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<div class="kl km kn"><picture><img class="bg ky kz c" role="presentation" src="https://miro.medium.com/v2/resize:fit:700/1*UvNMQiSHQDSwTfuDATKFVQ.png" alt="" width="700" height="394" /></picture></div>
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<p id="53bb" class="pw-post-body-paragraph la lb ev lc b ld le lf lg lh li lj lk ll lm ln lo lp lq lr ls lt lu lv lw lx eo bj" data-selectable-paragraph="">User experience (UX) plays a pivotal role in determining the success of a website or application. A seamless and intuitive user interface can lead to increased engagement, customer satisfaction, and ultimately, business growth. One valuable tool in optimizing UX is the UX audit. In this blog post, we’ll explore the process of a UX audit, drawing insights from a YouTube video, guidance from a senior UX professional, and the experience of conducting UX audits to improve our skills while teaching a fellow UX intern.</p>
<h1 id="9ac1" class="ly lz ev be ma mb mc md me mf mg mh mi mj mk ml mm mn mo mp mq mr ms mt mu mv bj" data-selectable-paragraph="">Understanding UX Audit</h1>
<p id="e305" class="pw-post-body-paragraph la lb ev lc b ld mw lf lg lh mx lj lk ll my ln lo lp mz lr ls lt na lv lw lx eo bj" data-selectable-paragraph="">A UX audit is a systematic evaluation of a website or application to identify areas of improvement and optimize the overall user experience. It involves analyzing various aspects, including usability, accessibility, visual design, content, and functionality. By conducting a UX audit, we can uncover potential pain points, optimize user flows, and enhance the overall interface.</p>
<ol class="">
<li id="7ec1" class="la lb ev lc b ld le lf lg lh li lj lk nb lm ln lo nc lq lr ls nd lu lv lw lx ne nf ng bj" data-selectable-paragraph=""><strong class="lc ew">Learning from YouTube</strong>: To gain valuable insights into the UX audit process, I watched an informative YouTube video titled “UI UX Audit Process — How to Stop Skipping Them” on the Headway channel. The video provided a step-by-step approach, highlighting key elements to consider during the audit. These elements included user research, user journey mapping, usability testing, visual design analysis, and content evaluation. By following this structured process, a comprehensive review of the user experience can be ensured.<br />
Headway UX Audit Process link: <a class="af nh" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vDhfwGkuTIM&amp;list=LL&amp;index=22" target="_blank" rel="noopener ugc nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vDhfwGkuTIM&amp;list=LL&amp;index=22</a></li>
<li id="d502" class="la lb ev lc b ld ni lf lg lh nj lj lk nb nk ln lo nc nl lr ls nd nm lv lw lx ne nf ng bj" data-selectable-paragraph=""><strong class="lc ew">Guided by a Senior UX</strong>: To improve my skills, I sought guidance from my senior UX who had experience conducting UX landing page audits. His expertise helped me understand the nuances of analyzing user interfaces, identifying usability issues, and recommending effective solutions. His mentorship provided invaluable insights into best practices and industry standards, enabling me to conduct more UX landing page/system audits.</li>
<li id="3bee" class="la lb ev lc b ld ni lf lg lh nj lj lk nb nk ln lo nc nl lr ls nd nm lv lw lx ne nf ng bj" data-selectable-paragraph=""><strong class="lc ew">Conducting Free UX Audits</strong>: To further enhance my skills, Our Design department decided to offer free UX audits, allowing me to gain practical experience. These audits allowed me to put my knowledge into practice and refine my ability to identify pain points, suggest improvements, and communicate my findings effectively. The experience of conducting real-world audits enhanced my understanding of the UX audit process.</li>
<li id="740a" class="la lb ev lc b ld ni lf lg lh nj lj lk nb nk ln lo nc nl lr ls nd nm lv lw lx ne nf ng bj" data-selectable-paragraph=""><strong class="lc ew">Learning by Teaching</strong>: To solidify my knowledge and contribute to the growth of the design team, I took the opportunity to teach a fellow UX researcher intern about the UX audit process. By explaining the concepts, sharing insights, and guiding her through the steps, I not only reinforced my own understanding but also developed my communication and mentoring skills. Teaching someone else benefits not only the learner but also the teacher, fostering a collaborative learning environment and promoting knowledge sharing.</li>
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<p id="985e" class="pw-post-body-paragraph la lb ev lc b ld le lf lg lh li lj lk ll lm ln lo lp lq lr ls lt lu lv lw lx eo bj" data-selectable-paragraph="">The journey of improving our UX skills through the UX audit process has been enlightening and rewarding. By leveraging resources such as YouTube videos, online templates, guidance from seniors, conducting free audits, and teaching others, we have deepened our understanding of UX audit methodologies. Through this iterative process of learning and applying our knowledge, we have grown as UX professionals, equipped with the ability to optimize user experiences and drive meaningful results.</p>


Enhancing User Experience through the Art of UX Audit

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Here&#8217;s a typical startup marketing story: Founders launch product. Initial buzz wears off. With the sound of crickets and rolling tumbleweeds in the background, founders realise that they need customers to grow. They test a few channels, conclude that everything is too expensive and nothing works, and try to hire a growth hacker in frustration. Sounds familiar? You&#8217;re not alone. In this post, I will bust three common startup marketing myths and show you how to tackle them. Read on.</span></p>
<h2><b>Build it and they will come</b></h2>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Modern advertising evolved out of a need to differentiate and sell products in a world of increased competition as a result of the industrial revolution. With the evolution of no-code tools and the creator economy, a similar trend is taking place in tech. In 2006, if you wanted to send promotional emails, your main options were Mailchimp or Campaign Monitor. In 2021, you have at least 15.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Having a great product or experience is only half the battle and increasingly becoming table stakes. Getting people to care about your product is the other and increasingly the more important half. Founders often postpone thinking about who the product is for and why they should pay attention until it&#8217;s too late, at which point they scramble to get &#8220;users&#8221; or &#8220;sales&#8221;, which brings us to the second myth:</span></p>
