How to run a UX review for startups [with a free UX review checklist]

At its core, UX is about understanding what makes people tick. Why did they land on your page in the first place? What problem are they hoping you’ll solve? 

If you are a founder, you might know these motivations intellectually, but good UX brings them to life. It translates your understanding of user desires into seamless journeys that reduce friction at every step.

What is the solution?

A thoughtful UX review will turn good intentions into a practical, user-centered digital environment. By applying the principles we outline in this article, you’re not just meeting industry standards - you’re showing your audience that you genuinely care about their experience.

Why UX matters for startups

User experience matters to startups because it directly affects whether people will use and trust your product. When visitors come to your platform - no matter how new or complex your idea - they need to feel comfortable, not confused. 

Good UX matters for startups, especially those at an early stage, for one simple reason: it can mean the difference between success and obscurity. 

When you’re dealing in the new and the unknown - cutting-edge tech, emerging markets, revolutionary takes on old business models - your visitors, prospects, and users are already approaching with a healthy dose of skepticism. 

Perhaps your concept involves decentralized finance, or maybe it’s a platform leveraging blockchain for social impact. Whatever your venture, it’s likely somewhat unfamiliar. Your UX is what says, "Relax, I’ve got you," to those navigating this new territory. 

Consider the trust deficit many startups face. Consumers have seen countless projects pop up and vanish. Deliver a clean, intuitive experience, and you subtly signal reliability and legitimacy. 

What is a UX review?

A UX review is a structured evaluation process that assesses how well a digital product’s design and functionality align with user needs, usability principles, accessibility standards, and established best practices. 

Unlike more informal feedback sessions, a UX review follows a methodical approach - often guided by comprehensive checklists - so that product teams can systematically identify issues, validate design decisions, and highlight opportunities for improvement.

Our free UX review checklist

Our free Notion UX review checklist examines various elements of a digital experience - such as navigation, button design, form fields, visual hierarchy, responsiveness, and accessibility compliance - to ensure that each component contributes positively to the user’s journey. 

It uses a set of predefined criteria and guidelines that you can use to pinpoint where your product falls short, where it excels, and how to enhance it.

Benefits of UX review checklist

Instead of fixing endless usability issues, you can focus on what truly makes your product valuable. Our ready-made UX checklist can help:

1. Diagnose usability problems. It reveals pain points, confusing layouts, or non-intuitive workflows that hinder user satisfaction.
2. Guide design improvements. It offers actionable suggestions to elevate the overall user experience.
3. Ensure accessibility. It checks if interfaces are usable by people with varying abilities, promoting inclusivity and compliance with standards.
4. Align with business goals. Focusing on factors like conversion optimization and user engagement helps ensure that your product’s interface supports wider business objectives.
5. Encourage iterative refinement. You allow your team to evolve your product in response to user feedback and industry best practices.

Core areas to evaluate

A strong UX is about clarity, trust, and making it genuinely easy for people to accomplish what they came to do with your website or product. To understand what makes for a great user experience, consider a set of checkpoints that look at core areas of design, from accessibility compliance to the buttons people press.

Below are the core areas that a thoughtful UX review examines and why they matter. By the way, to make it easier, our checklist follows them to a tee.

Accessibility and compliance

Accessibility ensures that all users - whether they are visually impaired, use assistive technologies, or simply prefer larger text - can navigate your product without frustration. It’s about showing that you value every potential customer, not just meeting legal requirements like the GDPR.

Why it matters?

Consider a scenario where someone makes a mistake while filling out a form. If they can’t figure out how to fix it or move forward, they may give up. A simple guidance message can help them recover and complete their task.

Buttons and inputs

The small elements that people tap or click, like buttons, links, and forms, should behave in predictable, intuitive ways. Good button design (with proper sizing and touch-friendly areas) ensures that someone using a smartphone can easily tap the right spot.

Why it matters?

When users don’t have to think twice before pressing a button or entering information, they’re more likely to stay engaged and complete their journey on your site or app.

Conversion increase

Improving conversion rates (the number of casual visitors who become customers or subscribers) relies on making sure users see clear calls to action and have no unnecessary obstacles in their path.

Why it matters?

Streamlining forms (so they’re not too long or complicated), consistently placing CTAs in the same spot, and leveraging “lead magnets” (compelling offers that encourage people to share their email address or start a free trial) increase the chances that visitors will take the next step.

Forms and text fields

Nobody enjoys wrestling with a complicated form. Elements like clear labels, instant validation (letting users know if an entry is incorrect right away), and input fields that trigger the right keyboard type on mobile devices all combine to make data entry easy.

Why it matters?

Good forms minimize human error and reduce frustration, which leads to higher submission rates. 

Iconography, images, illustrations & animations

Visual elements should serve a purpose, offering intuitive cues and reinforcing your brand identity. Icons must match what they represent, images should align with your brand’s tone, and well-chosen animations can highlight important actions.

Why it matters?

A well-placed icon or illustration can guide the user’s eye and reduce confusion, while images and animations that feel consistent with your brand can create a memorable experience.

Mobile responsiveness

Your website or application should feel just as welcoming on a small smartphone screen as it does on a large laptop monitor. This involves adapting layouts, ensuring text remains readable, and placing menus and navigation options in logical spots.

Why it matters?

With most people now browsing on phones or tablets, being mobile-friendly is non-negotiable. Making it easy to read text, ensuring that images don’t obscure important buttons, and keeping navigation handy even when a screen is turned sideways are essential to retaining a wide audience.

Navigation & structure

Effective navigation helps users understand where they are, where they can go next, and how to return to previous pages. Visual cues, clear menu options, and an always-visible main navigation panel keep users oriented.

Why it matters?

When users can easily move around your site and find what they need without hunting through hidden menus, they’re more likely to explore deeply, return often, and trust your brand.

Typography

The way text appears, such as its size, spacing, line length, and contrast, can either invite readers in or push them away. Making sure that text is comfortable to read and accessible to users with visual impairments shows your professionalism and care.

Why it matters?

People spend a lot of time reading on screens. If your text is hard to parse - either too small, too dense, poorly contrasted against the background - they might not bother. Making typography friendlier improves comprehension and encourages users to absorb what you’re offering.

What’s in it for you?

Applying these practices in your UX review (and using our UX review checklist) will help you create a comprehensive environment where nothing is left to guesswork. Each recommendation is an actionable, specific step: from labeling a form field to making sure a button looks “clickable.”

In practice, consider how an “Error Recovery” feature makes a difference. Imagine a user fills out a form and hits “Submit,” only to see a cryptic error message. 

Without guidance, they might abandon the process. If, instead, you clearly explain the error and show them how to fix it, maybe even preserving the data they’ve already entered, there’s a much greater chance they’ll continue to engage. 

Similarly, when buttons look obviously clickable and use simple text labels, people are less hesitant and more likely to follow through to the final purchase.

Over time, these small adjustments accumulate, creating a product that feels natural, welcoming, and trustworthy. 

From an investor’s perspective, it’s about increased conversion and customer retention. From a user’s perspective, it’s about feeling respected and valued. And when users feel valued, they come back.

Key takeaways

We often think of UX as a series of fonts, colors, or button placements. In truth, it is a deliberate, invisible hand gently guiding people through your product’s world. 

There’s a powerful financial logic to investing in UX from the start. The early user feedback your team gathers is going to guide you toward product-market fit. If people struggle to use your platform, they won’t wait around for you to fix it. 

According to our observations, adding a UX review to your product design process does wonders. You can spend less time putting out fires and more time scaling what works.