UX Audit Service 2026

UX audit service at Startup House: quick clarity on what’s blocking your product

A UX audit is a systematic evaluation of your digital product’s user experience—examining how real users interact with your interface, where they get stuck, and why they abandon key flows. Unlike a full redesign that can take months and significant budget, a focused UX audit delivers actionable insights within weeks, giving you a clear picture of what’s actually broken and what to fix first.

At Startup House, a Poland-based product studio, we run focused 2–4 week UX audits for SaaS platforms, marketplaces, and internal tools. Our UX audit service pinpoints why users drop off during onboarding, why features you spent months building are underused, and where money is quietly leaking from your conversion funnels. We’ve worked with B2B products across finance, logistics, healthcare, and AI-driven applications—domains where user flows are complex and the cost of poor usability is high.

We specialize in helping startups and scale-ups get clarity before committing to expensive development work. Our UX design services combine deep product expertise with practical, implementation-ready recommendations.

Typical audit outcomes our clients have seen:

• +18–35% funnel completion after implementing top-priority fixes
• 30–50% fewer support tickets related to “How do I…?” confusion
• 40–60% faster time-to-first-value in onboarding flows
• Clearer product roadmaps aligned with actual user behavior, not assumptions

These are realistic examples based on past engagements, not guarantees—your results depend on your product and implementation speed.

Ready to find out what’s really blocking your product? Book a free 45-minute UX audit consultation call to discuss your specific challenges.

When you need a UX audit (and not “just another redesign”)

Not every product problem requires a full rebuild. In many cases, a thorough UX audit reveals that targeted fixes can solve 70–80% of user pain points without rewriting your entire frontend. Here’s how to know if a UX audit is the right move:

You likely need a UX audit if you’re seeing:

• High bounce rates on key pages — Your pricing page or feature overview has a 65%+ exit rate, but you’re not sure if it’s the copy, the layout, or user expectations misaligned with reality.
• Users abandoning onboarding early — Only 15–20% of registered users complete setup or reach their first meaningful action within the first week.
• Complex dashboards causing confusion — Your self-service analytics dashboard shows that only 15% of registered users successfully build a report in the first 7 days, despite the feature being central to your value proposition.
• Rising support volume with “How do I…?” questions — Your customer satisfaction scores are dropping while support tickets about basic navigation keep climbing.
• Stalled growth after MVP launch — You’ve validated product-market fit, but conversion rates have plateaued and you’re unsure where users struggle most.
• Feature adoption that doesn’t match development investment — You shipped a major feature last quarter, but usage data shows it’s barely touched.
• Preparing for fundraising or board presentations — Investors are asking about retention and activation metrics, and you need concrete answers about UX issues before scaling marketing spend.

These symptoms apply to both external products (SaaS apps, marketplaces, online store checkouts, banking portals) and internal tools (warehouse management systems, CRM platforms, manufacturing dashboards). A comprehensive evaluation through a UX audit helps protect runway for startups and reduces change-management risks for SMEs and enterprises rolling out new enterprise software.

What our UX audit service includes

Every comprehensive UX audit from Startup House covers these core components:

• Heuristic evaluation — Expert review against Nielsen’s 10 usability heuristics and industry standards to identify critical usability issues quickly.
• User flow and funnel review — Mapping how users navigate from entry to conversion, identifying where they drop off and why.
• Information architecture and navigation analysis — Checking whether your structure matches how u sers actually think about your product.
• UI consistency and design system review — Evaluating visual identity, interactive elements, spacing, typography, and component reuse across your user interface.
• Accessibility and responsiveness check — Quick pass against WCAG 2.1 AA basics (contrast, keyboard navigation, form labels) across key devices.
• Content and microcopy assessment — Reviewing whether labels, error messages, and CTAs are clear enough to guide user behavior.
• Basic analytics review — When data is available, we cross-reference GA4, Mixpanel, or session recordings to validate qualitative findings.

For AI-powered and data-heavy products, we also examine how predictions, recommendations, or model outputs are surfaced in the UI—whether they’re understandable, trustworthy, and actionable for end users.

For complex B2B workflows, we map edge cases that often get overlooked: failed payment states, exception handling in logistics flows, multi-step approval chains in finance software, and error recovery paths that can make or break user retention.

All findings are compiled into a structured UX audit report and a prioritized backlog ready for your product and engineering teams to begin implementing improvements.

