Friction audit

Friction is anything that slows or discourages user action. Audit your flow by walking through as a first-time user.

Common friction points

• Requiring account before value
• Credit card required for free trial
• Long forms
• Confusing navigation
• Unclear pricing
• Forced upsells

The user test

Give someone unfamiliar your URL. Watch them try to sign up or buy. Every hesitation is friction.

Prioritize by

• Frequency (affects all users)
• Severity (makes them leave entirely)
• Fix cost (easy wins first)

What to do with this

• Walk through your flow monthly as a new user, team members develop blind spots fast
• Score friction on frequency × severity, severity-only ranking misses high-frequency annoyances that compound
• Fix easy high-impact items first (copy edits, removed fields), save expensive fixes for after quick wins prove the hypothesis
• Test mobile separately from desktop, mobile friction is usually 2-3x worse and underinvested
• Re-audit quarterly, product ships add new friction as surely as removing old friction