Website Audit Checklist: 25 Things to Check Before a Redesign

Before you pay for a redesign, find out what's actually wrong with the site you have. Sometimes the answer is "everything" and a rebuild is the right call. Often, it's five or six specific problems that can be fixed for a fraction of the cost.

This checklist is the same order I use when I review a site. You can do most of it yourself in an hour or two with a phone, a laptop and a notepad. Mark each item as OK, Needs work or Broken.

How to run the audit

• Do it on your phone first. For many small businesses, most visitors arrive on mobile.
• Look at the site as a stranger who has never heard of you. Better yet, ask a friend who fits your customer profile to try it while you watch.
• Use a private browser window, so you see what new visitors see.
• Write down what you notice, even small things. Patterns show up quickly.

1. Message and first impression

1. Within five seconds of landing, can a stranger tell what you do and who it's for? Read only the top of your home page. If the headline could belong to any business, it needs work.
2. Is there one obvious next step? A single main button like "Get a quote" or "Book a call", visible without scrolling.
3. Does the page speak to your buyer's problem, not just list what you do? "Websites that bring in enquiries" beats "We are a full-service digital agency."
4. Is your location or service area clear, if it matters for your business?
5. Does the design look current and match your prices? A premium price on a dated site creates doubt.

2. Mobile experience

6. Is the text easy to read without zooming?
7. Are buttons and links easy to tap, and far enough apart?
8. Does anything run off the side of the screen or make the page scroll sideways?
9. Does the menu open and close smoothly, and are the key pages in it?
10. Do pop-ups cover the content on small screens? If you can't close them easily, they're costing you visitors.

3. Speed and technical health

11. Does the home page load quickly on mobile data? Test it on your phone away from Wi-Fi. You can also run free tools like Google PageSpeed Insights for a second opinion.
12. Are images a sensible size? Huge photos are the most common cause of slow small business sites.
13. Does the site use HTTPS (the padlock in the browser), on every page?
14. Are there broken links or pages that show errors? Click through every item in your menu and footer.
15. Is everything up to date? If your site runs on a system with plugins or themes, outdated ones are a security risk.

4. Can people find you? (SEO basics)

16. Does every page have its own title and description that says what the page is about? Search for your business name on Google and look at what shows up.
17. Does each service have its own page, with a clear heading that matches what customers search for?
18. Is the site connected to Google Search Console? It's free, and it shows which searches bring people to your site and which pages have problems.
19. Is there a sitemap, and are your important pages actually indexed? Search Console will tell you.
20. If you serve a local area, is your Google Business Profile complete and linked to your site?

5. Trust and proof

21. Can visitors see real proof? Real reviews, real work samples, credentials you can back up. Never use invented testimonials; people can tell, and it damages trust for good.
22. Is there an About section with a real person behind the business, ideally with a photo?
23. Are your contact details easy to find, and do they all work? Email, phone, WhatsApp, address if relevant.
24. Are your policies in place? Privacy policy, and terms or refund policy if you sell online. They matter for trust and, in many places, they're required.

6. Conversion and tracking

25. Do your forms work, and do you know where they go? Send yourself a test message through every form. Check that it arrives, that the visitor sees a clear confirmation, and that you know how quickly you'll reply. Then check whether you have analytics, so you can see how many people visit and how many get in touch.

How to score the results

Count your Needs work and Broken items in each section:

• Mostly OK, with a few issues in one or two sections: you don't need a redesign. Fix the specific problems, starting with anything broken, then the message, then mobile.
• Problems in three or four sections: a focused round of improvements, or a redesign of the key pages (home, services, contact), is usually enough.
• Problems almost everywhere, or the site is hard to update: a redesign is probably the better investment. My article on signs your website needs a redesign can help you decide.

What to fix first

If you have a list of problems and a limited budget, use this order:

1. Anything broken: forms, links, checkout, security warnings.
2. The message at the top of the home page and the main call to action.
3. Mobile usability.
4. Speed, especially image sizes.
5. Trust: proof, about, contact details, policies.
6. SEO basics and tracking, so you can measure what changes.

Small fixes in the first three areas often make a bigger difference than a full visual refresh.

Free tools that help

You don't need paid software for a first audit. These free tools cover most of the checklist:

• Google Search Console: which searches show your site, which pages are indexed, and any errors Google found.
• Google PageSpeed Insights: a speed and mobile report for any page, with suggestions.
• Your own phone: still the best test of all. Try every form and button on it.
• A private browser window: to see the site as a new visitor, without saved logins or pop-up settings.
• Your analytics tool, if you have one: how many people visit, which pages they see, and where they leave.

Write the results next to each checklist item, so you have a record to compare against after you make changes.

When to ask for help

This checklist covers the basics. A professional audit goes further: how your site compares with competitors, how your offer and pricing are presented, where visitors drop off, and what each fix will roughly cost. If you're about to spend money on a redesign, it's worth knowing exactly what you're fixing first. For a sense of budget, see how much a small business website costs.

Work with me

Want me to run this audit for you?

The Website Audit is a written review of your current site or funnel: what's holding it back, and what to fix first, in order of impact. It's a fixed $297, and it tells you whether you need a few fixes or a full redesign before you spend on either.

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Written by Oka Yunior. More than 10 years in design, almost 7 at a US design agency, and since 2020 leading design and marketing for a US gifting company.