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UX KPIs: How you can measure the user experience

With the right UX KPIs, you can continuously improve the user experience and ensure the long-term success of your digital product or service.

10.02.2025 7 min reading time
Written by: Stephanie Wölke Lead UX Design

Content

  1. Business growth thanks to UX
  2. Measure user experience
  3. UX KPIs: Top 6
  4. No-Go: Vanity UX
  5. Strategies for optimization
  6. Important questions and answers

In a nutshell: UX KPIs

  • UX KPIs help measure user experience and assess how successfully users reach their objectives
  • These usability metrics pinpoint user flow issues and enable targeted optimizations
  • A good user experience leads to higher customer loyalty and more sales
  • UX metrics provide objective, data-driven insights instead of assumptions
  • Continuous UX measurement supports the long-term success of your website or digital product

What are UX KPIs?

UX KPIs (User Experience Key Performance Indicators) are metrics that show how efficiently and successfully users reach their goals on your website or digital product. They help you analyze where problems occur in the user flow and identify opportunities for optimization. In other words, they measure how satisfactory your users' interaction with your digital product is.

The UX KPI set depends on many factors – a clear plan is essential!

Why optimizing UX metrics gives you a competitive advantage

A good user experience is not just a nice-to-have – it's a real business factor. When users achieve their goals faster and enjoy a smooth experience, they are more likely to return and recommend your brand. On the flip side, if the user experience is lacking – like when navigation is clunky or finding information feels like a challenge – users are often just one click away from turning to your competitors.

A strong user experience therefore directly contributes to increased revenue. Since UX design drives business growth, the motto holds true: "Good UX is good business."

With this in mind, removing potential barriers should be a priority. While improvements can be made without defined KPIs, user experience metrics uncover patterns that are otherwise difficult to detect. They provide the foundation for data-driven decisions rather than relying on gut feelings.

Measuring user experience – no problem with UX KPIs

Sound familiar? You’re in a meeting, and someone says, “I think customers will feel…” or “I believe users expect…” But is that enough to ensure your digital product performs at its best? UX often feels subjective – after all, it’s about the impression users get while interacting with a website or digital product. But can you really measure the user experience? Can it be backed up with solid data? The answer is a resounding yes!

With the help of clearly defined UX KPIs, you can objectively capture user behavior and collect data to evaluate how well your digital product is performing. Such usability metrics help you to identify exactly where users encounter problems. Measuring user experience means:

  • Quantifying problems: How often and how severe are the problems that users encounter?
  • Understanding behavior: Where do which users face specific challenges?
  • Measuring efficiency: How long do users take to complete tasks? Are there any obstacles slowing them down?
  • Tracking success rates: Are tasks successfully completed? If so, how many users succeed?

UX metrics provide the foundation for keeping your digital product competitive and driving long-term business success.

Overview of common UX KPIs

Depending on your project needs, several UX metrics might be relevant – here are six of the most common examples to consider:

Type UX KPI Explanation Example

Usability KPIs

Task Success Rate

Percentage of users successfully completing a task

Subscribe to a newsletter; Find repair times for an appliance in the database

User satisfaction metrics

Content Satisfaction Score

Measures satisfaction with text content and gathers feedback

Post-read query: "Did you find this article helpful?"

User engagement metrics

Monthly Active Users (MAU)

Number of active users per month

B2B service portals (e.g. Angelini’s Apotheken Plus Portal, STIHL’s SSC database)

Accessibility metrics

WCAG conformity

Assesses compliance with Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG)

AAA rating, see accessible web design

Accessibility metrics

WCAG conformity

Assesses compliance with Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG)

AAA rating, see accessible web design

Diagnostic metrics

Rage-clicks

Tracks repeated clicks, indicating user frustration; data on clicks and mouse movements recognizable in heatmap tools

High click activity on images where zoom or links are expected

Performance metrics

Largest Contentful Paint (LCP)

Part of Google's Core Web Vitals – tracks when the largest visible content fully loads

The perceived loading speed of a website, multiple large images, and load times over 3 seconds.

KPIs are not universal rules but guidelines that are defined collaboratively with the project team. User experience metrics can be categorized into three levels:

  • The construct: What should be measured? (e.g. satisfaction or efficiency)
  • The metric: How can this goal be quantified? (e.g. time-on-task)
  • The data source: Where does the data come from? (e.g. Google Analytics, mouse tracking tools)

It is important to be able to understand and describe the data points in order to track their business relevance and leverage them effectively. Questions to ask when defining UX KPIs:

  • What is the added value of this data point?
  • Against what benchmark will you measure the UX?
  • Can this metric be applied to other areas?
Distinguishing between construct, metric, and data sources is key. The project team defines their value, scale, and transferability.

Avoid vanity metrics

Vanity metrics are data points which often look impressive in reports but contribute little to UX optimization. Examples include the Net Promoter Score (NPS) and Customer Satisfaction Score (CSAT). At Moccu, we avoid such metrics because they fall under attitude-related metrics, which depend on the user's intentions and the context.

