A complete guide for UI audit checklist

Designing is like drawing on a canvas with paint that never dries. No design is perfect, but you can always make it better and more tailored to the user’s needs. To achieve that, constant reviewing, iteration, and adjustments are necessary.

While you can improvise along the way, having a streamlined method for auditing design work is often helpful. That’s where a UI audit checklist comes in.

The UI audit checklist serves multiple purposes. Firstly, it helps identify areas for improvement, bugs, and potential issues. Secondly, it ensures that the designs meet the user’s needs. And lastly, it plays a crucial role in ensuring the design is aesthetically pleasing.

In this article, I’ll share my personal UI audit checklist, which you can easily adapt to your design project. So, feel free to use it as a starting point and customize it to suit your specific needs.

1. Identify the audit goal

The first step in conducting a UI audit is to identify your specific goal or goals. Here are a few examples:

• Business/Interaction-related Goal: This focuses on specific user actions or behaviors directly impacting your business objectives. For example, you might want to increase the percentage of visitors who sign up with their email address by 10% or improve the conversion rate for a specific interaction.

• Brand-related Goal: This revolves around your brand’s overall perception and personality. You may want users to feel that your brand is casual, friendly, knowledgeable, or professional. 

• Visual-related Goal: This relates to the visual aesthetics and style of your UI design. You may want to make your design more modern or adopt a minimalist approach, aligning with current design trends.

• Other Goals: There may be additional goals specific to your project, such as enhancing usability, improving accessibility, optimizing performance, or addressing specific user needs.

By clearly defining your UI audit goals, you can focus your evaluation on areas that directly contribute to achieving those objectives. This will help you conduct a more targeted and effective audit.

2. Understand the users’ needs and goals

Every product you make, you make it for users. So it’s important to align your decision-making with users’ goals. 

Before you start auditing the UI, it’s essential to truly understand your users—their needs, their goals, and what drives them. To gain this understanding, consider the user/customer journey as your guide. Take a close look at each step they go through and identify areas where you can make improvements.

As you delve into the user/customer journey, keep an eye out for opportunities to add or tweak elements and UX content that can enhance their experience. Think about how you can provide helpful cues, streamline processes, or optimize the design and content to make their journey smoother and more enjoyable.

3. Ask what’s truly necessary/needs to be changed, and cut the rest

The next crucial step is identifying what is truly necessary and requires changes while eliminating anything unnecessary. This step helps streamline and refine the UI design to ensure it aligns with the desired goals and objectives.

To begin, carefully evaluate each aspect of the UI design. Ask yourself if it serves a clear purpose or if it contributes to the overall user experience. If certain elements or features are not essential or do not add value, consider removing them to reduce complexity. Or you can consider using progressive disclosure. 

By cutting out unnecessary elements, you can declutter the UI and improve its clarity, simplicity, and functionality. 

4. UX Writing Audit

UX writing MUST come first to avoid crafting a beautiful package unable to respond to customers’ real expectations. After all, it’s not a good idea to stuff writing in an existing design. In the worst-case scenario, you have to change the entire design to fit with the content. 

Here’s an audit checklist for reviewing UX writing:

Clarity and Conciseness

• Is the UX writing clear, concise, and scanable? (Do you provide users with more information than necessary? In most situations, you should aim to cut down on information instead of adding them)
• Does the text effectively communicate the necessary information to the user? (You should use words that users are already familiar with, like “cancel”, “confirm”,..)
• Are complex terms and jargon avoided or adequately explained?

Taylor Dykes from NNGroup has explained how to write more concisely in this article.

Consistency and Tone

• Is there consistency in the tone and voice used across the user interface?
• Does the tone align with the brand’s personality and the target audience?
• Are there any inconsistencies in terminology or language choices?

User Guidance and Instruction

• Does the UX writing provide clear instructions and guidance to users?
• Do tooltips, hints, and onboarding messages effectively assist users in understanding the interface and its features?

Microcopy and Call-to-Actions (CTAs)

• Are microcopy elements clear and actionable, such as button labels and form field placeholders?
• Do CTAs use persuasive and meaningful language to encourage desired user actions?
• Are CTAs consistently styled and positioned throughout the interface?

Error Handling and Feedback

• Are error messages clear, and specific?
• Do they provide actionable steps to resolve the issue?
• Does the UX writing provide feedback to users after completing actions or tasks?
• Are success messages or confirmation dialogs appropriately displayed to provide a sense of completion?

Localization

• Have localization considerations been taken into account, ensuring that translations maintain the intended meaning and tone?

5. Colors Audit

Color Consistency

• Are the colors used consistently throughout the UI?
• Do the colors align with the brand’s color palette and guidelines?

Color Psychology and Meaning

• Do the chosen colors align with the intended message or emotions of the UI?
• Are the colors appropriate for the target audience and purpose of the UI?
• Are there any conflicting or confusing color associations?

Contrast and Readability

• Is there sufficient contrast between text and background colors for easy readability?
• Do the color choices meet accessibility standards and guidelines?

