Design Token Drift: Audited 375 Sites. Only 7.5% Got It Right
A recent audit of 375 production websites revealed that only 7.5% achieved over 90% design token coverage. The average token coverage across all sites was found to be 40.4%, with a significant number of sites relying on hardcoded values. This indicates a widespread issue of unused design tokens, which could hinder potential cost savings in design and development.
- ▪Only 7.5% of audited sites achieved 90% or more design token coverage.
- ▪The average token coverage across the 375 sites was 40.4%, with many sites using hardcoded values.
- ▪93% of sites had a token system in place, but most did not fully utilize it.
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Original Research Design Token Drift: We Audited 375 Sites. Only 7.5% Got It Right. Last updated: May 21, 2026 Quick answer: OverlayQA analyzed design token coverage across 375 production websites belonging to product companies with dedicated design teams. Average token coverage was 40.4%, with a median of 38%. Only 7.5% of sites achieved 90%+ coverage. 17,731 hardcoded values were found across the dataset, averaging 47 per site. Sites using CSS custom properties had 39.5% average coverage; Tailwind sites averaged 44.1%. Design tokens are supposed to be the single source of truth for color, spacing, typography, and elevation. We scanned 375 production websites belonging to companies with dedicated design teams to see how the practice compares to the theory.
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