Having a great website is not just about aesthetics; it’s about adhering to digital best practices. It is vital to any business’s future success to have a website that excels in mobile performance, user experience (UX), and accessibility. How do you know if your website measures up? Here is our quick and dirty approach to evaluating and auditing websites.
Assess Website Speed and Performance
Start by evaluating your website’s speed and performance, which are key for both user experience and search engine rankings. A fantastic tool to start a website audit with is Google’s PageSpeed Insights. It’s user-friendly and gives you a detailed breakdown of how your site performs on both mobile and desktop devices. Plus, it offers some great tips on how you can improve things.
No one likes to wait for a website to load, and that includes Google. Common culprits of low-performance scores include lengthy page load times. This can happen for various reasons like having too many plugins or large items on your pages. One aspect to look at is the ‘Largest Contentful Paint‘ (LCP) metric. This measures how long it takes for the biggest piece of content (like a big image or a chunk of text) to appear on the screen. While it’s tempting to add eye-catching pop-ups or videos right at the start, they can slow down your site. (Check out lazy loading.)
It’s not uncommon for websites to have room for improvement in their performance scores. Websites should strive to achieve scores in the high 90s or even 100. It is definitely within reach! Here’s an example of a recent audit where we hit those high marks. We always aim for the best in performance, accessibility, best practices, and SEO.
Even if your business primarily caters to desktop users, it’s vital to prioritize the mobile experience.
Google has long emphasized the importance of mobile performance. Google’s ranking algorithms now predominantly use the mobile version of a site’s content to rank pages. This approach, known as mobile-first indexing, highlights the shift in user behavior towards mobile browsing. The majority of internet users now access the web via mobile devices, making mobile optimization crucial for reaching a wider audience.
Validate Code and Structure
We’ll be the first to admit that we are not web developers. However, this next free tool for website audits is handy even if you don’t know any HTML or have zero coding experience. The W3C Markup Validator is an excellent resource for ensuring that your website’s code is clean and standards-compliant.
Input your website’s URL and choose ‘outline’ to populate an outline based on the HTML headings used on your site. This offers insights into your site’s information architecture and is a great way to check that accessibility standards are met.
Here’s an example from this website (though keep in mind, changes are always ongoing):
Pay special attention to any fatal errors flagged by the tool
The W3C Markup goes through your website code line by line. Some errors are critical and need immediate attention. Such errors can significantly impact how search engines read and rank your website. Bring these diagnostics to your developer or team for urgent updates.
Accessibility Tip
Pay attention to the order of headers; they should always follow a logical sequence (e.g., H1, H2, H3). An order like H1, H2, H4, H1, H2, H2, H2, H1, H3 is acceptable, while H1, H4, H2, H2, H1, H3, H2 is not, as it disrupts the content flow and can confuse screen readers.
Leverage Google Search Console
Google Search Console isn’t just another tool; it’s your secret weapon in understanding and improving your website’s performance in Google searches. It’s like having a behind-the-scenes guide to what’s working and what’s not on your site.
Fix What’s Broken: Ever wonder why some of your pages don’t show up in Google? Search Console points out these hidden issues and helps you fix them, making sure every part of your site gets seen.
See What Draws Visitors: Find out exactly what people are searching for when they land on your site. This insight helps you fine-tune your content to what your audience wants.
Discover Hidden Opportunities: It’s not just about fixing problems. Search Console shows you new opportunities for content and improvements you might never have thought of.
Google Search Console is more than a monitoring tool for auditing your website. It’s your guide to making your site more visible and engaging for your users. It’s about unlocking your website’s full potential and making sure you’re seen and loved by your audience.
Paid Tools
While the free tools mentioned provide a solid foundation for understanding your website’s performance, sometimes a deeper dive is necessary. This is where premium tools like Ahrefs, SEMrush, and Moz come into play. Although they come with a cost, the investment can be incredibly worthwhile for those looking to gain a more comprehensive understanding of their website’s intricacies.
Ahrefs, for instance, is renowned for its robust backlink analysis capabilities, helping you understand who is linking to your site and how it affects your SEO. SEMrush excels in competitive analysis, allowing you to peek into your competitors’ strategies and find gaps in your own. Moz, with its user-friendly interface, offers a range of features from site audits to keyword research, making it a great all-rounder.
These tools do more than just audit content and track keywords. They provide a holistic view of your website’s health, identifying broken links, analyzing on-page SEO elements, and even offering insights into your social media presence. Their detailed reports can guide you in refining your content strategy, improving your site’s technical SEO, and enhancing the overall user experience.
Investing in these tools means investing in the potential of your website. They equip you with the data and insights needed to make informed decisions, helping you stay ahead in the competitive digital landscape. Whether you’re a small business owner, a digital marketing professional, or someone looking to maximize your website’s potential, these tools can be the key to unlocking new opportunities for growth and engagement.
Conducting a website audit is a critical step in ensuring your site aligns with current digital best practices. By using these tools, you can gain valuable insights into your website’s performance, user experience, and search engine optimization. Website audits are not a one-time task but an ongoing process. Regular audits help keep your site optimized, competitive, and in tune with the evolving digital landscape.