Our UX audit process

Our UX audit process follows a clear structure designed to deliver valuable insights within 2–4 weeks, depending on product complexity. Here’s what to expect:

Typical durations:

• 2–3 weeks for marketing sites or straightforward SaaS products
• 3–4 weeks for enterprise tools with complex user journeys
• 5–7 business days compressed timeline for investor or board deadlines

All communication runs fully remote. We conduct workshops over Miro and Zoom, with async updates via email or Slack to fit your team’s schedule across Europe and North America time zones.

Discovery & alignment

The UX audit process begins with a 60–90 minute workshop with product owners and key stakeholders. This session establishes the foundation for everything that follows.

What we collect:

• Business goals for 2026 (growth targets, market expansion, product launches)
• Core KPIs: activation rate, retention, NPS, conversion rates, key performance indicators that matter most
• Target personas and their primary jobs-to-be-done
• Known problem areas and hypotheses from your team

We review existing assets to avoid re-discovering known issues: last year’s user research, customer feedback from Intercom or Zendesk, Jira backlog items tagged as UX problems, and any previous audit insights.

Most importantly, we define the audit scope here. Rather than trying to cover your entire product, we might focus on “signup → onboarding → first key action” or “checkout flow → order tracking” to keep the audit focused and actionable.

Expert review: heuristic evaluation & cognitive walkthroughs

Two to three senior UX professionals run independent heuristic evaluations using established frameworks (Nielsen–Molich heuristics, WCAG principles) before consolidating findings. This parallel approach catches more issues than a single reviewer.

Cognitive walkthroughs simulate realistic tasks using your defined personas:

• “Create and share a report with your manager” (B2B analytics tool)
• “Book a temperature-controlled shipment from Poland to Germany” (logistics platform)
• “Submit a claim and track its status” (insurance portal)
• “Configure API access for a new integration” (developer platform)

We focus on friction points, error states, and areas where users are likely to be confused or blocked. Every issue is captured with annotated screenshots and concise descriptions suitable for handing directly to developers—no vague “improve usability” recommendations.

User flows, funnels, and information architecture

This phase maps current user journeys and funnel steps as simple diagrams, then overlays drop-off points and qualitative problems identified during the heuristic analysis.

Examples of flows we typically map:

• Trial signup and activation for a B2B SaaS platform
• Checkout and payment for a D2C online store
• Case management workflows for an insurance or legal portal
• Order creation and tracking for logistics software

We check whether navigation and labeling match real user mental models. For instance, are “Shipments,” “Orders,” and “Jobs” confusingly similar for your users? Does your user journey mapping reflect how customers actually think, or how your internal teams organized the codebase?

Deliverables from this phase:

• Simplified user-flow map with clearly marked “high-friction” screens
• Funnel visualization showing where users drop off
• Navigation structure assessment with recommendations

UI, accessibility, and responsiveness checks

At the interface level, we examine spacing, hierarchy, typography, colors, interactive states, and component consistency across web and mobile. This UI audit ensures your visual identity supports rather than hinders user engagement.

Accessibility checks include:

• Color contrast ratios (minimum 4.5:1 for normal text)
• Keyboard navigation and focus states
• Form labels and error messages
• Alternative text for images
• Touch target sizes for mobile

Devices and viewports we typically test:

• 1440px desktop (standard external monitor)
• 1280px laptop (common developer/PM setup)
• 390×844 (iPhone 15 and similar)
• 360×800 (popular Android viewport)

When no design system exists, we flag candidates for reusable components and propose a basic token structure (colors, spacing, typography scales) to stabilize future development work and reduce UX issues.

Analytics and behavioral data (when available)

Whenever clients share data access, we complement qualitative review with quantitative analysis to strengthen our recommendations with evidence of actual user behavior.

Metrics we examine:

• Time-to-first-value (how quickly do users reach their “aha moment”?)
• Task completion rates for key flows
• Error rates and form abandonment
• Funnel conversion percentages at each step
• Device and platform breakdown

We cross-reference observed issues (confusing filter behavior, unclear CTAs) with actual behavior (very low filter usage, high back-button rates, rage clicks on non-clickable elements). This combination of user testing insights and behavioral data produces far more reliable recommendations than either method alone.

If current instrumentation is insufficient, we can suggest lightweight in-product event tracking improvements to support future user research and ongoing optimization.

