A website audit is a practice that consists of analyzing all the elements of a website, which will provide you insights on the website’s weaknesses and factors contributing to a drop in the website’s performance. It aims to determine the factors that may be affecting the website’s visibility and rankings in search engines. Digital marketing and web development experts are often the ones who are the most knowledgeable to determine a website’s health, although there are ways for website owners to conduct their own personal checks.
Consequently, here are some factors that need to be assessed when performing a website audit:
1. Web Page Design
Firstly, one should check the website’s page design. The pages of the website should look consistent, which means they should have similar fonts, headers, and so on. Visitors should feel that they are still in the same website whichever page they may be at the moment.
There should also be a balance of text, images, and white spaces. Navigation should be easy. In addition, the colors and typeface need to be chosen carefully so that they match the company’s or brand’s colors as well the brand’s products, and it should cater to its target audience.
2. Branding
Secondly, all the elements of the website, including the layout, fonts, images, videos, and content, should work together to communicate the same message. The purpose is to build the brand and make it recognizable and memorable. The name and logo need to stand out but it should not be overbearing.
Next, the contact information should be easily found, and the ‘About Us’ page should tell people about the company to help them to see that the business is a real and that it is a legitimate entity. Testimonials, ratings, and reviews are often effective in building trust. Similarly, incorporating social media accounts during the web development process is also an effective way to increase visibility; allowing customers to follow, like, and share the website’s posts, which will help the brand to build recognition, recall, and trust.
3. Content
It is important to make every word count. Do not try to post articles that are full of fluff and repetitions; instead, go for the meaty, informative, and relevant content.
Also, the content of the website should be regularly updated. It is also important to have a blog that features fresh posts on a regular basis; after all, if the last blog post is two years old, people might think that the site is not being well-maintained and up to date.
For articles, it is best to break it down into smaller portions using headers, sub-headers, bullets, and numbering. These strategies will help readers to scan content. Avoid jargon; make information easy for the general public to understand, and make sure to proofread before publishing.
Companies should use their website to build their reputation as experts in their niche or field and communicate to the public that they are a trustworthy source to provide legitimate information. Therefore, posting duplicate content should be avoided and one should never simply copy or scrape from another website.
4. SEO
Pages and articles should be search engine optimized, meaning each one has to contain words and phrases that people might use to search and find the website. It is best to spend time selecting and planning the use of these keywords; using a combination of short, regular ones and long-tail phrases, to produce the best results. However, keyword stuffing or putting in too many keywords could have a negative effect on the site’s rankings.
Catchy post titles are important, but they should also contain keywords. Similarly, the page URL, meta titles, and meta descriptions should be optimized.
5. User-Friendliness
In order to maximize the website’s full potential, it should work on various browsers, operating systems, and devices. It should load fast; as users are usually impatient and will move away quickly. Moreover, there must be a way for users to find the company easily on social media and to share their content.
It is easier for search engines to find new posts or updated pages if the site uses XML sitemaps. This way, the website will have a better chance of appearing on search engines, making it easier to people to find it.
There are many other factors that may be affecting your website’s performance. If you need help with your website audit, or you want to launch an SEO campaign, there are web page design and development experts at Subzero Lab to help you do all of that. Call us at +65 8188 5159 or send an email to wow@subzerolab.sg.