Visual Hierarchy and Focus

• Are important elements appropriately emphasized through color choices?
• Do the colors guide the user’s attention to key actions or information?

Color Combinations and Harmony

• Do the color combinations create a visually pleasing and harmonious UI? (By following 60-30-10 rule)
• Are there any clashes or conflicts between different colors used?

Color Usage for Feedback and Alerts

• Are colors effectively used to provide feedback or indicate status changes?
• Do error messages, warnings, and success indicators use appropriate colors?

Color in Different UI States

• Are colors consistent across different states of UI elements, such as hover, active, and selected?
• Do the color changes effectively communicate interactivity and user actions?
• Are there any visual issues or inconsistencies in color transitions?

6. Typography and Readability Audit

Font Choice and Legibility

• Is the chosen font easy to read and legible in different sizes?
• Does the font style align with the intended tone and purpose of the UI?
• Are there any issues with font clarity or readability, especially for long passages of text?

Font Size and Hierarchy

• Are headings, subheadings, and body text appropriately sized to guide the user’s attention?
• Are font sizes consistent and balanced throughout the UI?

Line Length and Spacing

• Is the line length of text optimized for readability?
• Is there adequate spacing between lines and paragraphs to enhance legibility and comprehension?

Contrast and Accessibility

• Are there any readability issues due to low contrast or poor color choices?
• Do the color combinations meet accessibility guidelines, specifically for users with visual impairments?

Text Formatting and Emphasis

• Are text formatting options, such as bold, italics, and underline, used appropriately for emphasis?
• Do these formatting choices enhance or detract from the overall readability and user experience?
• Are there any inconsistencies or overuse of text formatting?

Alignment and Consistency

• Is the alignment of text consistent and visually pleasing?
• Are text elements properly aligned with other UI components?

7. White Space Audit

Consistency and Balance

• Is white space consistently applied throughout the UI design? (You should adhere to the 8px spacing rule, more information in this article)
• Do elements within the same category or type share consistent margins and padding?

Breathing Room and Clutter

• Is there enough white space around elements to provide breathing room and avoid visual clutter?

Proximity and Grouping

• Are related elements visually grouped through appropriate spacing?
• Is there enough space between unrelated elements to clearly distinguish them?

Margins and Padding for Interactive Elements

• Do interactive elements (e.g., buttons, links) have sufficient padding for comfortable interaction?
• Is there enough spacing around interactive elements to minimize accidental clicks or taps?

Responsiveness and Screen Sizes

• Does the spacing adapt well to different screen sizes and orientations?
• Are there any issues with overlapping or excessive spacing on smaller or larger screens?

Responsive Design

• Does the UI work well across different devices and screen sizes?
• Is the content and layout adjusted appropriately for smaller screens?
• Are touch targets and interactive elements appropriately sized for mobile use?

8. UI Layout Audit

Consistency

• Is there a consistent visual style and layout throughout the UI design?
• Do elements align and maintain consistent spacing across different screens and sections?

Hierarchy and Organization

• Is the content hierarchy communicated through layout and visual cues?
• Are related elements grouped logically for easy comprehension?

Alignment and Grid

• Do elements align properly based on a defined grid system or alignment guidelines?
• Are there any instances of misaligned or unevenly spaced elements?

Readability and Scannability

• Is the content presented in a way that is easy to read and scan?

Responsiveness

• Does the layout adapt well to different screen sizes and orientations?
• Are there any issues with content overlapping or becoming too cramped on smaller screens?

9. UI Elements Audit

Consistency

• Do UI elements follow established design patterns and guidelines?
• Are the visual styles, colors, and typography consistent across all elements?
• Are any deviations from the design system intentional and well-justified?

Alignment and Spacing

• Are UI elements aligned properly, maintaining a consistent grid or layout?
• Is there sufficient spacing between elements to avoid visual clutter and confusion?
• Do elements align with other interface elements for a cohesive design?

Responsive Design

• Do UI elements adapt well to different screen sizes and devices?
• Are elements appropriately sized and positioned for mobile, tablet, and desktop views?
• Is the responsiveness of elements tested across various devices and resolutions?

Interactivity and Feedback

• Do UI elements duly respond to user interactions?
• Are hover, focus, and active states properly implemented for interactive elements?
• Do elements provide clear visual feedback to indicate interaction or completion?

Accessibility

• Do UI elements meet accessibility standards and guidelines?
• Is there sufficient color contrast for users with visual impairments?
• Are interactive elements keyboard accessible and provide proper focus indication?

User-Friendly Interaction

• Are interactive elements appropriately labeled and provide clear instructions?

Error Handling and Messaging

• Are error messages and validation feedback clear and helpful?
• Do elements indicate when there are errors or issues with user input?
• Are error messages displayed consistently and noticeably?

Performance and Loading

• Do UI elements load quickly and efficiently?
• Is there an appropriate loading state or progress indication for elements with delays?
• Are large or complex elements optimized for performance to ensure a smooth user experience?

Remember to check popular design systems and trusted sources for specific best practices relevant to your project or design system. By incorporating and adapting these practices for UI components, you can improve the user-friendliness as well as the aesthetic of your design.