Why Do A Website Audit?

Estimated reading time: 4 minutes

Your website is complete, and you love how it looks, but what you can’t see are the many elements dragging your new website down. We’ll explain why to do a website audit and what to look for when auditing your website.

Why Do A Website Audit?

Auditing your website can be daunting, especially if you’re not a web developer or don’t have the time or resources to dedicate to it. 

However, ensuring that your website is up to date and performing well is essential. There are many reasons why you should audit your website regularly. 

First and foremost, it’s an excellent way to catch any errors that may have crept in over time. It’s also a great way to ensure that your website is still optimized for search engines and that all of your content is still relevant. 

If you’ve never done a website audit before, don’t worry – it’s not as complicated as it sounds. We’ll walk you through everything you need to know about auditing your website, including what you should look for and how often you should audit your website. 

So without further ado, let’s get started!

How To Do A Website Audit?

There are many different ways to conduct a website audit. However, we’re going to focus on two main methods: manual audits and automated audits. 

Manual audits are conducted by hand, meaning that you (or someone on your team) will need to go through your website with a fine-toothed comb to look for any errors or issues. Manual audits can be time-consuming, but it’s usually the most thorough way to conduct an audit. 

Semrush has written a detailed 18-step process for you to follow. 

Yes, 18 steps.

On the other hand, automated audits are conducted using software crawling through your website and looking for any potential issues. 

Automated website audits can help identify technical errors, but they’re not always as effective at catching content-related issues such as grammar, misspellings, or deleted images. 

Lighthouse WP scans your WordPress website for any errors that bring websites, and potentially your business, down.

In general, we recommend conducting both manual and automated audits regularly. At the very least, conduct an automatic audit, like we provide, monthly. That way, you’ll be sure to catch all errors that may have crept into your website over time.

How often should you audit your website?

As a general rule of thumb, we recommend auditing your website at least once per quarter. However, if you’re making significant changes to your website or noticing a decline in traffic or conversions, you may want to consider auditing your website more frequently. 

At the end of the day, how often you audit your website is up to you. The important thing is that you make auditing a part of your regular website management and maintenance routine. 

What to look for when auditing your website?

Now that we’ve answered the questions “Why do a website audit?” and “How often should you audit your website?”, it’s time to discuss what you should be looking for when conducting an audit. 

Here are a few things we recommend keeping an eye out for: 

• Errors: Look for any errors on your website, including broken links, 404 errors, and duplicate content. 
• Warnings: Check for any warnings that Google or other search engines may have issued. These can indicate potential issues with your website. 
• Content: Make sure all your content is up to date and relevant. Updated and relevant content includes the text on your pages and any images or videos you may have embedded on your site. 
• Speed: Test your website’s speed to see if any areas are slowing your website’s speed down. Speed is a critical factor when trying to improve your SEO. You generally want your pages to load in less than 2 seconds. 
• Design: Take a look at the overall design of your website. See if there are any areas where changes to the website design can improve the look, layout, and flow. Changes can include things like usability and responsive design.

Conclusion

Websites are like houses – they need regular maintenance and occasional audits to ensure everything is in order. 

A website audit can help you identify problems with your website so you can fix them, and it can also help you improve your website overall.

So if you’re wondering whether a website audit is right for you, the answer is probably yes! And if you don’t have time to do it yourself, that’s where we come in.

Check out our different monthly website management plans.