When to use it
When you have a website and want to know whether it works before investing in changes, or when you suspect your visitors are running into problems you no longer see because you know the site by heart.
It is meant for people who have a website and are not UX experts. Each signal is explained in detail, with examples, in How to tell if your website is well built. This document is the version you go through point by point, with the site open next to it.
Before you use it
Check desktop and mobile separately. What works on one guarantees nothing on the other, and mobile is usually where the problems show up.
Write down what you see, not just yes or no. A "no" without a note does not tell you what to fix. The "To review" column is for what you cannot answer with confidence: those doubts are findings too.
It is a first look, not a diagnosis. It covers what can be observed with the naked eye. Why people get stuck, and what they would do instead, is answered by methods such as usability tests or interviews.
The document
Website reviewed: [URL]
Date: [date]
Device: [desktop / mobile]
How to use this guide
- Check each point on your website.
- Mark "Yes", "No" or "To review", and take notes on what you observe.
- Consider each point on desktop and on mobile separately: do not assume that what works on one works on the other.
1. Clarity of the message
Is it immediately clear what you offer?
| Point | Yes | No | To review | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Is the purpose of the site clear within the first 5 seconds? | [ ] | [ ] | [ ] | |
| Is your value proposition clear and direct? | [ ] | [ ] | [ ] | |
| Is the language simple and accessible? | [ ] | [ ] | [ ] | |
| Do you avoid technical or confusing words? | [ ] | [ ] | [ ] |
Quick test: ask someone who does not know your business to look at your home page for 5 seconds. Then ask them what they understood. If they need more time or hesitate, something needs adjusting.
2. Simple navigation
Is it easy to find what the user is looking for?
| Point | Yes | No | To review | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Is the menu clear and always visible? | [ ] | [ ] | [ ] | |
| Are the section names understandable to an outsider? | [ ] | [ ] | [ ] | |
| Does the organization of the content follow a clear logic? | [ ] | [ ] | [ ] | |
| Does your search work properly, if you have one? | [ ] | [ ] | [ ] |
Quick test: try to find 3 key things on your site (for example: contact, pricing, use cases). Count how many clicks you needed. If it took more than three, treat it as a signal, not a verdict: ask yourself whether each click gave the person something they needed, such as context or options to choose from, or whether it just made them wait.
3. Calls to action
Is it clear what you want the user to do?
| Point | Yes | No | To review | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Are there visible, consistent buttons across the whole site? | [ ] | [ ] | [ ] | |
| Do the buttons say exactly what to do (for example "Book a meeting", "See pricing")? | [ ] | [ ] | [ ] | |
| Does every page have at least one clear call to action? | [ ] | [ ] | [ ] |
Quick test: go to each page of your site and ask yourself what you want the person to do after reading it. If the answer is vague, the call to action is weak. Use specific action verbs.
4. Mobile experience
Does your site work well on mobile devices?
| Point | Yes | No | To review | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Does it look right on small screens? | [ ] | [ ] | [ ] | |
| Is the text easy to read without zooming? | [ ] | [ ] | [ ] | |
| Are the buttons easy to tap with a finger? | [ ] | [ ] | [ ] | |
| Do the images adapt well to the screen size? | [ ] | [ ] | [ ] | |
| Can forms be filled in without fighting the phone keyboard? | [ ] | [ ] | [ ] |
Quick test: open your site on your own phone, on mobile data (not wifi). Go through it as if you were a new visitor. If you have analytics, check what share of your visits comes from mobile: that is the version of your site those people see.
5. Loading speed
Does your site load fast?
| Point | Yes | No | To review | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Does your home page appear in under 3 seconds? | [ ] | [ ] | [ ] | |
| Do images not slow down the experience? | [ ] | [ ] | [ ] | |
| Are there no elements that take unnecessarily long? | [ ] | [ ] | [ ] |
Quick test: use Google PageSpeed Insights (free). Enter your URL and you will get a score from 0 to 100 with a list of what to optimize. Compress your images and remove the plugins you do not use: according to Google, a lossy WebP image is 25% to 34% smaller than a comparable JPEG at the same quality.
Next steps
Once you have your notes, prioritize the areas with the most problems. You do not need to fix everything at once: focus first on what has the most impact on your users and your business goals.
These are initial observations. To go deeper, you can use methods such as usability tests with real users or interviews, which give more detailed information about why your site works or fails.
Take this review to the next level
This guide covers what a person can observe with the naked eye. There are technical metrics —real speed, code structure, accessibility, SEO— that need tools to be measured.
To complement it you can install UXR SEO Analyzer, a free Chrome extension that analyzes more than 100 metrics in real time. It runs locally, without sending your data to any server, and delivers the results sorted by priority level.
Grounding
- Google. An image format for the Web (WebP). developers.google.com/speed/webp. The source for the size difference between lossy WebP and JPEG.