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Daniel Tomlinson bf117909e2 Move website design audit skill to skills directory
Organizes skill files into the `skills/` subdirectory to maintain a consistent repository structure.
2026-04-12 14:31:29 +01:00

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Design Audit: [Site Name]

URL: [full URL] Date audited: [YYYY-MM-DD] Domain: [domain]


1. Overall Impression & Identity

  • Visual style/mood: [e.g., minimal, playful, corporate, brutalist, luxury, tech-forward]
  • Target industry/niche:
  • Emotional response on first load:
  • Unifying design concept/theme:
  • One-sentence summary:

2. Layout & Structure

  • Layout pattern: [single column, multi-column, grid-based, asymmetric]
  • Max content width: [e.g., 1200px, 1440px, full-bleed]
  • Whitespace approach: [tight/dense or generous/airy]
  • Section structure: [how the page is divided into blocks]
  • Header: [sticky/fixed, transparent, navigation type, height]
  • Footer: [fat with columns, minimal, CTA-focused]
  • Sidebar: [yes/no, position]
  • Content containment: [cards, dividers, background color shifts, borders]
  • Grid system: [12-col, CSS Grid, masonry, Flexbox, custom]
  • Full-width vs boxed sections: [pattern]
  • Visual hierarchy: [what draws eye 1st -> 2nd -> 3rd]

3. Typography

  • Primary heading font: [name, weight, style]
  • Body font: [name, weight, style]
  • Accent/display fonts: [name — if any]
  • Font pairing strategy: [e.g., serif + sans-serif, mono + sans]
  • Font delivery method: [Google Fonts URL / Adobe Fonts / self-hosted]
  • Heading sizes:
    • H1: [size, weight]
    • H2: [size, weight]
    • H3: [size, weight]
    • H4-H6: [sizes if used]
  • Body text: [size, line-height]
  • Letter spacing: [notable values and where applied]
  • Text transform: [uppercase headings, small-caps, etc.]
  • Font weights used: [list: light/regular/medium/semibold/bold/black]
  • Link styling: [color, underline, hover behavior]
  • Text alignment patterns: [left-aligned body, centered headings, etc.]
  • Emphasis conventions: [bold for X, italic for Y]
  • Responsive font scaling: [approach if identifiable — fluid clamp(), breakpoint steps]

4. Color Palette

  • Primary brand color: [hex — description and usage]
  • Secondary color(s): [hex — description and usage]
  • Accent/highlight color(s): [hex — description and usage]
  • Background colors:
    • Main background: [hex]
    • Alternating sections: [hex values]
    • Card/surface: [hex]
  • Text colors:
    • Headings: [hex]
    • Body text: [hex]
    • Muted/secondary text: [hex]
  • Link colors: [default hex, hover hex, visited if different]
  • Border/divider colors: [hex values]
  • Gradients: [full CSS value — colors, direction, where applied]
  • Dark mode: [supported yes/no — if yes, list key dark palette values]
  • Contrast notes: [any accessibility observations]
  • Section separation via color: [how alternating backgrounds create rhythm]

CSS Custom Properties

/* Paste relevant :root custom properties here */

5. Imagery & Media

  • Photography style: [lifestyle, abstract, product shots, editorial, AI-generated]
  • Image treatment: [filters, overlays, duotone, B&W, rounded corners, masks]
  • Illustration style: [flat, 3D, hand-drawn, isometric — if used]
  • Icon style: [outlined, filled, duotone, custom]
  • Icon library: [Heroicons, Lucide, FontAwesome, Phosphor, custom SVGs — if identifiable]
  • Icon size and stroke weight: [if determinable]
  • Video usage: [hero background, embedded, autoplay, none]
  • Image formats: [WebP, AVIF, SVG, PNG, JPG]
  • Common aspect ratios: [16:9, 4:3, 1:1, etc.]
  • Image masking/cropping: [circles, rounded rects, blobs, custom shapes]
  • Decorative elements: [blobs, patterns, grain/noise, geometric shapes, lines]
  • Favicon: [style description]

6. Components & UI Patterns

Buttons

  • Shape/border-radius: [value — rounded, pill 9999px, square]
  • Sizes: [small, medium, large — dimensions if determinable]
  • Variants: [filled, outline, ghost, text-only]
  • Padding: [value if determinable]
  • Hover state: [color shift, shadow, scale, underline, etc.]
  • CTA examples: [exact button text observed, e.g., "Get Started", "Try Free"]

Cards

  • Shadow: [box-shadow CSS value]
  • Border: [color, width, style]
  • Border radius: [value]
  • Padding: [value]
  • Background: [color]
  • Hover behavior: [lift, glow, border change, shadow increase]

Navigation

  • Desktop style: [horizontal links, dropdowns, mega-menu, tabs]
  • Mobile pattern: [hamburger, bottom nav, slide-out drawer]
  • Active state: [underline, color, background, bold]
  • Breadcrumbs: [yes/no, style]