Deliverables: what you get from a Startup House UX audit

Our UX audit deliverables are practical, implementation-ready, and prioritized—not just a slide deck that sits in a folder. Everything is designed to help you begin implementing improvements immediately.

Key deliverables include:

Every recommendation is tied to business objectives (e.g., “This change targets checkout completion improvement from 1.8% to 2.5%”). We don’t just tell you something is broken—we explain why it matters for your business outcomes.

Clients receive deliverables as PDF/HTML reports, Figma comments or FigJam boards, plus a live 60–90 minute readout session with Q&A. You can reuse these materials internally for stakeholder buy-in, fundraising decks, or planning 2026 product roadmaps.

Executive summary for decision-makers

The executive summary is a 3–5 page document aimed at founders, C-level executives, and business stakeholders who need the key takeaways without diving into every usability issue.

The summary includes:

• Top 10 issues ranked by business impact (not just UX severity)
• Quick-win changes achievable in 2–4 weeks with minimal development effort
• 2–3 strategic recommendations (e.g., “Unify onboarding across web and mobile to reduce drop-off by 25%”)
• Key metrics benchmarks and expected improvements
• Visual before/after examples showing impact

Language stays non-technical, with simple graphs and annotated screenshots. This summary can be copied directly into internal strategy documents, board updates, or investor communications.

Detailed UX issue log and annotated screens

Every identified issue is logged with comprehensive documentation to support your product and engineering teams:

• Severity rating (P1 critical → P3 minor)
• Affected user segments (new users, power users, specific personas)
• Evidence (screenshots, session recording timestamps, analytics data)
• Recommended fix with implementation notes
• Expected impact on user satisfaction and business metrics

Issues are grouped by themes (navigation, forms, search, dashboards, onboarding) to match how teams typically work through a backlog. Annotated Figma or PDF screens show exactly where users struggle and how we suggest changing layout, hierarchy, or microcopy.

This structure lets product managers quickly translate findings into Jira, Linear, or other issue trackers without extensive rewriting.

Prioritized UX roadmap & effort estimates

We turn audit findings into a practical roadmap for the next 1–3 quarters using an impact versus effort matrix. Items are tagged as quick wins, medium-effort improvements, or strategic initiatives.

Example roadmap items:

As a full product development company, Startup House can add rough engineering estimates for each recommendation if requested—helping you plan sprints and allocate resources with confidence.

Benefits of a UX audit for startups and scale-ups

For startups operating with limited runway and investor pressure, every development sprint needs to count. A thorough UX audit ensures you’re fixing what actually matters for user retention and conversion rates—not just what feels intuitive to your internal team.

Core benefits:

• Higher conversion rates — Identifying and fixing friction in signup, checkout, or upgrade flows can yield 20–40% improvements in funnel completion.
• Faster onboarding — Reducing time-to-first-value by 30–50% means more users experience your product’s core value before churning.
• Better user retention — Addressing confusing navigation and unclear next steps directly improves retention metrics and customer satisfaction.
• Fewer support tickets — Clear UI and helpful error states reduce “How do I…?” volume by 30–50%, freeing support resources.
• Less development waste — Building features based on real user feedback instead of assumptions means less rework and faster iteration.
• Stronger fundraising materials — Concrete UX improvements and metrics give you better business outcomes to present to investors.
• Clearer 2026 product vision — A prioritized roadmap aligned with user needs provides direction for scaling.

For AI-first products, superior user experience directly improves trust in models and adoption of data-driven features. When users understand what the AI is doing and why, they’re far more likely to rely on its recommendations.

Cost savings and reduced development waste

A UX audit pays for itself by preventing expensive, misaligned redesigns and feature work that users ignore. The audit often reveals that targeted fixes solve 80% of the pain without requiring a complete rebuild.

Example: Instead of rebuilding your entire dashboard (3–4 months of development), the audit might reveal that adding presets, improving empty states, and fixing filter behavior (2–3 weeks of work) addresses the core usability issues causing user complaints.

Better specifications from the UX audit also reduce back-and-forth between product, design, and engineering. When everyone understands exactly what’s broken and why, development moves faster.

Cost comparison:

• 3-week comprehensive UX audit: defined investment with clear deliverables
• 2–3 misdirected development sprints: significant cost plus opportunity cost of delayed fixes

The audit provides actionable recommendations that prevent you from building the wrong things—a form of conversion rate optimization for your development budget.

