This Website Audit Checklist is designed to provide a comprehensive evaluation of your website's performance, design, user experience, and functionality.
By following this checklist, you'll identify areas for improvement and gain insights into how to make your website more effective and user-friendly.
With Pro Tips and AI Prompts for each section, you'll gain expert insights and personalized assistance to optimize your website.
SEO Audit
SEO audits focus on evaluating the search-friendliness of your website. This includes checking meta tags, keyword usage, and backlink quality to improve your site's visibility on search engines.
- Check for meta titles and descriptions on all pages.
- Ensure all images have alt text.
- Identify and fix broken links.
- Check for proper URL structure.
- Validate HTML and CSS.
- Check for mobile-friendliness.
- Evaluate the site's loading speed.
AI Prompts:
- ChatGPT, how can I perform a keyword analysis for my website?
- ChatGPT, what are some tools to check the quality of my backlinks?
- ChatGPT, how can I optimize my meta tags for better SEO?
Content Audit
A content audit involves reviewing all the content on your website to ensure it's relevant, up-to-date, and aligned with your business goals. This helps in improving engagement and conversion rates.
- Evaluate the quality and relevance of the content on each page.
- Check for duplicate content issues.
- Ensure proper use of headings (H1, H2, etc.) for content structure.
- Check for outdated content.
- Ensure all content is grammatically correct.
- Validate internal and external links.
- Check for proper keyword usage.
AI Prompts:
- ChatGPT, what are some effective ways to evaluate the relevance of my content?
- ChatGPT, how can I measure user engagement on my blog posts?
- ChatGPT, what tools can help me perform a content audit?
User Experience (UX) and Design
The UX and Design section evaluates the overall look and feel of your website. This includes layout, navigation, and visual elements that contribute to a user-friendly experience.
- Test the website’s navigation for intuitiveness.
- Ensure the site is mobile-responsive.
- Check page load speed on both desktop and mobile.
- Evaluate the color scheme and typography.
- Check for broken or outdated media elements.
- Test all forms and call-to-action buttons.
- Ensure consistency in design elements across pages.
AI Prompts:
- ChatGPT, what are some UX best practices for website design?
- ChatGPT, how can I improve website navigation for a better user experience?
- ChatGPT, what tools can help me analyze my website's design and layout?
Performance and Speed
Website performance and speed are critical for retaining users and improving search engine rankings. This section focuses on optimizing load times and overall website responsiveness.
- Optimize images and other media files for faster loading.
- Minimize the use of render-blocking resources (JavaScript, CSS).
- Leverage browser caching for static resources.
- Check server response time.
- Optimize CSS and JavaScript files.
- Implement lazy loading for images.
- Use a Content Delivery Network (CDN).
AI Prompts:
- ChatGPT, how can I test my website's loading speed?
- ChatGPT, what are some ways to optimize images for faster loading?
- ChatGPT, can you recommend any tools for website performance monitoring?
Security
Website security is crucial for protecting user data and building trust. This section reviews SSL certificates, data encryption, and other security measures.
- Ensure the website is using HTTPS.
- Check for security vulnerabilities like SQL injection and Cross-Site Scripting (XSS).
- Update all plugins, themes, and core software to their latest versions.
- Check for secure data transmission forms.
- Implement security headers.
- Use a Web Application Firewall (WAF).
- Regularly backup your website.
AI Prompts:
- ChatGPT, how can I ensure my website is secure?
- ChatGPT, what are the steps to install an SSL certificate?
- ChatGPT, how can I protect my website from common security threats?
Accessibility
Accessibility ensures that your website is usable by as many people as possible, including those with disabilities. This is not only good for inclusivity but also beneficial for SEO.
- Check for proper use of ARIA roles and attributes.
- Ensure all forms have labels and are easily navigable via keyboard.
- Test the website for color contrast and readability.
- Use semantic HTML.
- Ensure resizable text without loss of content.
- Provide text alternatives for non-text content.
- Ensure keyboard accessibility.
AI Prompts:
- ChatGPT, what are some basic accessibility features every website should have?
- ChatGPT, how can I test my website for accessibility?
- ChatGPT, can you recommend any tools or plugins for improving website accessibility?
Analytics and Tracking
This section focuses on the proper implementation of analytics tools and tracking codes. Accurate data collection is essential for understanding user behavior and making informed decisions.
- Ensure Google Analytics or other tracking tools are properly installed.
- Check for goal-tracking setups like form submissions or e-commerce transactions.
- Validate the tracking of key performance indicators (KPIs).
- Check for proper event tracking.
- Ensure UTM parameters are correctly implemented. (UTM parameters are short text codes that you add to URLs to help track the performance of a webpage or marketing campaign.)
- Validate cross-domain tracking, if applicable.
- Check for proper funnel visualization setup.
AI Prompts:
- ChatGPT, how can I set up Google Analytics for my website?
- ChatGPT, what are some key performance indicators (KPIs) I should be tracking?
- ChatGPT, how can I track conversions using analytics tools?
Legal Compliance
Legal compliance ensures that your website adheres to laws and regulations like GDPR and that it includes necessary legal pages like Privacy Policy and Terms and Conditions. This is crucial for avoiding legal issues and building trust with your audience.
- Ensure GDPR compliance for collecting and storing user data.
- Include a clear and easily accessible Privacy Policy.
- Add a Terms and Conditions page outlining the rules, terms, and guidelines for using your website.
- Make sure there's a Cookie Policy and that users can easily opt in or out.
- Check for compliance with ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) standards for accessibility.
- Ensure that all forms on the website have a consent checkbox for collecting data.
- Audit any third-party tools or plugins for compliance with privacy laws.
AI Prompts:
- ChatGPT, what are the key elements I need to include in a GDPR-compliant privacy policy?
- ChatGPT, how can I make sure my website complies with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)?
- ChatGPT, what should be included in the terms and conditions page to protect my business?