Building LiftKit: A Simple UX Tool We Wish We Had

Below is a first-person case study showing how we went from feeling stuck in manual, tedious UX reviews to launching LiftKit—a simple, scalable audit tool built to solve the exact problem we ourselves had encountered.

Before diving in, here’s the TL;DR:

We were frustrated by how time-consuming and subjective traditional UX audits felt, so we built an internal script that automatically parsed any website, ran it through an eight-point audit framework, and surfaced clear, prioritized recommendations in seconds. We wrapped that in a web app, adopted token-based pricing (including a free tier), and officially launched in early 2025 to solo builders and small teams who need fast, actionable UX insights.

The Need We Encountered

We’ve all shipped sites that felt “off” even when nothing was outright broken, because we lacked visibility into subtle usability and conversion gaps—our clients and users would quietly drop off batches of visitors without us knowing exactly why (LiftKit).

Traditional UX audits meant scheduling calls, manually crawling pages, taking screenshots, and writing lengthy reports—often taking days for just one page and still leaving too much guesswork about what to fix first (LiftKit).

From Frustration to MVP

1. Internal script, instant scans. We started by writing a simple script that fetched any URL, parsed its HTML/CSS, and computed basic metrics on responsiveness, accessibility, and content hierarchy. This allowed us to get a quick “gut check” on a page’s health in under 10 seconds (LiftKit).
2. Defining the 8-point audit. As we iterated, we realized there were eight core areas every review needed:
   • User Experience
   • Copy & Messaging
   • Page Hierarchy & Navigation
   • Accessibility
   • SEO & Metadata
   • Conversion Optimization
   • Brand Consistency
   • Responsiveness

These categories became our “digital GPS,” guiding users from a simply functional site to one optimized for growth (LiftKit).

3. Actionable, prioritized feedback. We moved beyond “this element is misaligned” to “here’s how to fix it”—whether that meant increasing button tap targets, adding alt text, or tightening up meta descriptions. At each step, our system linked to examples and best practices.

Pricing & Launch

We knew that a simple free tier and clear upgrade path would help drive adoption:

• Starter (Free): 1 token/month, enough for a single deep audit (LiftKit)
• Essential ($9/mo): 11 tokens, instant analysis and priority support (LiftKit)
• Pro ($18/mo): 30 tokens, first-in-line feature access plus everything in Essential (LiftKit)

We soft-launched in private beta in late 2024, then flipped to public launch at the start of 2025 (LiftKit).

Why It Matters

• Faster fixes = higher conversions. Studies show that regular UX audits can boost conversion rates by identifying and resolving friction points like slow load times, unclear CTAs, and missing alt text (The Impact of UX Design on Conversion Rates).
• Accessibility expands reach. Ensuring keyboard navigation, proper contrast, and semantic markup doesn’t just cover legal bases—it opens your site to more users and demonstrates social responsibility (How a UX audit can boost your conversions - Nulab).
• Data-driven decisions. Rather than gut calls, teams can prioritize the issues that most impact key metrics—just one click to see where users hesitate or drop off.

Key Takeaways & Next Steps

1. Start with your own pain point. We built LiftKit because we needed it ourselves—this ensured we stayed laser-focused on solving a real problem (LiftKit).
2. Keep the UX of your tool simple. If your app feels confusing, no one will trust it for diagnosing their own UX (LiftKit).
3. Align pricing to usage. Token-based billing lets teams start small and scale only when they see clear ROI (LiftKit).
4. Iterate publicly. We share our roadmap and audit method transparently on our blog and roadmap, which has driven valuable user feedback and trust (LiftKit).

We’re excited to keep evolving LiftKit—next up: API access for automated workflows, deeper integrations with analytics platforms, and custom audit rules for niche industries.

If you’ve ever felt in the dark about your site’s user experience, give us a spin for free and let us know what you think!