Design

Mobile Responsiveness

1. Does the site adapt to any device or browser without breaking?
   • Use BrowserStack to conduct cross-browser and cross-mobile-device testing.
     To get started:
     • Ask your manager for login credentials if they have not been provided
     • Watch Chris Pittman’s BrowserStack demo here: https://utexas.box.com/s/kfvzjiu3wx5039ed03fr4ib5u46vryq7
2. Does the site content remain legible at any screen size?