How to Audit Your Own Website
A Simple Checklist for Business Owners
Your website might look great, but that doesn’t mean it’s performing at its best. A website audit helps you see what’s working, what’s holding you back, and what small fixes can make a big difference.
You don’t need to be a developer or SEO expert to run a useful audit — just a structured checklist and a clear understanding of what to look for.
✓ Check Your Core Pages
Start with the essentials:
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Home
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About
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Services or Products
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Contact
Make sure each page:
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Loads quickly and correctly on both mobile and desktop
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Has clear navigation and visible calls to action
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Includes updated information and working links
A simple user walkthrough from start to finish often reveals more issues than a full technical report.
✓ Review Page Speed
A slow website loses users before they ever read your content.
Run your site through Google PageSpeed Insights or GTmetrix and note the main causes of delay.
Common culprits include:
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Oversized images
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Too many plugins
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Render-blocking scripts
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Inefficient caching
Fixing these improves both SEO and user satisfaction.
✓ Evaluate Mobile Friendliness
Most South African users browse on mobile devices, so your site must adjust perfectly to smaller screens.
Test your site with Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test and confirm:
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Text is readable without zooming
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Buttons and menus are easy to tap
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Images scale correctly
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No content runs off the edge of the screen
Mobile-first design is no longer optional — it’s Google’s default perspective.
✓ Check for Broken Links and Missing Pages
Broken links send users (and Google) to dead ends.
Use tools like Broken Link Checker or Ahrefs Site Audit to identify 404 errors and outdated redirects.
Then fix or redirect those URLs to keep your site crawlable and user-friendly.
✓ Review On-Page SEO Basics
Every key page should have:
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A unique title tag (under 60 characters)
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A clear meta description (under 160 characters)
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A defined H1 heading and structured subheadings (H2, H3)
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Descriptive alt text for images
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Internal links to other relevant pages
These basics help Google understand your content and rank it correctly.
✓ Inspect Content Quality and Relevance
Read your content from the user’s perspective.
Ask:
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Does this still represent our brand and voice?
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Is any information outdated?
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Does it answer the customer’s real question?
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Could visuals, data, or examples make it more engaging?
Fresh, helpful content signals authority and builds trust.
✓ Audit Technical Health
Log into your Google Search Console and check for:
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Indexing errors
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Mobile usability warnings
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Security or performance issues
Also confirm that your SSL certificate is active and that your site loads under “https://”.
If anything looks confusing, document the issue — you can hand that list to a developer later.
✓ Check Accessibility and Compliance
Accessibility benefits everyone, not just users with disabilities.
Make sure:
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All images have alt text
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Links make sense when read aloud
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Colors have strong contrast
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Forms are easy to navigate via keyboard
Compliance improves usability and reflects well on your brand.
✓ Test Contact and Conversion Paths
Try your own forms, booking tools, and email buttons.
If something fails to send or load properly, you could be losing real leads.
Also test:
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Popups and modals
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Checkout processes (if e-commerce)
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Thank-you pages and confirmation emails
This ensures your digital funnel is actually working.
✓ Set a Reminder for Quarterly Audits
Websites evolve — so should your audits.
Schedule a quarterly check to catch issues early and keep your site fast, secure, and aligned with your goals.
A proactive audit habit saves you from emergencies later.
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