<h2><b>Marketing strategy is finding the cheapest acquisition channel. Probably Facebook.</b></h2>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Throwing things at a wall and seeing what sticks is great when cooking spaghetti, not so much when thinking about the future of your business. There&#8217;s a time for scientific experimentation and testing out creative ideas, but it should be complimentary, not a substitute to a well-defined marketing strategy.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">A great marketing strategy clearly defines who the customer is (and no, millennials or working moms don&#8217;t count) and provides a compelling reason why your product is truly better than the alternatives. It serves as the foundation for growth and sets the guardrails for creative experimentation. It helps you know where to focus on when it comes to tactical execution. It helps you avoid wasting time and money on second-guessing your target audience or your value proposition.</span></p>
<h2><b>Marketing is best left to marketers</b></h2>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Reverse engineering marketing using code is a strong value proposition, especially with founders from tech backgrounds. However, humans are messy and complex and usually don&#8217;t respond well to tricks and manipulation.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Outsourcing your entire marketing to a growth hacker will likely result in short term results but will most certainly do more damage to your brand in the long term. As a founder, it is your responsibility to articulate your vision, define the marketing strategy and set the guardrails for experimentation for success in the long term. Only after having done your homework you can reap the benefits of getting help from experts.</span></p>
<h2><b>A growth guide for founders</b></h2>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Marketing is not an add-on to your product development and not a necessary evil that you have to deal with. It is the glue that binds product development, distribution, communication and pricing, aligning it with </span><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">customer needs</span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;">.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Pay attention to these three points to grow your business profitably and sustainably:</span></p>
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<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><b>Do your research</b><span style="font-weight: 400;">. Marketing starts with research on day one, long before you have a product in the market. Talk to potential customers and look for insights. Pay attention to the real reasons that drive their behaviour. Figure out how deeply they care about the problem you are solving, what they consider to be the alternatives are and eventually, how much they are willing to spend to solve it.</span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><b>Define your strategy</b><span style="font-weight: 400;">. At its core, strategy is defining who your customer is and how you&#8217;re going to win them over. Strategy is about making a choice, and every choice comes with sacrifice. The sharper you can define your target customer and the tighter your value proposition is, the higher your chance of success.</span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><b>Execute well.</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> Tactical execution is the collection of many small decisions, from where you sell your products to how you price them, from deciding which features to build and how to communicate them. Let your strategy guide your tactical choices and execute them well. Do everything yourself in the early days and you will soon have a clear idea where you need help.</span></li>
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<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Taking the time to do research and develop a clear marketing strategy sounds like a lot of work, but it is a small investment that pays big dividends. It saves time and helps you avoid costly mistakes later on. It will serve as a light to guide you to profitable and sustainable growth, while others are trying to find their way to success in the dark land of tactics and hacks .</span></p>
<h3><b>The Author</b></h3>
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<div class="mr-8"><img class="alignleft wp-image-1726" style="max-width: 160px;" src="https://wordpress.highoutput.io/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Ellipse-12-286x300.png" alt="" width="160" height="168" srcset="https://wordpress.highoutput.io/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Ellipse-12-286x300.png 286w, https://wordpress.highoutput.io/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Ellipse-12.png 737w" sizes="(max-width: 160px) 100vw, 160px" /></div>
<div><span style="font-weight: 400;">Onur Ozer is a marketing expert with over two decades of experience in building brands and helping businesses grow in Asia and Europe, leading strategy &amp; execution from tiny startups to global brands. He now lives in Switzerland and helps startups grow with</span><a href="https://simplematters.co/"> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Simple Matters</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">. He also co-hosts</span><a href="https://www.strategyandsourdough.com/"> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Strategy &amp; Sourdough</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, a podcast focusing on startup growth. Subscribe to his articles on</span><a href="http://simplematters.co/"> <span style="font-weight: 400;">simplematters.co</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> for growth insights and follow him on twitter at </span><a href="https://twitter.com/onurozer"><span style="font-weight: 400;">@onurozer</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">.</span></div>
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