What is a website audit?
A website audit is like a check-up, but for your website. It is a comprehensive review of many aspects that go into tuning your website to perform at the highest level. Just like a check-up at a doctor’s office, we will take a look at several critical aspects of your website and create a written report on its health that includes benchmark assessments and recommendations for improvement.
Which aspects of my site do you look at in an audit?
Our audits typically examine the following areas of your website:
Accessibility
This component is focused on ensuring that your website can be used by people with disabilities or limitations. We will test your website with assistive technologies such as screen readers and determine how well your site adheres to accessibility standards such as the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG). The goal is to make the website usable by as many people as possible, regardless of their abilities or limitations. Good accessibility practices make your website more inclusive, help with search engine optimization and usability for all visitors, and also help you comply with regulations and standard practice guides.
Content Quality and Readability
This portion of the audit typically assesses whether your content is easy to read and understand, with appropriate use of headings, paragraphs, and bullet points. The goal is to ensure that the website provides high-quality content that is useful and understandable to the website’s target audience.
Mobile Responsiveness
Here we focus on how well your website adapts to different screen sizes and devices, such as smartphones and tablets. We will assess whether your website is easy to use and navigate on mobile devices, with appropriately sized text, images, and buttons.
Performance
We will measure how fast your website loads and performs for users. The audit would typically assess factors such as page load speed, server response time, and optimizations for other site assets, such as images and documents.
Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
Our SEO component focuses on how well your site is optimized for search engines like Google or Bing. We assess factors such as keyword usage, meta tags, internal linking, and backlinks (links from other sites to yours). Good SEO helps improve your search engine results, improving visibility and traffic from these tools.
Security
We will examine whether your website is secure and protected against unauthorized access, data breaches, denial of service attacks, and other security threats. Our audit assesses factors such as how access and accounts are managed, the use of encryption and secure protocols, and the implementation of security best practices.
Usability
With the goal of ensuring that your site is user-friendly and provides a positive user experience, this portion of the audit focuses on assessing how easy and intuitive your website is to use for its intended audience. The audit would typically assess factors such as navigation, layout, labeling, and calls to action.
User Engagement
This component focuses on assessing how well your website is engaging and retaining its users. Using tools such as Google Analytics, we assess factors such as bounce rates, time spent on site, and conversion rates (the rate at which a visitor to your site takes the action you desire, such as making a purchase, giving a donation, or signing up for a newsletter). In the event that you do not have analytics set up to capture this information, we will likely make recommendations to do so.
How long does it take to prepare a website audit?
Reports typically take a few weeks to prepare, depending on the size and complexity of your site.
What is the cost for a website audit?
For small sites that are mostly written content (as opposed to custom, interactive features and eCommerce), the price will usually be in the $1,000 - $1,500 range. For larger or more complicated sites, prices vary. Please contact us for a website audit estimate.