Website Audit Checklist for Small Businesses (Free, No Tools Required)

You don't need to pay for fancy tools to see if your website is working well. This 40-point checklist covers everything Google and your visitors look for. Most people can finish the whole thing in one afternoon.

Grab a notebook or print this out, then go through it one part at a time.

Section 1: Getting Found (5 checks)

• Search site:yourdomain.com on Google—make sure your pages actually show up.
• Send your sitemap.xml (a map of your site for robots) to Search Console—check for errors.
• Look at yourdomain.com/robots.txt—make sure it doesn't say "Disallow: /" (which tells Google to go away).
• Make sure no important pages have "noindex" tags (a hidden "Do Not Disturb" sign for search engines).
• Check your "Canonical tags"—these tell Google which version of a page is the "official" original.

Section 2: Titles and Snippets (5 checks)

• Every page has a unique title under 60 characters.
• Every page has a "meta description" (the summary text under a link in Google) between 140–160 characters.
• Titles include the main keyword people would type to find that page.
• Descriptions tell people what they get and what to do next.
• No two pages have the exact same title.

Section 3: Organizing Content (5 checks)

• Only one H1 per page (this is the main headline visitors see).
• Use H2s and H3s (sub-headlines) to break up big walls of text.
• Don't skip levels—it should go H1, then H2, then H3 like an outline for school.
• Each important page has at least 300 words.
• Don’t copy-paste the same paragraphs onto different pages.

Section 4: Pictures (4 checks)

• Every image has "alt text"—a short written description for people who can't see the photo.
• Files have real names like blue-sneakers.jpg instead of IMG_2847.jpg.
• Every image is smaller than 200 KB so they load fast.
• Use modern types like WebP—they're like high-quality photos that take up way less space.

Section 5: Speed and Power (5 checks)

• Use PageSpeed Insights—your mobile score should be 70 or higher.
• LCP (how fast the biggest part of the page loads) is under 2.5 seconds.
• CLS (how much the page "jiggles" around while loading) is under 0.1.
• "Caching" is turned on—this saves a copy of your site so it loads faster next time.
• No messy third-party scripts are slowing down the start of the page.

Section 6: Mobile Friendliness (4 checks)

• Your site passes Google's official mobile test.
• Text is at least 16px—nobody wants to squint at tiny letters.
• Buttons are easy to tap—at least 48x48 pixels so fingers don't miss.
• No "side-scrolling"—the page shouldn't wiggle left and right on a phone.

Section 7: Security and Trust (4 checks)

• HTTPS is on—the URL starts with https:// and has a little lock icon.
• Your SSL certificate (your site's digital ID card) isn't expired.
• No "mixed content" errors—this happens when you put old, unsecure links on a secure page.
• You have a Privacy Policy and Terms page so people know you're legit.

Section 8: Moving Around (4 checks)

• Your main menu has 7 links or fewer—don't overwhelm people.
• The bottom of the page (the footer) has your contact info and main links.
• No broken links—test this with a free checker to make sure every button works.
• If you have a search bar, make sure it actually finds things.

Section 9: Getting Results (4 checks)

• Send yourself a test message through your contact form to make sure it arrives.
• Your phone number can be tapped to call on a smartphone.
• There is a clear "Call to Action" (like a "Buy Now" button) visible as soon as the page loads.
• People see a "Thank You" message after they fill out a form.

How to score yourself

Count how many boxes you *didn't* check:

• 0–5 empty: Great job. Just check in once a month.
• 6–12 empty: Not bad, but it needs a quick tune-up.
• 13–20 empty: You've got some big holes. You're losing visitors. Fix these soon.
• 21+ empty: Your site is struggling. Fix these before you spend money on ads.

What to do with the results

1. Fix Section 1 first. If Google can't find you, nothing else matters. 2. Fix Sections 7 and 9 next. These are about safety and making money. 3. Move to Sections 5 and 6. These keep people from leaving because the site is slow or annoying to use. 4. Finish with Sections 2, 3, 4, and 8. These help you move up in the rankings over time.

When to do this again

Do the whole list every three months. Check the "big" stuff (speed, security, and mobile) once a month. If you change your site's design or add a bunch of new pages, run the whole list right away.

Keep track of your score. It’s like a video game—watching your score get better is a great way to stay excited about your business.

If you want the answers in 30 seconds, try our automated audit. It does the same checks instantly and tells you exactly what to fix first.