A website audit is a structured review of whether your site is secure, findable, fast and set up to turn visitors into enquiries. Web auditing sounds technical, but most of the problems that cost small businesses customers are simple to spot. Work through the 12 checks below, then decide what to fix first.
Security and trust
1. Your site loads over HTTPS with no warnings
Open every key page and look for the padlock. Mixed content (an image or script loaded over plain http) can trigger browser warnings that make visitors leave.
2. A privacy policy and contact details are easy to find
Visitors and ad platforms both look for a linked privacy policy, a real business address or location, and a working phone number or email.
Search basics
3. Every page has a unique title and meta description
Titles around 50 to 60 characters and descriptions under about 155 characters display cleanly in Google. Each page should say what it is, in words a customer would search for.
4. One H1 per page and a logical heading order
Use a single H1 that states the page's main topic, then H2s for sections. Skipped heading levels make pages harder to read for people using screen readers and for search engines.
5. robots.txt and an XML sitemap exist
Visit yourdomain.com/robots.txt and yourdomain.com/sitemap.xml. Make sure robots.txt doesn't block pages you want found, and submit the sitemap in Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools.
Speed and mobile
6. The site works well on a phone
Open it on your own phone. Text should be readable without zooming, buttons easy to tap, and nothing should overflow the screen.
7. Pages pass a speed test
Run your homepage through Google's PageSpeed Insights (free). Large uncompressed images and too many third-party scripts are the usual causes of slow pages.
Tracking and lead capture
8. Analytics and Search Console are installed and verified
Without them you can't see what is working. Confirm Google Analytics is recording visits and that Search Console shows your site as verified with a sitemap submitted.
9. Visitors can contact you in at least two ways
A short form, a tap-to-call number, a WhatsApp button or a visible email address. Different customers prefer different channels, and every missing channel is a lost enquiry.
10. Your forms actually work
Submit a test enquiry and confirm it reaches you. Keep forms short: name, one contact method and one qualifying question is enough for a first conversation.
Content and AI visibility
11. There are no broken links or missing pages
Click through your main navigation and footer. A branded 404 page that points visitors back to useful content is better than a dead end.
12. AI crawlers can read your site
Check robots.txt for rules blocking GPTBot, ClaudeBot, PerplexityBot or Google-Extended, and make sure your key content appears in the page's raw HTML rather than only after JavaScript runs. Adding structured data (JSON-LD) that states who you are, what you do and where you operate helps AI assistants describe your business correctly. Our guide on why a business doesn't show up in ChatGPT and Gemini explains the three most common causes.
What to fix first
Start with anything that stops people reaching or trusting the site (security warnings, broken pages, forms that don't submit). Then close lead capture gaps, because they affect enquiries from the traffic you already have. Search and AI visibility improvements come next, since they take weeks to show results.
This checklist covers the essentials. A full audit checks far more; see what a website audit should actually check for the 10 pillars and 123 checks we run.
Frequently asked questions
How do I audit my own website for free?
Work through a checklist covering security, SEO basics, speed, tracking, lead capture and AI crawler access. Free tools such as Google Search Console, PageSpeed Insights and a free website scan cover most of it.
What is web auditing?
Web auditing is a structured review of a website's technical health, search visibility, security and ability to turn visitors into enquiries.
How long does a basic website audit take?
A manual checklist like this one usually takes one to two hours. An automated scan, such as the free 25-check scan from The Website Auditor, takes about a minute.
What should I fix first after a website audit?
Fix anything that stops visitors from reaching or trusting the site first (security errors, broken pages), then lead capture gaps, then search and AI visibility improvements.