Website audits strike fear in the hearts of the most seasoned of marketers. Every website, even yours, has a multitude of interactions and user flows, UI elements, design elements, SEO requirements — the list goes on. So when a website isn’t performing well, most get overwhelmed figuring out the best place to start. But starting is actually simpler than you might think. All you have to do is answer a few questions, pick the right audit and you’ll be analysing and optimising your site in no time.
Read on to learn how to conduct a website audit, with advice direct from our team of strategists.
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A ‘website audit’ is a catch-all term for health checks done on a website. Audits are ideal when your site has been live for a while or is performing poorly. By examining different aspects of your site, you can determine what’s going on whether or not it’s supporting your broader objectives.
Since you’re here, chances are, you have a hunch that your website isn’t performing well. So what does your gut say? Maybe the information architecture (IA) is chaotic, or the design is stuck in the past. You may have noticed certain pages aren’t getting attention, while others have traffic but don’t convert.
Whatever intuition tells you, first get clear on why you need an audit before embarking on one. Understanding this will allow you to set goals for your audit, which clarifies the purpose and limits the scope. Cast the net too wide, and you might tumble down a rabbit hole you can’t climb back out of.
Some of the top reasons to conduct a website audit include:
In addition to the above, a website redesign or refresh may be on the horizon for your brand. A website audit is a smart place to start before committing to a website redesign plan.
‘If you’re thinking about a website redesign, you’ve gotta spend time on discovery, analysis and planning before diving in. This sets the foundation for a successful redesign. Audits are a great tool for understanding what’s going on with your website, surfacing what is and isn’t working and where investment may be most valuable.’
Glenn Purcell
Associate Creative Director at Salted Stone
With clear goals defined, you're ready to select the right audit(s) to meet your needs.
We’ll level with you: there are several ways to audit a website. For simplicity’s sake, here, you’ll find the types of audits you’re most likely to lean on and there’s no one-size-fits-all approach. Perform one or all three — it all depends on what you want to learn and improve upon.
1. Website design audit
A website design audit is best for analysing the visual design of your site, that is, the typography, colour palette, graphics, photography and everything else that makes up its look and feel. A component of this is the user interface (UI), the elements users interact with on a website, such as buttons, breadcrumbs and tooltips, for example.
The goal of a website design audit is to check the totality of your site’s visual appearance and related functions to ensure they support an enjoyable user experience (UX). An outcome of this assessment may be a need for a new or refreshed visual identity.
2. Website UX audit
The best websites offer frictionless experiences and a website UX audit is great for uncovering problems preventing that ideal state. You’ll understand how users behave on your site, and what’s working and what’s not. This is especially important for conversion rate optimisation (CRO).
With a website UX audit, you can pinpoint:
Plus, discover opportunities to improve website UX in a way that better supports the buyer's path to purchase.
We recognise that the line between design and UX audits is blurry. That’s because UX and UI go hand in hand. The difference is, a UX audit evaluates users’ entire experience with your website whereas a design audit solely focuses on the visual aspects of your site.
3. Website SEO audit
A website SEO audit should be completed regularly to maintain optimal site and search performance. This consists of reviewing the technical components of your website, which SEO gurus Ahrefs say is ‘an imperative part of site maintenance’. But on-page SEO also matters if you want to rank higher and build for engagement.
To do an SEO audit, you’ll:
Oftentimes, this type of audit uncovers:
Looking to go the extra mile? A competitor analysis is a great complement to any of the website audits listed and can be done at any point in the process.
So, you are probably wondering when you should choose one audit over another. To find out, have a read through these common website problems and note which ones resonate with you:
Problem 1: ‘My website looks and feels dated’ or ‘My website is at odds with my brand.’
Your move: Do a website design audit.
Problem 2: ‘My website isn’t converting’ or ‘My website UX is downright confusing.’
Your move: Complete a website UX audit.
Problem 3: ‘My rankings are stagnant or declining’.
