What is a technical website audit?
Written by Daily Fix - Published 08-Dec-2023, last updated 08-Dec-2023
Before we discuss how to perform a technical website audit, it's worth quickly describing what a technical website audit is.
A technical website audit is a comprehensive examination of a website's technical aspects that influence its performance, user experience, and search engine visibility. It involves analysing various components to identify and fix issues that may be affecting the website including its technical infrastructure, on-page and off-page elements and content.
The audit process provides valuable insights into the current state of the website and helps in developing a plan to address any issues that are identified.
Why is a technical website audit important?
A technical website audit is important because it helps in identifying and fixing issues that may be affecting the performance, user experience, and search engine visibility of a website.
An initial audit will identify issues to fix, and by regularly auditing your website, you can ensure that it is always in top shape and performing at its best.
How to perform a technical website audit
Performing a technical website audit involves analysing various aspects of a website, including its technical infrastructure, on-page elements, and off-page elements. While there are many, many aspects to performing a technical website audit, and each SEO expert will have their own tried and tested workflow, here are some of the main steps to perform a technical website audit:
Check Crawlability and Indexability
Check if search engines can crawl and index your website properly. Use tools like Google Search Console and a crawl-based tool like Screaming Frog and Semrush's Site Audit to identify and fix crawlability and indexability issues.
Site Speed and Performance
Analyse the site speed and performance of your website. Use tools like Google PageSpeed Insights and GTmetrix to identify and fix issues that may be affecting the speed and performance of your website.
For more on this, check out our guide on 5 ways to speed up your website.
Mobile Responsiveness
Check if your website is mobile-friendly. Use Google's Mobile-Friendly Test to identify and fix issues related to mobile responsiveness.
Site Structure, Navigation and User Experience
Analyse the site structure and navigation of your website. Check if your website has a clear and intuitive navigation structure that makes it easy for users to find what they are looking for.
Check if your website provides a seamless and intuitive user experience.
On-Page SEO
Analyse the on-page SEO elements of your website, including meta title tags, meta descriptions, heading tags, and internal linking structure. Use tools like Semrush and Moz to identify and fix on-page SEO issues.
Off-Page SEO
Analyse the off-page SEO elements of your website, including backlink profile and social signals. Use tools like Ahrefs and Majestic to identify and fix off-page SEO issues.
Technical Infrastructure
Analyse the technical infrastructure of your website, including server configuration, SSL certificate, and XML sitemap. Use tools like Screaming Frog and DeepCrawl to identify and fix technical infrastructure issues.
Website Security
Check if your website is secure and has an SSL certificate installed. Use tools like Qualys SSL Labs to identify and fix security issues.
Analyse the Website Content
Analyse the content of your website, including blog posts, landing pages, and product pages. Check if your content is high-quality, relevant, and optimised for search engines. But write for people, not search engines!
Conclusion
A technical website audit is a critical process that can help you identify and fix issues that may be affecting your website. By regularly auditing your website, you can ensure that it is always in top shape and performing at its best.
The technical website audit process provides valuable insights into the current state of your website and helps in developing a plan to address any issues that are identified.
By following the steps outlined in this guide, you can perform a comprehensive technical website audit and ensure that your website is optimised for success.