Just like a car needs an NCT, your website needs a regular check-up. Small problems can build up over time without you noticing: broken links, slow pages, outdated plugins and forms that have stopped working. If they go unchecked, they can harm your visitors’ experience, your search engine rankings and, ultimately, your sales.
The good news is that a website health check doesn’t need to be complicated. Here are the key areas to check to make sure your website has a clean bill of health.
1. Check Your SEO Foundations
Start by making sure each important page on your website is clearly set up for the searches you want to appear in.
For example, if you offer web design for orthodontists, your key page should be built around that phrase. Check that each page has:
- A unique, descriptive page title and meta description
- A clear main heading (H1) that includes its key phrase
- Content that genuinely answers what people are searching for
- Descriptive alt text on images
Next, set up and check Google Search Console. It’s free, and it shows you which pages Google has indexed, which searches bring people to your site, and any errors Google has found. If important pages aren’t being indexed, you’ll want to know.
2. Check Your Content
Make sure all of your content is original. Copied content from other websites is unlikely to rank and can damage how Google sees your website as a whole.
Read through your key pages and check that everything is still accurate and up to date, including your services, prices, team members, opening hours and contact details. Outdated information frustrates customers and makes your business look neglected.
If you run ads on your website, make sure they don’t overwhelm your content. Pages packed with ads are frustrating to use and can hurt your rankings.
3. Check Your Links
Broken links lead visitors to dead ends and “404 Page Not Found” errors, which is frustrating and makes your website look poorly maintained.
Check both internal links (between pages on your own website) and external links (to other websites). Fix or redirect any that are broken.
Tools such as Screaming Frog can crawl your website and find broken links, missing page titles, duplicate content and other technical problems. The free version checks up to 500 pages, which is plenty for most small business websites.
4. Check Your Speed and Mobile Experience
A slow website loses visitors and can hurt your rankings. Run your key pages through Google’s free PageSpeed Insights tool to see how quickly they load and what’s slowing them down. Common fixes include compressing images and removing plugins you don’t need.
Then check your website on your own phone. Is the text easy to read? Are buttons easy to tap? Does everything fit the screen properly? Most of your visitors are likely to be on mobile, so this is essential.
5. Check Your Security
Make sure your website loads securely over “https”, with a padlock in the address bar. If you use WordPress, check that WordPress, your theme and your plugins are all up to date, and remove any plugins you no longer use.
Also check that your website is being backed up regularly and automatically, and that the backups are stored somewhere separate from your website.
6. Check Your Forms and Features
Test the parts of your website that bring in business. Fill in your contact forms and make sure the messages arrive. Try your booking system, your checkout and your phone links. Problems here can go unnoticed for weeks, costing you enquiries and sales without you knowing.
Make sure Google Analytics is still tracking properly too, so you have accurate information about how your website is performing.
7. Check Your Legal Pages
Make sure your privacy policy and cookie policy are up to date, and that your cookie banner works properly. Under GDPR and the ePrivacy Regulations, visitors must be able to accept or reject non-essential cookies, such as analytics and advertising cookies, before they’re set.
Use What You Discover
A health check will give you a lot of useful information about how your website is performing. Don’t let it go to waste. Use it to make your website even better.
For example, Search Console might show that people find your orthodontist web design page using more specific searches, such as “website design for orthodontic practices” or “dental website design”. You could use these long-tail keywords to improve your existing content or create new pages and blog posts.
Even if your website gets a clean bill of health, there’s always something you can improve.
Book Your Website in for Regular Check-Ups
We recommend giving your website a full health check at least every few months, with quick checks of your forms, backups and updates more often. Regular check-ups catch small problems before they become big ones.
If you’d like a professional website health check, or ongoing support to keep your website in top condition, get in touch with Whelan Web Design. We’re a Waterford-based web design agency helping businesses across Ireland.
