Most business owners know the feeling. The ads are running, Search Console shows impressions growing, analytics shows visitors arriving - and the phone still does not ring. Before you spend more on traffic, it is worth asking a simpler question: what happens to people after they land?
A UX (user experience) audit answers that question. It is a systematic look at your website or app through the eyes of a new visitor, looking for the small points of friction that quietly send people away. Below is the 25-point checklist we use as a starting point, grouped into six areas. Open your site on your phone and go through it honestly.
Before you start: set up the basics
An audit is far more useful with a little data behind it:
- Google Analytics 4 - which pages people land on, where they leave, and which devices they use.
- Google Search Console - which searches bring people in, so you know what they expected to find.
- Session recordings and heatmaps - free tools such as Microsoft Clarity show where people tap, scroll and get stuck.
- Your goal - write down the one or two actions that matter most: a call, a WhatsApp message, a form, a purchase.
Area 1: First impression (the first five seconds)
- Is it obvious what you do? A visitor should understand what you offer and who it is for from the first screen, without scrolling. "Solutions for a better tomorrow" fails; "Industrial packaging boxes, manufactured in Jaipur, delivered across India" works.
- Is there one clear primary action? A single, visible button - "Get a quote", "Book a visit", "Shop now" - beats five competing ones.
- Does the page match the ad or search result? If someone searched "PCOD diet consultation" and lands on a generic clinic homepage, they will leave. Each campaign deserves a matching landing page.
- Does the design look current and trustworthy? Outdated visuals, stretched images or stock photos that feel generic make people doubt the business behind them.
Area 2: Navigation and structure
- Can people find your main services in one tap? Menus should use the words customers use, not internal jargon.
- Is the menu short enough? Long menus with many similar items create hesitation. Group related pages.
- Is there a working search (for stores, catalogues and content-heavy sites)? Test it with misspellings and Hindi-English mixed terms customers might type.
- Do important pages link to each other? A service page should lead naturally to pricing information, case studies or the enquiry form - not to a dead end.
- Is the footer useful? Address, phone, email, WhatsApp, key pages and policies - people often scroll to the footer to check if a business is real.
Area 3: Content and clarity
- Is the content scannable? Short paragraphs, clear subheadings and bullet points. Most people scan before they read.
- Do you answer the obvious questions? What is included, how long it takes, which areas you serve, what happens after enquiry. Unanswered questions become lost leads.
- Are benefits clear, not just features? "Stainless steel body" is a feature; "does not rust in humid kitchens" is a benefit.
- Is the language right for the audience? If many of your customers are more comfortable in Hindi or a regional language, consider at least key pages in that language.
Area 4: Forms and calls to action
- Are forms as short as possible? Ask only what you need for the first conversation - often name, phone and a short message. Every extra field is a reason to quit.
- Do fields use the right keyboard on mobile? Phone fields should open the number keypad; email fields the email keyboard.
- Are error messages helpful? "Invalid input" is useless. "Please enter a 10-digit mobile number" helps.
- Is there a clear confirmation? After submitting, people should see what happens next - "We will call you within one working day" - and ideally receive a WhatsApp or email confirmation.
- Are call and WhatsApp buttons easy to tap? For many Indian businesses, a large "Chat on WhatsApp" button converts better than a form. Make sure it opens with a sensible pre-filled message.
Area 5: Mobile usability
- Are tap targets big enough and spaced apart? Tiny links placed close together cause mis-taps and frustration.
- Does anything break or overflow? Wide tables, pop-ups that cannot be closed, text that requires zooming or sideways scrolling.
- Are pop-ups respectful? A full-screen pop-up the moment someone lands, especially on mobile, is one of the fastest ways to lose them. Google has also long warned against intrusive interstitials on mobile.
- Is the sticky header or chat widget covering content? Fixed bars eat a lot of screen space on small phones.
Area 6: Trust and speed
- Are trust signals visible near decisions? Real Google reviews, a physical address, years in business, clear policies and recognisable payment options (UPI, cards, net banking) placed near forms and checkout - not hidden on an "About" page.
- Is the site fast on a mid-range phone and mobile data? Check PageSpeed Insights and look at Core Web Vitals - Largest Contentful Paint, Interaction to Next Paint and Cumulative Layout Shift. Heavy images and sliders are the usual culprits.
- Is personal data handled transparently? A clear privacy policy, consent wording on forms and only collecting what you need - all of which also matters under India's Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023.
Turning findings into action
An audit produces a long list. The trick is prioritising it. Score each issue on two simple scales:
| Priority | Impact on conversions | Effort to fix | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Do now | High | Low | Shorten form, add WhatsApp button, rewrite hero headline |
| Plan next | High | High | Restructure navigation, rebuild checkout, new landing pages |
| Quick polish | Low | Low | Fix spacing, button labels, image alt text |
| Park | Low | High | Cosmetic redesign of rarely visited pages |
Start with the "do now" group, measure for a few weeks, then move to "plan next". Change a few things at a time so you can tell what actually helped.
Validate with real users
Expert review finds a lot, but watching five real people try to complete a task finds what experts miss. Ask a few customers - or people who match your audience - to "find the price list and request a call back" while you watch silently. Their hesitations are your to-do list.
Common audit mistakes
- Auditing only on desktop. Most of your visitors are probably on phones - check analytics and audit on the device they actually use.
- Asking only the team. People who built the site cannot see it fresh.
- Fixing everything at once. You lose the ability to learn what made the difference.
- Ignoring the post-click journey. Thank-you pages, confirmation messages and follow-up speed are part of the experience too.
- Treating analytics as the full story. Numbers show where people leave, not why. Pair them with recordings and real conversations.
- Forgetting accessibility. Low-contrast text, tiny fonts and unlabelled icon buttons affect older users and anyone using a phone in bright sunlight - a very common situation.
- Not writing findings down. An audit that lives in someone's head is soon forgotten. Record each issue with a screenshot, the page, the device and a suggested fix.
Key takeaways
- A UX audit looks for friction between a visitor arriving and taking the action you want.
- Check six areas: first impression, navigation, content, forms, mobile usability, and trust and speed.
- Use real data - analytics, recordings and short user tests - not just opinions.
- Prioritise by impact and effort; many of the best fixes are small.
- Re-audit regularly and before any redesign.
Get a professional UX audit
MetaFox Technologies has a 25+ person in-house team in Jaipur and 6+ years of designing and improving websites and apps for Indian businesses. If you want a second pair of eyes on why visitors are not converting, book a free consultation and we will walk through your site with you. Learn more about our UI/UX design services, or pair the audit with SEO services and a website rebuild where needed.