Behavioral metrics, which reflect specific user actions, are more valuable for UX as they reveal how users truly interact with a website or service – independent of their attitudes or intentions.

While vanity metrics are common and often automatically provided by platforms, they typically lack the depth and context needed for meaningful UX improvements. They’re also frequently overused or introduced too early in the customer journey.

Often used to highlight quick wins under time pressure, vanity metrics rarely support long-term optimization. Instead, it’s more effective to focus on usability metrics that reveal real user behavior and actionable opportunities for improvement.

Strategies for optimizing the UX

To create an optimal user experience, UX designers should start by identifying which KPIs are most relevant to their specific project. Selecting meaningful KPIs and tracking them over time is essential for reliable insights. Using statistical methods for data collection ensures accurate and credible results.

KPIs should be measured consistently and evaluated in the context of competitors and diverse user segments. While the number is very individual, the general rule is: fewer, well-defined KPIs are more effective.

With the right KPIs in place, you can implement targeted strategies to continuously enhance the user experience. Below, we share proven tips and methods to optimize UX effectively and achieve measurable results.

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Triangulation

We recommend using triangulation, which involves combining qualitative and quantitative data with expert analysis to make well-informed decisions. Practically, this means leveraging qualitative evaluations of user feedback to ask why users behave a certain way, rather than relying solely on quantifiable UX success metrics.

Combining multiple data sources from methods like surveys, interviews, and workshops strengthens the reliability of the results.

To achieve this, we gather data from various user research methods – such as usability testing, customer surveys, and A/B testing. Basic statistical knowledge is valuable here, as it helps minimize the risk of misinterpreting random sampling effects or outliers. By combining qualitative and quantitative insights, as well as multiple metrics, you gain a more comprehensive understanding of the user experience.

Keep business KPIs in focus

Consider UX KPIs in the context of your business KPIs. UX shouldn’t be viewed in isolation – a seamless user flow and positive user experience have a direct impact on business success. Here are the key points to keep in mind:

01 Foster collaboration

Maintain close communication with the performance team regarding the SEO KPIs.

02 Expand data sources

A well-rounded mix of company metrics should extend beyond Google Analytics data.

03 Avoid usability issues

A smooth user flow and well-designed features positively impact business goals.

04 Prioritize design

UX design is a critical component of experience design and should remain a top priority.

05 Focus on customer-centricity

Placing user needs at the center is essential to achieving both UX and business objectives.

Does this sound interesting?

We’re here to help you kickstart tracking your UX and business KPIs for lasting success!

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Repeatability of results

The same principles apply to UX metrics as to any other metrics: using consistent measurement values should produce comparable results each time. However, because human behavior is inherently diverse, achieving consistency with UX metrics can sometimes be a challenge.

Maintain objectivity

KPIs and UX metrics help to provide neutral information and make design decisions that are not limited by personal bias. By collecting and analyzing metrics from the outset, we can ensure your UX strategy is grounded in measurable evidence, driving meaningful improvements and advancing your website's performance.

Conduct Research

Design research is central to understanding whether users are successfully completing their goals and tasks with your digital product. It provides valuable, quantifiable data gathered through targeted research and performance analysis.

Research methods include moderated and unmoderated testing, interviews, surveys, card sorting, first-click testing, and heuristic evaluations. These approaches are effective even when working with small sample sizes.

Design research methods at a glance

Explore how thorough research can strengthen and support your well-planned UX strategy.

Presentation of UX KPIs for demonstrable success

Collected data should be shared across teams using tools such as dashboards, UX scorecards, or quarterly reports. Such visualizations make it easier to get the whole team on the same page and have a productive exchange about targeted optimization measures. This approach helps you develop a product that is precisely tailored to your target audience's needs while enhancing brand affinity – a significant competitive advantage.

Comparative tests

To evaluate the effectiveness of design improvements, old and new versions should be compared. This process can yield three possible outcomes:

A) The new version outperforms the old version
B) The new version performs worse than the old version
C) There is no significant difference between the versions

Regardless of the result, these comparisons offer valuable insights into which strategies are effective, which require adjustments, and which may not be worth pursuing. A/B testing is a reliable method for implementing and validating targeted optimizations.

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Conclusion: Long-term success through targeted UX optimization

The constant optimization of the user experience makes a significant contribution to remaining competitive. The aim should be to establish continuous UX measurement with a suitable sample size for each survey. UX KPIs serve as a robust foundation for making objective, data-driven design decisions and driving consistent improvement.

A thoughtful combination of qualitative and quantitative data provides a deeper understanding of user needs and highlights pain points in their journey. By conducting regular usability tests and monitoring usability performance over time, you can ensure your product consistently meets user expectations and achieves sustained success.

Frequently Asked Questions

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Our expert

Stephanie Wölke Lead UX Design

Since December 2015, Stephanie Wölke has been the UX Design Lead at Moccu. She expertly leads UX design projects, focusing on creating user-centred, usable, and inclusive digital solutions that deliver outstanding results. With her expertise and ♥️ for testing, she formulates innovative UX strategies that significantly enhance UX and strengthen clients' brand identities and goals.

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