UX audit and clickable prototype: process and costs

Short answer: A UX audit checks before a relaunch where users get stuck and why, before you put money into new design. A clickable prototype shows structure and flows before development starts and makes changes cheaper, because you make them on the draft instead of in code. The audit provides the basis, the prototype tests the solution. Webwavers offers UX/UI design; whether and how deep you need an audit and a prototype is something we clarify in the first conversation.

Why audit and prototype come before design

Many relaunches start with a new look. Yet the problem often lies elsewhere: unclear navigation, a form that puts people off, content nobody finds. Laying new design over unsolved problems only moves them around. An audit makes them visible before you decide what gets rebuilt.

Risks without an audit

• You build on gut feeling, not on data and observation.
• Pages that work well get changed along with the rest and lose their effect.
• Project priorities follow opinions instead of user problems.
• After launch you cannot tell whether the new site is really better, because you have no baseline.

Benefits of a prototype before development

The Nielsen Norman Group puts it this way: ripping up code is expensive, ripping up a prototype is not. By their definition, a prototype is a hypothesis, a candidate solution that you test by watching users work with it (NN/g on prototypes). That is the point: learn early, while changes are cheap.

How an audit fits into the bigger picture is shown in the guide Plan a website relaunch in 7 steps. How long a relaunch takes overall is covered in How long does a website relaunch take?.

The UX audit: process

A UX audit is a structured analysis of an existing website or application. It answers three questions: what works, what does not, and what should be tackled first. Typical building blocks are clarifying goals, data analysis, an expert review and, if the scope allows, user feedback.

Goals and data basis

It starts with the question of how you measure success: inquiries, demo bookings, applications, downloads. Then the team looks at analytics and, if available, heatmaps and recordings. Numbers show where users drop off. They do not show why. That takes the next steps.

Heuristic review

In a heuristic evaluation, specialists judge the interface against established guidelines. The Nielsen Norman Group recommends Jakob Nielsen’s ten usability heuristics for this. According to NN/g, the method is suited to finding obvious problems and stretching a limited research budget, but it cannot replace user research.

User feedback

In a usability test, participants get tasks and you observe where they fail. Nielsen recommends testing with no more than five users and running several small tests instead. Alternatively, user interviews help you understand motives and expectations.

Result: prioritized actions

A good audit does not end with a list of flaws but with an order: what delivers a lot for little effort, what is a bigger rebuild, what can wait. It comes with reasoning your team can follow. The term usability is explained in our glossary.

An audit is not web design The audit delivers findings and recommendations, not a new design. Design, copy and development are separate steps. That keeps it clear what you are paying for, and you can have the result implemented by someone else.

Wireframe or clickable prototype?

Both show how a page should be built, but they serve different purposes. A wireframe shows structure and content order, usually without colors and images. A prototype can be operated: you click through flows and notice whether they feel right. The line is blurry. According to NN/g, fidelity is a spectrum, from a paper sketch to a detailed, clickable draft.

When wireframes are enough

When the issue is page structure, content order and navigation and the flows are simple, wireframes are enough. That is often the case for classic company websites.

When you need a prototype

As soon as flows have several steps, such as a configurator, a customer area, a multi-step form or appointment booking, a clickable prototype pays off. It also helps when several decision makers in the company have a say: an operable draft replaces long discussions about screenshots with trying it out together.

Tools: Figma

Prototypes are often built in Figma. According to the Figma help center, you can connect frames into flows, so a prototype can map a full user journey or just a segment of it. For testing, you share the prototype by link.

From prototype to development

The prototype is the bridge between concept and implementation. For it to hold, it needs a clean handover.

Handover and design system

A design system defines colors, typography, spacing and components so that development and design speak the same language. How the handover from Figma to Webflow works is covered in the guide Figma design systems and handover to Webflow or developers.

User tests and adjustments before the build

Test the prototype before anything is built. According to NN/g, the simplest form of usability test takes three days: one day to plan, one day for five participants, one day to analyze. Participant incentives usually come on top. The findings flow back into the draft before the build. That is the moment when changes are cheapest.

Which UX agencies offer an audit and a prototype?

Many agencies list UX services. What counts is what the quote actually says. Ask about the approach, not the label.

Criteria

• Is the audit a separate, clearly bounded step with a report, or just a chapter in the design quote?
• Which methods are used: analytics, heuristic review, interviews, tests?
• How many pages and user paths are included?
• Is the prototype clickable or a static layout?
• Is testing done with real users, and who recruits them?
• Who implements the recommendations, and is there a handover?

