How to Run a Website Audit Step by Step
A website audit is a structured review of how your site is doing and where it could improve. It does not need special software or a big budget. Once or twice a year is enough for most small businesses, and always before a redesign.
Step 1: Start with goals
List what the site is supposed to do, such as generate enquiries or sell products. Everything else is judged against that. See setting website goals.
Step 2: Review the numbers
Look at your analytics for the past year:
- Traffic and where it comes from
- Top landing pages
- Conversions and drop-off points
- Device split between mobile and desktop
Also check Search Console for the queries that bring visitors and for indexing problems.
Step 3: Take a content inventory
List every page with its purpose, traffic, and condition. Mark each as keep, improve, merge, or remove. Our guide to a content audit goes deeper.
Step 4: Check usability
Try the main tasks as a visitor would: find your phone number, request a quote, buy a product. Note where it is confusing. Review navigation and calls to action. Ask someone unfamiliar with the site to try, as in user testing on a budget, and compare what you find with the common website design mistakes.
Step 5: Test mobile and accessibility
Go through the mobile-friendly checklist and the basics in website accessibility.
Step 6: Measure speed
Test key pages and note the Core Web Vitals. See how to test website speed.
Step 7: Check technical SEO
Look for broken links, missing titles or descriptions, duplicate pages, and blocked pages. Use the technical SEO checklist and the SEO audit steps.
Step 8: Review security and upkeep
Check that software is updated, backups work, and HTTPS is on. See keeping your website secure and the maintenance checklist.
Step 9: Look at trust and legal basics
Are contact details visible? Are your privacy and terms pages current? See privacy policy basics.
Step 10: Prioritize the fixes
Sort what you found into three groups:
- Fix now: broken forms, errors, anything blocking visitors
- Fix soon: quick wins that improve clarity or speed
- Plan: bigger changes, including a possible redesign. See signs it is time to redesign
The bottom line
An audit is a health check. Work through goals, data, content, usability, speed, SEO, and security, then act on the biggest problems first.