Planning how to do a website audit may seem overwhelming, but it doesn’t have to be. As a full-service marketing agency that offers web development in Philadelphia, Forge Apollo has completed hundreds of website audits.
To help you get started with your website audit, we’re sharing the most common issues to focus on.
What is a Website Audit?
A website health audit is essential for maintaining an effective website with online visibility. It checks many aspects of a website, including usability, SEO, AI-readiness, and structure. The goal of a website audit is to identify and fix any errors that would cause:
- Poor performance (low conversion rate)
- Lower rankings & visibility in search engines (Google, Bing, etc.)
- Lack of visibility in AI engines (ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, Gemini, etc.)
- Compliance issues (ADA, WCAG, etc.)
How to Do a Website Audit
These nine areas are where we recommend starting your website audit. If you’re still not sure where to begin or how your website fits into your overall marketing strategy, don’t hesitate to schedule a marketing audit today.
1. Do you have a good user interface (UI) and user experience (UX)?
The user interface is the design and infrastructure of the site, while user experience is how users interact with and engage with the interface. Ideally, the two work hand in hand to create a cohesive, dynamic site that encourages interaction and funnels users towards designated CTAs.
What to check:
- Is the navigation easy to use?
- Is the site easy to understand?
- Is it clear where conversion points are?
- Does each page work to drive users to take action?
2. Is your website mobile-friendly?
Google indexes the mobile version of your website first, so it’s crucial to have a responsive, mobile-friendly design. A responsive website is one that displays correctly on multiple screen sizes.
What to check:
- Does your website display properly on different screen sizes and browsers?
- Does the site use responsive design?
- Are pop-ups and overlays mobile-friendly?
- Is the mobile navigation intuitive?
3. Do you have high-quality content in multiple formats?
Website copy is crucial for online visibility and user nurturing, both on your primary pages and in insightful content like blogs. It should all serve a purpose, share unique insights, be relevant to your audience, and incorporate keywords to maximize impact.
What to check:
- Does your content sound human and reflect your brand’s tone of voice?
- Is your content free of grammatical or informational errors?
- Are you supporting your copy with visual content, such as videos, photos, and graphics?
- Does your content address your users at all points of the buyer’s journey (awareness, consideration, and decision)?
- Is your content helpful?
- Does your content present your unique experience and insights?
4. Does your website meet accessibility requirements?
Website accessibility isn’t just a kind consideration. For some businesses, it’s a legal requirement. Here are a few things to keep in mind when auditing your website. Check out our ADA website compliance checklist for more in-depth guidance.
What to check:
- Are images and links accessible to screen readers?
- Is there sufficient color contrast?
- Can users navigate the site via keyboard?
- Are forms accessible?
5. Is your website technically set up for search engine optimization (SEO) and AI engine optimization (AEO)?
The technical foundation of your website dictates how search engine and AI crawlers can see it. Some of the other items on this audit list affect SEO and AEO. Here are a few specific technical optimization checks to start with.
What to check:
- Can crawlers access your website?
- Is there an up-to-date sitemap.xml?
- Are there crawl or indexing errors in Google Search Console?
- Is robots.txt present and correctly configured?
- Are there any broken links?
- Is there a custom 404 page?
- Are canonical tags correctly implemented?
- Are redirects (301/302) correctly used?
6. Do your pages load quickly?
The slower a website page loads, the lower its conversion rate. The common rule of thumb is that people expect website pages to load in three seconds or less. Page speed is so important that since 2021, Google has used “page experience” as a part of its ranking algorithm, which includes several metrics related to speed.
What to check:
- Use Google’s Page Speed Insights tool to test your site speed
- Are images optimized and compressed?
- Is caching enabled?
- Are unnecessary scripts or plugins slowing the site?
- Are large files deferred or lazy loaded?
7. Is your site secure?
Users, browsers, and algorithms all want secure websites. In 2026, if your website doesn’t seem safe, people won’t see it. Check these aspects to evaluate your security.
What to check:
- Is your website HTTPS, not HTTP?
- Does your site have an SSL certificate?
- Are the software and plugins up to date?
- Is there protection against spam?
- Are backups in place?
8. Does it properly use metadata?
Metadata is the structure of your HTML web page. When done correctly, this helps search engines and AI engines understand your content, which, in turn, improves its visibility.
What to check:
- Structured data (schema markup)
- Title tag
- Hierarchal heading tags (H1 > H2 > H3)
- Meta titles
- Meta Descriptions
- Alt text
9. Are you tracking analytics?
Website analytics are critical for ongoing monitoring and improvement. Here are a couple of platforms to keep in mind while auditing.
What to check:
- Is Google Analytics (or another platform) installed and tracking?
- Are key conversions/goals set up?
- Are Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools set up?
Ready for a Free Website Audit?
Let Forge Apollo’s experts review your site and deliver a custom action plan.
Audit Your Website With Forge Apollo
If you’ve never performed a website audit, do it immediately. Audits help you identify areas of improvement for your website design and development. After your initial audit is complete, it’s important to create action items and key performance indicators (KPIs), i.e. bounce rate, that will help structure and measure your growth and goals.
A site health audit can be daunting. Let Forge Apollo do the heavy lifting and provide you with a clear roadmap to digital success. We offer website design in Delaware County, near Philadelphia, and know what to look for on your website. Contact us for a free audit today!