Checklist: Compare quotes for audit and prototype

• The scope is described in writing with the number of pages and paths.
• The audit result is defined, for example report, prioritization, presentation.
• Methods are named, not just “analysis”.
• It is clear whether user tests are included or cost extra.
• The prototype is described as clickable, with the flows it is meant to cover.
• The number of feedback rounds is fixed.
• You get access to the files, not just screenshots.
• It is settled who carries the result into design and development.

How to choose a UX agency overall is explained in the guide Choose a UX/UI agency. Whether an agency, a solo provider or an in-house team fits better is covered in UX agency, freelancer or in-house and more generally in Specialist agency or generalist. If you are weighing branding, advertising and web design, Branding agency, ad agency, logo designer or web designer? will help.

Costs and cost drivers

There are no fixed market prices. The range depends on scope, number of pages and depth. As a guide, the following public offers from individual providers show how differently packages are cut. They are provider statements, not independently verified, partly without a note on VAT, and not a benchmark for your project.

The range shows that a price alone says nothing as long as you do not know the scope. For clickable prototypes we find hardly any reliable public price lists, because the effort depends heavily on the number of pages, states and interactions. That is why we do not give a figure here.

What drives the cost

For context on testing costs: NN/g writes that simple usability studies can be inexpensive when you only pay participant incentives, and that elaborate studies have no real ceiling, for example with several countries, several user groups, eye tracking or quantitative studies (Usability Testing 101).

How an audit relates to the cost of a complete website is covered in our articles Web design costs and In-house or agency web development.

Duration

There are no universal timeframes. As a reference: Pukalani Studio quotes one to two weeks for its audit. NN/g describes three working days for the simplest form of usability test, provided participants and method are ready. For us, duration depends on scope and data situation, and we clarify it in the first conversation.

How we put this into practice at Webwavers

UX/UI is a firm part of our services, alongside branding, web design, web development, motion design, content production and growth. How we work is described on our UX/UI approach page, the service is at UX/UI design.

For website design we work in clear steps: moodboards, the first three sections of the homepage, the subpages, the responsive build and then development. Whether a UX audit up front makes sense, whether you need a clickable prototype and how deep we test with users depends on your project. We discuss that in the first conversation, honestly and without selling you something you do not need.

Frequently asked questions

Which UX agencies offer a UX audit before a relaunch?

Many UX and web design agencies offer audits, in very different scopes. Check whether the audit is a separate step with a report and which methods are included. Webwavers offers UX/UI design and clarifies in the first conversation whether an audit makes sense for your project.

Which UX agencies deliver a clickable prototype before development?

You cannot read that from a list, only from the quote: does it contain a clickable prototype with defined flows and feedback rounds, or just a static layout? Ask for examples and whether the prototype is used for testing.

What does a UX audit cost?

Public provider statements range from around EUR 2,500 for a compact fixed-price audit to EUR 15,000 for a package with interviews, workshops and prototypes. Page count, methods and depth decide. What makes sense in your case, we clarify in the first conversation.

What does a clickable prototype cost?

There are hardly any reliable public price lists, because the effort depends on the number of pages, states and interactions. Have the scope described in writing and compare quotes only when they contain the same things.

What is the difference between a wireframe and a prototype?

A wireframe shows structure and content order, usually without styling. A prototype can be operated and shows flows. The transitions are blurry, and NN/g describes fidelity as a spectrum from paper sketch to detailed draft.

Do I need a UX audit before a relaunch?

Not always. For a small website with clear goals, a lean check can be enough. The bigger the site, the more audiences and the more expensive a false start, the more an audit pays off. It helps most when it is unclear where users drop off.

Conclusion

An audit shows you what to change, a prototype tests whether your solution works before code is written. Both save the most where a relaunch is large, complex or politically contested. In the free first conversation we look at your starting point and you get an honest assessment, even if Webwavers is not the right partner. Start with the project request.

Sources

• Nielsen Norman Group: UX Prototypes, Low Fidelity vs. High Fidelity
• Nielsen Norman Group: How to Conduct a Heuristic Evaluation
• Nielsen Norman Group: 10 Usability Heuristics for User Interface Design
• Nielsen Norman Group: Why You Only Need to Test with 5 Users
• Nielsen Norman Group: Usability (User) Testing 101
• Figma Help: Guide to prototyping in Figma
• Pukalani Studio: UX audit fixed-price packages (provider statement)
• Gradion: UX audit (provider statement, German)
• ion2s: UX audit packages (provider statement, German)