website-ux-audit-template
This template is designed for your team to use during a Website Audit & Discovery phase. It breaks down the audit into four distinct lenses so your departments don't overlap, but rather complement each other to solve the "0 leads" problem.
🏗️ Phase 1: Engineering Audit (The Foundation)
Focus: Is the site technically capable of converting?
| Audit Item | Department | Checkpoint / Question | Priority (H/M/L) | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Page Speed | Engineering | Does the site load in < 2.5s (LCP)? | H | |
| Mobile Integrity | Engineering | Are all buttons and forms clickable/viewable on mobile? | H | |
| Tracking Setup | Engineering | Are Google Tag Manager / GA4 events firing on CTA clicks? | H | |
| Form Function | Engineering | Do forms actually submit? Does the data reach the CRM? | H | |
| SSL & Security | Engineering | Is the site HTTPS? (Crucial for user trust and SEO) | M |
🎨 Phase 2: UX Audit (The Journey)
Focus: Is the user confused, frustrated, or lost?
| Audit Item | Department | Checkpoint / Question | Priority (H/M/L) | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Visual Hierarchy | UX Design | Is the most important info the most visually prominent? | H | |
| Navigation | UX Design | Can a user find what they need in 3 clicks or less? | M | |
| Scanability | UX Design | Are there headers, bullets, and white space to aid reading? | M | |
| Friction Points | UX Design | Are there too many steps/fields in the lead funnel? | H | |
| Accessibility | UX Design | Is the color contrast high enough for readability? | L |
✍️ Phase 3: Marketing Audit (The Message)
Focus: Does the content resonate with the target audience?
| Audit Item | Department | Checkpoint / Question | Priority (H/M/L) | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Value Prop | Marketing | Is the "Why Us" clear within 5 seconds of landing? | H | |
| Market Match | Marketing | Does the copy use the same language as the target persona? | H | |
| Content Depth | Marketing | Does the content answer the user's top 3 objections? | M | |
| SEO Keywords | Marketing | Are headers (H1, H2) optimized for search intent? | M | |
| Tone of Voice | Marketing | Is the brand voice consistent across all pages? | L |
📈 Phase 4: CRO Audit (The Close)
Focus: Is the site engineered to drive a specific action?
| Audit Item | Department | Checkpoint / Question | Priority (H/M/L) | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CTA Strength | CRO | Are buttons action-oriented (e.g., "Get My Demo")? | H | |
| CTA Placement | CRO | Is there a CTA at the top (Hero) and the bottom of the page? | H | |
| Social Proof | CRO | Are testimonials/logos placed near the conversion points? | M | |
| Risk Reversal | CRO | Are there "No credit card required" or "Money back" labels? | M | |
| Urgency/Scarcity | CRO | Is there a reason for the user to act now vs later? | L |
How to Use This Template with Your Client
- Assign Owners: Give each table to the respective lead (Lead Dev, Head of Marketing, UX Lead).
- The "Priority" Column: If the site has 0 leads, focus only on the High (H) priority items first.
- Cross-Department Review: Meet once all tables are filled.
- Example: Engineering might say a page is slow because UX used too many high-res images. Marketing might say the CRO button text doesn't match the SEO ad copy.
- The Fix: Develop a sprint plan to address the "High" priority gaps across all four tables.
When a website generates zero leads, it usually means there is a "break" in the relay race between departments. While they all work on the same page, their Success Metrics (KPIs) and Problem-Solving Frameworks are fundamentally different.
To help your tech firm distinguish these roles during a CRO/UX Website Audit, here is the breakdown of how each department approaches a "zero lead" scenario.
1. The Marketing Department: The "Architect of Intent"
Marketing’s job is to ensure that the Right Person sees the Right Message at the Right Time. In an audit, they look at the "Market-to-Message Match."
- Distinct Role: They own the Voice and the Traffic.
- Audit Contribution:
- Content Gap Analysis: If the site has 0 leads, Marketing asks: "Is the copy actually solving the user's pain point, or is it just talking about our features?"
- Traffic Quality: They audit the sources. If you are buying low-intent traffic (e.g., broad social ads) and sending them to a high-intent page (e.g., "Book a Technical Demo"), Marketing identifies that as a strategy failure.
- Lead Magnets: They identify that the reason there are 0 leads is that the "Ask" is too big. They suggest "Middle-of-Funnel" content (Whitepapers, Calculators) to warm up cold visitors.
2. The UX (User Experience) Department: The "Friction Fighter"
UX focuses on the cognitive load and navigational ease. If Marketing gets the user to the "door," UX makes sure they don't get lost inside the "house."
- Distinct Role: They own the User Journey and Empathy.
- Audit Contribution:
- Usability Heuristics: They look for "Confusion Points." For example, if the CTA is "Get Started," but the user doesn't know if that means "Create Account" or "Talk to Sales," UX identifies this as a lack of clarity.
- Information Architecture: They audit the hierarchy. If the most important content is "below the fold" or buried in a menu, they flag it as a layout failure.
- Accessibility: They ensure that the site works for all users (e.g., contrast ratios, mobile tap-targets).
3. The CRO (Conversion Rate Optimization) Department: The "Closer"
CRO is a specialized hybrid. They take the Marketing message and the UX layout and apply Psychology and Data to force an action.
- Distinct Role: They own the Conversion Action and A/B Testing.
- Audit Contribution:
- CTA Optimization: While UX wants a button to be "usable," CRO wants it to be "Irresistible." They audit the color contrast, the "Action-Oriented" verbs (e.g., changing "Submit" to "Claim My Free Audit"), and the proximity of the CTA to "Value Statements."
- Funnel Analytics: They look at the drop-off data. If 90% of users leave on the "Contact Form," CRO investigates if the form has too many fields.
- Social Proof Placement: They audit where testimonials and trust badges are located to ensure they appear exactly when the user is most hesitant.
4. The Software Engineering Department: The "Foundation"
Engineering ensures that the "Lead Machine" actually runs. They focus on Performance, Scalability, and Data Integrity.
- Distinct Role: They own the Speed, Security, and Functionality.
- Audit Contribution:
- Technical Performance: If a page takes 4 seconds to load, 40% of users leave. Engineering audits the Core Web Vitals. No amount of "Good Copy" can save a slow site.
- Tracking & Tagging: They ensure the "plumbing" works. Often, a site has "0 leads" simply because the tracking pixel is broken and the leads aren't being recorded in the CRM.
- Mobile Responsiveness: They audit the code to ensure the "Lead Form" isn't physically impossible to type into on an iPhone 13.
Comparison Table: The "Zero Leads" Audit
| Feature | Marketing Audit Focus | UX Audit Focus | CRO Audit Focus | Engineering Audit Focus |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CTAs | Is the offer compelling? | Is the button visible? | Does the text drive urgency? | Does the button click work? |
| Copy | Does it match the ad? | Is it easy to read/scan? | Does it handle objections? | Is the text SEO-structured? |
| Content | Is it authoritative? | Is it organized logically? | Does it lead to an action? | Is the media optimized? |
| Funnel | Is the audience right? | Is the path intuitive? | Where is the friction? | Is the data flow secure? |
How They Converge: The Integrated Workflow
In your tech firm, a client project should follow this flow to fix the "0 lead" problem:
- Engineering fixes the speed and tracking (The Foundation).
- Marketing rewrites the value proposition and targets the right keywords (The Message).
- UX redesigns the page flow so the user doesn't get overwhelmed (The Flow).
- CRO runs an A/B test on the new CTA to see which version converts best (The Result).