The Complete Website Audit Checklist (30 Minutes or Less)

You don't need to hire someone to know whether your website has problems. Most of the critical issues that affect your search rankings, your conversion rate, and your lead capture can be identified with free tools and a bit of time. This checklist will walk you through the most important areas to check — and tell you what to do when you find a problem.

Set aside 30 minutes, open your website in a browser, and work through each section. By the end, you'll have a clear picture of what's working and what needs attention.

Section 1: Speed and Performance (5 minutes)

Check 1: Run PageSpeed Insights

Go to pagespeed.web.dev and enter your homepage URL. Run the test for both mobile and desktop. Note your scores for LCP, INP, and CLS (the Core Web Vitals). Anything below 90 on desktop or 70 on mobile warrants attention.

Check 2: Test Your Three Most Important Pages

Don't just test your homepage. Run the same test on your services page, your contact page, and your most-visited landing page. Performance problems are often worse on content-heavy pages than on the homepage.

Check 3: Test on a Real Mobile Device

Open your website on your phone (not just a browser's mobile preview mode). Navigate through the main pages. Does it feel fast? Does everything load? Are buttons large enough to tap? Is text readable without zooming?

Section 2: Mobile Experience (5 minutes)

Check 4: Navigation

On mobile, can you easily access all main pages? Is the hamburger menu working? Do dropdown menus work with touch? Are any menu items cut off or overlapping?

Check 5: Forms

Fill out your contact form on mobile. Does the keyboard come up properly for each field? Are the fields large enough to tap? Does the form submit successfully and show a confirmation message?

Check 6: Images and Media

Are all images loading and displaying correctly on mobile? Are any images stretched, cut off, or overlapping text? Are videos playing or at least showing a proper thumbnail?

Check 7: Buttons and CTAs

Are all call-to-action buttons large enough to tap comfortably (at least 44px tall)? Are any buttons too close together, making it easy to tap the wrong one?

Section 3: SEO Basics (5 minutes)

Check 8: Page Titles

Right-click on your homepage and select "View Page Source." Search for the <title> tag. Does it include your business name and your primary keyword? Is it under 60 characters? Do the same for your main service pages.

Check 9: Meta Descriptions

In the same page source, search for 'meta name="description"'. Does each page have a unique meta description? Is it between 150–160 characters? Does it accurately describe the page and include a reason to click?

Check 10: Heading Structure

Every page should have exactly one H1 tag (the main heading) and use H2/H3 tags for subheadings. You can check this with a free browser extension like "Detailed SEO Extension" or by viewing the page source.

Check 11: Google Search Console

If you haven't set up Google Search Console, do it now — it's free and takes about 10 minutes. Once set up, check the Coverage report for any pages that Google is having trouble indexing, and the Core Web Vitals report for performance issues Google has identified.

Section 4: Security (5 minutes)

Check 12: SSL Certificate

Look at your browser's address bar. Your URL should start with "https://" and show a padlock icon. If it shows "Not Secure" or "http://", your site doesn't have a valid SSL certificate. This is a critical issue — Google penalizes non-HTTPS sites, and modern browsers warn users away from them.

Check 13: Mixed Content

Even if your site is on HTTPS, it might be loading some resources (images, scripts, stylesheets) over HTTP. Open your browser's developer tools (F12), go to the Console tab, and look for any warnings about "mixed content." These can cause security warnings and affect performance.

Check 14: Plugin/Software Updates

If your site is on WordPress, log into your admin dashboard and check if there are any pending updates for WordPress core, themes, or plugins. Outdated software is the most common cause of website security breaches.

Section 5: Lead Capture (5 minutes)

Check 15: Test Every Form

Submit a test entry through every form on your website — contact form, newsletter signup, booking form, quote request. Do you receive the notification email? Does the submitter receive a confirmation? Does the submission appear in your CRM?

Check 16: Check Your Contact Information

Is your phone number, email address, and physical address (if applicable) correct and up to date on every page where it appears? Is your phone number clickable on mobile (it should be a tel: link)?

Check 17: Review Your CTAs

Does every page have a clear call to action? Is it obvious what you want visitors to do next? Are your CTAs above the fold on mobile (visible without scrolling)?

Section 6: Analytics (5 minutes)

Check 18: Verify Analytics Is Tracking

Open Google Analytics (or whatever analytics tool you use) and check the Real-Time report. Then visit your own website. Does your visit appear in the real-time data? If not, your analytics tracking is broken.

Check 19: Check for Duplicate Tracking

If you see your page views doubling or your bounce rate is 0%, you may have your analytics code installed twice. This is common on sites that have been through multiple redesigns or platform migrations.

Check 20: Review Your Top Pages

Look at which pages are getting the most traffic. Are the right pages getting traffic? Is your services page getting visitors? Is your contact page being visited? If your homepage gets 90% of your traffic and no one visits your services or contact pages, your navigation or internal linking may need work.

What to Do With Your Results

After working through this checklist, you'll likely have a list of issues ranging from minor to critical. Here's how to prioritize:

• Critical (fix immediately): broken forms, missing SSL, broken analytics tracking, mobile experience failures
• High priority (fix within 30 days): poor Core Web Vitals scores, missing meta descriptions, outdated software
• Medium priority (fix within 90 days): CTA optimization, heading structure, page title improvements
• Low priority (fix when you have time): minor mobile layout issues, analytics configuration improvements

If your audit revealed more than a few critical or high-priority issues, it's worth considering a professional fix rather than trying to address them one by one. A comprehensive fix done properly will get you further, faster, than a series of partial patches.

If you'd like us to run a professional audit of your website — one that goes deeper than this checklist and includes a written report with specific recommendations — apply through our qualification form to get started. The audit is included at no charge.