Your website has just been redesigned. It looks great on the large monitor in the meeting room; everyone knows the offering and can complete an order blindfolded. But a customer arrives on a phone, knows nothing about the company and leaves at the first point of confusion. That is why checking whether a website looks nice is not enough.
We used the original version of this checklist as a broad list for websites and online shops. Over time it accumulated tools and individual rules that were not universal. This version returns to the essentials: what a person should be able to do, what you need to verify, and how to spot a problem before you start putting money into traffic.
First identify the three most important journeys
A UX audit of an entire website can easily break down into a hundred comments. Before opening analytics, I therefore choose the three journeys that matter most to the business. Typically:
- a new visitor understands the offering and sends an enquiry,
- a customer finds a product, adds it to the cart and pays,
- an existing client finds support, a document or contact details.
For each journey, write down the starting point, expected end and main obstacle. Then you are not completing the checklist mechanically. You are checking whether the website supports a specific decision.
1. The offering must be clear to someone who was not in the meeting
- Is it obvious from the first screen what you offer and for whom?
- Does the main heading describe an outcome or problem rather than a company slogan?
- Is the next step visible without hunting through the menu?
- Can visitors distinguish individual services or options?
- Do you state the conditions and limitations that genuinely affect the decision?
Test it with someone who does not know the company. Give them a few seconds, close the page and ask what the company does and what they would do next. This is not a scientific study, but it quickly exposes language understood only by people inside the company.
2. Navigation must work without thought and without a mouse
- Do item names match what visitors are looking for?
- Do links, the logo and the return to the previous step work?
- Is the mobile menu readable, closable and free of important content being covered?
- In a longer structure, is it clear where the person is?
- Can every important control be reached with the Tab key?
- When using a keyboard, is focus visible and does the user avoid getting trapped?
Accessibility is not a special mode for a few people. Sufficient contrast also helps on a phone in sunlight, and a clear form helps someone in a hurry. For a quick check, you can use Easy Checks from W3C. This is a first pass, not confirmation of full WCAG compliance.
3. Content must guide both the eye and the decision
- Is there one main heading and a logical structure of further headings?
- Are paragraphs readable, with important information easy to find while scanning?
- Do links and buttons describe the result of clicking them?
- Does meaning depend only on colour, an image or a hover effect?
- Do informative images have meaningful alternative text?
- Do animations distract from the offering, and can users respect reduced-motion preferences?
A strong colour alone does not create a conversion button. First it must be clear what will happen after the click. “Submit” is a technical description. “Book an introductory call” reduces uncertainty.
4. A form should ask only for what the company will actually use
- Does every field have a visible, programmatically associated label?
- Is it clear which data is required and why it is needed?
- Can the user complete the form on a phone and with a keyboard?
- Does an error message explain both the problem and how to fix it?
- Does correctly entered data remain after an error?
- After submission, does the user receive clear confirmation and information about what happens next?
In its guide to accessible forms, W3C recommends asking only for data needed to complete the process. Every additional field costs attention and increases data-handling work. If the business will not use the information, remove it.
5. An online shop must handle the entire purchase, not just a beautiful product page
Categories and search
- Do filters match how people choose, and can they be cleared easily?
- Is a no-results state useful and does it offer another path?
- Does a product card contain a name, price, availability and a readable image?
- Do sorting and filtering remain usable on a phone?
Product detail
- Are options, price, VAT, availability and delivery explained before adding to the cart?
- Do photographs show what the customer needs to assess?
- Is the add-to-cart button visible without blocking the content?
- Does an out-of-stock or discontinued product offer an alternative and a sensible way back?
Cart and order
- Can the item, option and quantity be changed without losing other data?
- Is the final price, including delivery and fees, known in time?
- Do you avoid requiring registration without a business reason?
- Does a failed payment return the person to an understandable state?
- Is the order confirmation unambiguous and does it prevent an accidental repeat purchase?
The rule “there must be no navigation in the cart” is not always valid. For a simple purchase, reducing distractions may help. With a complex offering, however, the customer needs to find conditions or a product detail. Test behaviour, not a rule of thumb.
6. A website must survive mobile, a slow network and an error
- Does the main content load quickly without large layout shifts?
- Does the page respond to clicks and typing without noticeable delay?
- Do images have the right dimensions and load only at the quality needed?
- Can a faulty external script block an order or form?
- Do key journeys work in current mainstream browsers and on real phones?
- Do you monitor availability and errors in important steps?
A lab score is guidance, not a business outcome. Also watch real users and the main journey. An advertising pixel must not be more important than the Buy button.
7. Verify measurement with a test, not by checking that code exists
For every important journey, make a test enquiry or order. Check that the event is sent once, with the correct name, value, currency and transaction identifier. Then verify that the target system sees it and that it matches the real order.
- Is a purchase sent merely by opening a thank-you URL?
- Is the event duplicated when the page is refreshed?
- Do tags respect consent status?
- Does the data layer contain personal data that does not belong there?
- Does the container include only services the company uses?
- Is there an owner for measurement and a record of the last check?
For implementation, see How to set up Google Tag Manager correctly; for the meaning of events, see the Google Analytics 4 guide. Session recordings or heatmaps can reveal blind spots, but use them purposefully, with sensitive fields masked and according to consent rules. Recording everything “just in case” is not a research plan.
How to use the checklist without a monthly workshop
- Choose one most important journey and go through it on a phone.
- Do the same using only a keyboard.
- Have someone from outside the company complete the task, and do not guide them.
- Record where they hesitated, not your proposed solution.
- Verify the problem in analytics, support or further tests.
- Fix one obstacle and go through the entire journey again, including measurement.
Do not try to declare a website “UX complete” in one round. The offering, devices and people's expectations change. The purpose of the checklist is to regularly find the most expensive friction and decide what to fix first.
If you want to review the website in a broader business context, also use the online marketing checklist. If you need to prioritise UX, measurement and acquisition, describe your main journey through the contact page.