Improved metrics across the product lifecycle

UX audit outcomes connect directly to specific metrics that matter for growth:

Early-stage startups can use a UX audit right after MVP launch to stabilize flows before scaling marketing spend—ensuring you’re not pouring money into acquiring users who immediately drop off.

More mature companies can use audits to tackle design debt and prepare for larger redesigns. Typical timelines for seeing impact: 1–3 months after implementing prioritized items, with quick wins often showing results within weeks.

Why partner with Startup House for UX audit service

Startup House is a Poland-based software and product studio with deep expertise in UX design, AI/data science, and full-stack product development. We’re not a generic UX audit agency—we’re a leading UX audit company that builds products daily, which means our recommendations are grounded in development reality.

Why choose us:

• Deep product development experience — Our UX team works alongside backend, frontend, and data engineers every day, so we understand technical constraints.
• Focus on startups and scale-ups — We understand runway pressure, investor timelines, and the need for fast, prioritized action.
• Ability to implement recommendations — Unlike pure consultancies, we can continue beyond the audit with design and development.
• Flexible engagement models — From one-off audits to long-term product partnerships with performance-based billing.
• Regulated domain experience — We’ve worked with fintech, healthcare, and data-sensitive products requiring extra attention to compliance and security.
• Global timezone coverage — We work across Europe and North America time zones with fully remote collaboration.
• AI and data product expertise — We understand how to audit products with ML models, recommendations, and data-heavy interfaces.

We can continue beyond the audit with UX/UI redesign, MVP development, AI feature design, and long-term maintenance.

End-to-end product expertise, not just UX slides

When a UX audit agency only does audits, recommendations often ignore technical reality. At Startup House, we design, build, and maintain products—so our audit recommendations are realistic and technically grounded from day one.

Our UX team works daily with engineers building on AWS, GCP, and Azure. We understand microservices architectures, API constraints, and the real effort required to implement UI changes. When we suggest “add a progress indicator to the multi-step form,” we know whether that’s a 2-hour task or a 2-day refactor.

We also consider performance, security, and scalability when suggesting UX changes—especially important for enterprise software and API-heavy products where a beautiful UI can’t mask slow response times.

Real-world example: A B2B logistics platform came to us with declining user engagement. Our audit revealed that users expected real-time shipment tracking updates, but the UI only refreshed on manual reload. We recommended WebSocket integration with a specific UI pattern for status updates. The client engaged us for implementation, resulting in 40% higher daily active usage within two months.

Flexible collaboration and performance-oriented approach

Clients can engage with us in multiple ways:

• One-off UX audit — Standalone evaluation with comprehensive report and roadmap
• Audit + redesign — Audit followed by UX/UI design work implementing top recommendations
• Product partnership — Longer engagement including development, QA, and ongoing support

We can work as an external UX team running parallel to your existing staff, or embed within your product team for tighter collaboration. Either way, we align audit goals with measurable outcomes and review results at the end of engagement.

For recurring clients, we offer ongoing support through smaller follow-up UX health checks every 6–12 months. These keep design debt under control and ensure your product continues meeting evolving user expectations as you scale.

How to get started with a UX audit by Startup House

Getting started is straightforward. Here’s what the process looks like:

1. Contact us — Fill out our website form or email us directly with a brief description of your product and challenges.
2. Share access — Send links to your product (staging environment is fine), plus any analytics dashboards or session recording tools you use.
3. Discovery call — Join a 45-minute call where we discuss your business goals, known pain points, and audit scope.
4. Receive proposal — Within 2–3 business days, you’ll get a tailored UX audit proposal with scope, timeline, deliverables, and pricing.
5. Kick off — Once aligned, we schedule the discovery workshop and begin the audit.

We usually respond within 1 business day. If budget or timeline is tight, we can start small—focusing on a critical funnel or specific user journey rather than the entire product.

When reaching out, include any relevant dates (e.g., “preparing for a March 2026 fundraising round” or “Q3 2026 product launch”) so we can align priorities and timeline accordingly.

A holistic perspective on your product’s user experience is the fastest path to identifying areas for improvement without wasting development resources on guesses.

Ready to get clarity on what’s blocking your product? Reach out to discuss your UX audit needs and explore how we can help you achieve better business outcomes.

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