Your move: Action an SEO audit.
Problem 4: ‘I have no clue what’s wrong with my site and my boss is asking questions.’
Your move: Do the design, UX and SEO audits one by one.
Problem 5: ‘We built our website years ago and haven’t reviewed it since.’
Your move: You guessed it! Do all three audits.
Fortunately, there’s an audit for every problem. If more than one resonated, that’s okay. It means doing the relevant audits to uncover what’s really happening. Recall your goals and tackle each audit in priority order. Repeat this every 6 to 12 months or when your conversion rates drop.
Alternatively, ask an expert. Tapping the expertise of a digital agency that’s spent hundreds of hours analysing, strategising and redesigning websites can offer a fresh perspective and maximise your website audit. Read on for our tips.
No two website audits are ever alike, however, following a few best practice principles will ensure you’re on the right track. Try these:
✅ Set goals
This might seem obvious, but getting goals right is paramount to success. Trying to assess your website through too many lenses at once can be overwhelming. Remember our advice: lock down your why first. Referring back to your website’s core function and/or marketing objectives may help. Here’s a bonus tip: establish what doneness looks like so you know when to stop investigating.
✅ Start small, stay focused.
It should be obvious by now that a website audit needn’t span the entirety of your website. That’s because conducting an effective website audit is as much about what you focus on as it is what you don’t. Spend time on the area that will benefit most from your analysis. For example, in a UX audit, you should assess the primary user flows in your website experience, ideally no more than three.
From our experience, big improvements can be born from the smallest changes. So narrow your focus until you form a strategic website redesign plan.
✅ Know your users
This is who your website exists to serve. Revisit your persona documentation and get inside the heads of your users. You are not your user. It's important to understand actual users’ jobs-to-be-done on your website and how those jobs fit into the broader buyer journey. This way, you’re more likely to see things from their perspective as you examine your site for issues.
‘Take a structured approach to your audit. Having a method prevents you from getting sidetracked and missing problems that create a really bad experience for your users. I also take care documenting my findings. I like to rank issues using colour-coded priority labels based on how much they affect the overall UX. Try it!’
Francisco Cervellera
Senior Designer at Salted Stone
✅ Leverage data
Data can confirm your gut feeling or it could potentially challenge it. Consult your tools and look at the evidence. If you’re interested in understanding typical user journeys, check Google Analytics for quantitative data. If you want to understand conversions, check conversion tracking in your analytics platform, like HubSpot. Your audit should balance quantitative and qualitative data. The bottom line is, consult whatever tools make sense for your chosen audit.
✅ Review periodically
Top-notch websites do so much more than act as a digital brochure — they’re living, breathing, interactive things. Your website is supposed to evolve with your business and that means tending to it every once in a while. Yes, sometimes you need to rebuild from scratch. But don’t overlook the value of incremental improvement. Audit aspects of your website on a regular basis. Optimise as necessary.
✅ When in doubt, ask for help.
We understand how time consuming this process can be. Audits can be downright frustrating, especially if you’re looking for answers in the wrong places. Like most things in life, impartial advice from someone outside the situation can provide a welcome breakthrough. So don’t hesitate to bring in the experts if you need. Have them cast an objective eye over your website, and you’ll soon get unstuck.
Performing a website audit is a crucial step toward enhancing your site’s performance and improving UX in alignment with your business goals. Now you know how to conduct three kinds of audits and when to do them, so you can spend precious time where it counts. We hope that using our tips uncovers a goldmine of opportunities for optimisation — and growth.
If you’re ready to transform your website, ask us about one of our website audits. Whether you need an expert design, UX or SEO review, we identify opportunities to help your business and users achieve their goals. The result? A bespoke action plan designed to elevate your website experience. But if a larger-scale strategic review is necessary, we’ve got you covered.
Prefer to leave it to the pros?
Talk to Salted Stone to learn more about our website audits. Contact us!