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How to Audit a Website: A Clear, Practical Guide for Small Teams

How to Audit a Website: A Clear, Practical Guide for Small Teams

You’ve heard you should audit your website regularly. But what does that mean? What should you look for? And where do you even start?

This guide will walk you through the why, what, and how of website audits — in plain language, with a practical checklist and a few tools to make it easier. By the end, you’ll know what kind of audit you might need, what to check, and how to take action.

Why audit your website at all?

Websites are not “set it and forget it.” They’re living parts of your business. Over time, content gets outdated, user behavior shifts, SEO algorithms change, and tech evolves. Even the most evergreen site is going to need a review and refresh every six to twelve months, depending on your business.

An audit helps you:

  1. Understand what’s working and what’s not
  2. Find areas that confuse visitors or turn them away
  3. Update outdated or underperforming content
  4. Improve search engine visibility
  5. Spot technical issues that hurt performance

A solid audit gives you clarity. You’re no longer guessing why conversions dropped or why organic traffic has plateaued. You have real data to guide your next steps.

Wait… is a website audit and a content audit the same thing?

Not quite. Though website and content audits are related and may even have some overlap, they are technically different in scope. Let’s break it down:

  • Website audit: Looks at your site’s structure, performance, UX, and SEO health. Think of it as a holistic approach that includes technical.
  • Content audit: Focuses just on the content — blogs, landing pages, resources — to evaluate quality, relevance, accuracy, and engagement.

And I also offer a third type of audit:

  • Web copy review: Zeroes in on your main marketing pages (like your homepage, services, and about page) to make sure they’re clear, compelling, and aligned with your brand.

So, how do you know which audit is the right one for your needs?

If you’re publishing blogs but not seeing results or you’re unsure what to keep vs cut, start with a content audit.

If people are landing on your homepage but not converting or your messaging feels unclear, go for a web copy review. 

If your site is outdated or slow, you should consider a full website audit.

If you’re still not sure, do a quick self-check. Where do you feel the most friction: in content quality, clarity, or performance?

Content Audit Checklist

If you’ve been creating content for a while, a content audit can help you understand what’s working, what’s outdated, and what’s missing. Use this checklist to evaluate your blog posts, articles, case studies, and resources:

  • Are topics still relevant to your audience?
  • Are stats and links current and accurate?
  • Are titles and intros engaging?
  • Are calls-to-action clear and effective?
  • Which pieces perform well (traffic, engagement, conversions)?
  • Which pieces are outdated, off-brand, or underperforming?
  • Can any pieces be consolidated, repurposed, or improved?

Web Copy Review Checklist

Use this checklist to evaluate your homepage, about, services, and other core marketing pages:

  • Is your value proposition clear and prominent?
  • Do you speak directly to your ideal customer’s needs?
  • Is the copy skimmable with clear headings and bullet points?
  • Are your CTAs (calls-to-action) strong and visible?
  • Is the tone consistent with your brand voice?
  • Are benefits highlighted more than features?
  • Are there any jargon-heavy or confusing sections?

Website Audit Checklist

Ready to dig into your site’s structure, performance, and usability? Use the checklist below as your roadmap. You don’t need to be a developer or SEO pro — just set aside focused time and dig in.

1. Is your site mobile-friendly?

  • Does your website look and work well on phones and tablets?
  • Is text readable without zooming?
  • Are buttons easy to tap?

2. Is your content clear, current, and aligned?

  • Do your main pages (home, about, services) clearly explain what you do and who you help?
  • Are there outdated products, services, or dates?
  • Are you using consistent voice, tone, and messaging?

3. How’s your SEO health?

  • Do pages have clear, relevant titles and meta descriptions?
  • Are you using headings (H1, H2, etc.) to organize content?
  • Are internal links working and relevant?
  • Is image file size optimized with alt text included?
  • Run a quick scan for 404 errors or broken links.
  • Double-check redirects if you’ve changed URLs recently.

5. Does your site load quickly?

  • Page speed impacts user experience and search rankings.
  • Compress images, use caching, and minimize unnecessary scripts.

6. Are analytics and tracking working?

  • Are your website analytics tools set up correctly?
  • Can you see traffic, pageviews, bounce rate, and conversions?

7. Is navigation intuitive?

  • Can visitors find what they need in one or two clicks?
  • Are menus organized by user intent (not internal jargon)?

Tools That Help with Website Analysis

You might be thinking: even if I choose one audit type, that is a lot of work! True, any audit is going to take time to do well, but you don’t have to do everything manually. There are many free and paid tools can make the audit process faster and easier. Here is a list to help get you started.

Content-focused tools:

Analytics-focused tools:

  • Your site platform’s built-in analytics: (e.g., Squarespace Analytics, Wix Stats, WordPress Jetpack)
  • Google Analytics: Understand user behavior, traffic, and conversions.

SEO and performance tools:

What to do with the results?

Analyzing your website or content takes time, but an audit isn’t helpful unless you act on it. Here’s how to move forward:

  1. List issues by priority: Fix broken links, slow load times, and important on-page SEO first.
  2. Update outdated content: Focus especially on pages that get traffic but are no longer sharing current information.
  3. Track improvements: Use analytics to measure whether changes improve traffic or engagement.

If your audit reveals a long list of issues, don’t panic. Tackle one category of issue at a time. 

Some of the tools above provide useful priority and difficulty guidance. You may decide to resolve all of the easy tasks first to build momentum and see some immediate wins while planning for the more difficult issues. Or you may decide to focus on the highest priority issues first, if time is a critical factor.

Need help? I offer 3 types of audits

If you’d rather not go it alone, I offer flexible audit services for small teams and growing businesses:

  • Content audit: A light-touch review of your blog, case studies, or resource hub to flag outdated, off-brand, or underperforming assets.
  • Web copy review: Page-by-page feedback on the messaging of your homepage, services, and other core marketing pages with suggested rewrites.
  • Website audit and strategy: A look at your entire website: UX, performance, SEO, and messaging — with a prioritized action plan.

Curious which one fits your needs? Reach out here and let’s talk.

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waymarks

Jacquelyn Van Sant is a website strategist. As owner of Waymarks, she helps small-to-medium businesses go from "meh" to magnetic with strategic websites that look pretty — and actually work.