Certainly! Here’s a simplified 12-step website audit checklist that you can use. This checklist is designed to cover essential aspects of a website audit and is intended to be straightforward and free to implement:
1. Website Performance
- Page Speed: Use Google PageSpeed Insights or GTmetrix to check loading times.
- Mobile Friendliness: Use Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test to ensure your site is responsive.
2. SEO Basics
- Title Tags: Check if each page has unique, descriptive title tags.
- Meta Descriptions: Ensure meta descriptions are informative and relevant.
3. Content Quality
- Content Relevance: Assess if content is valuable and meets user intent.
- Duplicate Content: Use tools like Siteliner to identify duplicate content issues.
4. On-Page SEO
- Header Tags: Verify proper use of H1, H2, and H3 tags.
- Internal Linking: Ensure pages are linked logically for user navigation and SEO.
5. Technical SEO
- XML Sitemap: Confirm existence and proper formatting of XML sitemap.
- Robots.txt: Check for correct instructions to search engines.
- Broken Links: Use tools like Screaming Frog to find and fix broken links.
6. User Experience (UX)
- Navigation: Check if navigation is intuitive and user-friendly.
- Forms: Ensure forms are working correctly without errors.
7. Security
- SSL Certificate: Ensure the website is secure with HTTPS.
- Malware Check: Use tools like Sucuri SiteCheck to scan for malware.
8. Analytics and Tracking
- Google Analytics: Verify it’s installed and tracking data correctly.
- Conversion Tracking: Check if goals and conversions are set up properly.
9. Mobile Optimization
- Responsive Design: Test across different devices to ensure responsiveness.
10. Social Media Integration
- Social Sharing Buttons: Ensure sharing buttons are visible and functional.
- Profile Links: Check if social media profile links are updated and working.
11. SEO Audit
- Keyword Optimization: Evaluate keyword usage and density across pages.
12. Accessibility
- Alt Text: Ensure all images have descriptive alt attributes for accessibility.
Tools for Audit:
- Google PageSpeed Insights: https://developers.google.com/speed/pagespeed/insights/
- GTmetrix: https://gtmetrix.com/
- Google Mobile-Friendly Test: https://search.google.com/test/mobile-friendly
- Siteliner: https://www.siteliner.com/
- Screaming Frog SEO Spider: https://www.screamingfrog.co.uk/seo-spider/
- Sucuri SiteCheck: https://sitecheck.sucuri.net/
These steps cover the essential aspects of auditing a website for performance, SEO, user experience, security, and more. Adjust the checklist as per your specific website needs and goals.