Forms

  • Input style: [border color/width, background, height/padding, border-radius]
  • Labels: [floating, above input, inline, placeholder-only]
  • Focus state: [border color, shadow, outline]
  • Validation style: [inline error, color change, icon]

Other Components

  • Modals/dialogs: [overlay color, border-radius, animation, backdrop blur]
  • Badges/tags/pills: [colors, size, border-radius]
  • Tooltips: [style, trigger method]
  • Tables: [style, striped rows, borders]
  • Accordions/tabs: [style, transition, indicator]
  • Testimonials/reviews: [layout — carousel, grid, single quote, avatar usage]
  • Pricing tables: [layout, toggle, feature comparison style]
  • Progress indicators: [bars, steps, percentages, dots]
  • Alert/notification bars: [top banner, toast, inline, colors]

7. Animation & Interaction

  • Page load: [fade-in, stagger, skeleton loaders, none]
  • Scroll-triggered: [parallax, reveal on scroll, slide-in, fade-up]
  • Hover effects: [links, buttons, cards, images — describe each]
  • Page transitions: [instant, fade, slide, none]
  • Micro-interactions: [toggle switches, like buttons, form feedback, copy buttons]
  • Cursor: [default, custom cursor, pointer changes]
  • Loading states: [spinner, skeleton, shimmer, progress bar]
  • Easing style: [snappy/fast, smooth/gentle, bouncy/elastic]
  • Timing: [typical duration values — e.g., 150ms for hovers, 300ms for reveals]
  • Animation library: [Framer Motion, GSAP, AOS, Lottie, CSS-only, View Transitions API]
  • Overall feel: [subtle and polished, dramatic and bold, minimal/none]

8. Spacing & Rhythm

  • Base spacing unit: [e.g., 4px, 8px]
  • Spacing scale: [e.g., 4, 8, 12, 16, 24, 32, 48, 64, 96, 128]
  • Section padding (vertical): [typical top/bottom values]
  • Card/grid gap: [typical values]
  • Heading-to-body margin: [value]
  • Paragraph spacing: [value]
  • Overall density: [tight/compact, balanced, open/spacious]

9. Responsive & Breakpoints

  • Breakpoint values: [list all found, e.g., 640px, 768px, 1024px, 1280px]
  • Design approach: [mobile-first or desktop-first]
  • Layout changes:
    • Mobile (<768px): [description]
    • Tablet (768-1024px): [description]
    • Desktop (>1024px): [description]
  • Mobile navigation: [hamburger, bottom nav, slide-out, full-screen overlay]
  • Elements hidden/shown: [what changes by breakpoint]
  • Typography scaling: [how sizes change]
  • Grid/image reflow: [how columns collapse]

10. Technical Stack

  • CSS approach: [Tailwind, Bootstrap, custom CSS, CSS Modules, styled-components, Emotion]
  • JS framework: [React, Next.js, Vue, Nuxt, Astro, Svelte, SvelteKit, vanilla, jQuery]
  • CMS: [WordPress, Webflow, Sanity, Contentful, Shopify, Strapi — if identifiable]
  • Hosting indicators: [Vercel, Netlify, AWS, Cloudflare Pages, GitHub Pages]
  • Font delivery: [Google Fonts (URL), Adobe Fonts, self-hosted]
  • Notable libraries: [Swiper, Framer Motion, GSAP, Three.js, Lottie, Radix UI, Headless UI]
  • Analytics/tracking: [Google Analytics, Plausible, Segment, Hotjar, etc.]
  • Performance patterns: [lazy loading, image optimization (WebP/AVIF), code splitting, prefetching]
  • Build tooling hints: [Webpack chunks, Vite, Turbopack — from script/asset naming patterns]

11. SEO & Meta Presentation

  • Page title: [exact title text]
  • Title format pattern: [e.g., "Page Title — Brand" or "Brand | Page"]
  • Meta description: [exact text]
  • Open Graph tags:
    • og:title: [value]
    • og:description: [value]
    • og:image: [URL or description]
    • og:type: [value]
    • twitter:card: [value]
  • URL structure: [pattern, e.g., /blog/post-slug, /products/category/item]
  • Heading hierarchy: [proper H1 -> H2 -> H3 nesting? any issues?]
  • Canonical URL: [present yes/no, value]
  • Structured data: [JSON-LD types, microdata — if found]

12. Brand Voice in Design

  • Copy tone: [casual, formal, playful, authoritative, witty, technical, empathetic]
  • CTA wording style: [list examples: "Get Started", "Start Free Trial", "Let's Go"]
  • Text-to-visual ratio: [text-heavy, visual-heavy, balanced]
  • Social proof usage: [client logos, testimonials, stats/numbers, trust badges, case studies]
  • Design personality: [friendly rounded shapes, sharp corporate lines, hand-crafted feel, etc.]

13. Unique & Standout Features

  • [List anything unconventional or signature about this design]
  • [Creative uses of scroll, layout, or interaction]
  • [Notable "wow" moments or delightful details]
  • [What distinguishes this site from generic templates]