What is CRO and usability audit of a website?

In general, a CRO and website usability audit is a detailed analysis of the website to identify problems that the user encounters during interaction with the website that prevent or make it difficult to perform the target action.

From our own experience of working with customers from different countries, the following points can be highlighted:

• Many users of the English-speaking segment are accustomed to separating CRO audit (conversion rate optimization) and usability audits (convenience audit), perceiving them as separate services;
• If we take users, for example, from the post-Soviet space, then for them, the website usability audit service itself already implies CRO analysis, and requests for the service of analyzing conversion rate optimization are quite rare;

In fact, these areas of analysis are interconnected, as they directly depend on each other. Moreover, a full site audit to increase the level of conversion and convenience for users should include the following areas (it is important that the audit be carried out for both the desktop version and the mobile version):

1. Behavioral factors analysis. One of the most important stages of website analysis. At this stage, as a rule, data from statistics collection systems is analyzed: Google Analytics, Yandex.Metrica (mainly for Russian-speaking audiences), Hotjar, Microsoft Clarity, Lucky Orange, etc. There are many factors to analyze at this stage, from traffic sources and browsers and devices used to interaction with pages and their elements (click and scroll maps, visit records, sales funnels, etc.). The purpose of analyzing behavioral factors is to form a general idea of user behavior, form hypotheses about possible problems that users encounter, and find common indicators and patterns.
   The result of the behavioral factors analysis is a report indicating the need to confirm these hypotheses, which should contain data obtained as a result of the analysis and interpretation of this data.
   
2. Adaptability and cross-browser compatibility. After analyzing behavioral factors and receiving data, the site display is checked in various browsers and on various devices. Ideally, the check should be carried out in all browsers and on all possible devices at different screen resolutions, but to simplify the task, only the most popular browsers, devices, and screen resolutions are often checked (this data is taken from statistics collection systems when analyzing behavioral factors). The purpose of this stage is to identify inconsistencies and differences in the display of the site in different browsers and on different devices. In addition, at this stage of the check, the correct display of all elements of the site is checked.
3. Search and analysis of bugs. A separate stage, which is also called testing. The most important stage, which many do not devote much time to. At this stage, everything is checked, from the layout to the operation of the element. Ideally, each link and button is checked for the correct operation of the elements and the sequence and logic of all site elements. The main goal of this stage is to make sure that the site has no technical problems, all its elements work, and it meets the user's expectations.
4. Usability analysis. At this stage, the analysis of the usability of the site begins. As a rule, the analysis of the site at this stage is based on behavioral factors, generally accepted rules and norms of usability, as well as the experience of the analyst; this stage is often called heuristic analysis. At this stage, factors are checked that are applicable to the sites of the subject of the analyzed site—in fact, mandatory elements that must be on the site and that must perform certain actions. The goal of this stage is to make sure that the site has all the necessary elements, they are located in a familiar place for the user, and when interacting with them, the user experiences a familiar action. To summarize, we can say that interaction with the site should be familiar to the user, logical, and not cause difficulties.
5. Analysis of conversion elements. The final stage of CRO and usability audit of the site. At this stage, the presence/absence of basic conversion elements that should be on the site of this topic, their location, etc. are analyzed. The marketing component of the site is also analyzed (calls to action, lead magnets, marketing funnels, etc.). The analyst's experience, his knowledge of the topic, his understanding of marketing strategies, etc. play a big role at this stage. Also at this stage, competitors' sites are analyzed for selling "chips."
   

The above describes 5 main stages of CRO and usability audit of the site; these are far from all the stages. As a rule, in addition to these stages, advertising campaigns, SEO promotion, etc. are analyzed. Everything depends on the project and specific tasks.

The result of such an audit is a report with a list of detected errors, recommendations for their correction and improvement, as well as a general conclusion about the problems and ways to solve them.

This was a brief description of the site audit process. Later in the articles, we will analyze all this in more detail.