Complete website healthcheck - your essential checklist for small business website performance and success

Whether you've inherited a website you didn't build or it's been months since your last review, regular website health checks are crucial for maintaining your digital presence. Your website is often the first impression potential customers have of your business, so ensuring it works properly and serves as an effective marketing tool is essential.

This comprehensive checklist covers everything from basic functionality to the latest performance standards. We've updated it with current best practices, new compliance requirements, and fresh insights based on what we see when auditing client websites. Don't worry – you don't need technical expertise to work through these checks.

Website functionality checklist

Start with the basics – does your website actually work as intended?

Navigation and links

• Click through every menu item and button on your website as a visitor would
• Test all forms (contact forms, newsletter signups, booking systems) by completing and submitting them
• Check for broken links using a free tool like Dead Link Checker or review the Coverage report in Google Search Console
• Verify all downloadable files (PDFs, brochures, price lists) actually download and open correctly
• Test any interactive features like photo galleries, videos, or calculators

Contact methods

• Call every phone number listed on your website – do they connect to the right person or department?
• Send test emails to all email addresses displayed on your site
• Check who receives form submissions and whether they're being responded to promptly
• Test any live chat features or chatbots
• Verify contact form submissions reach the correct team member

Pop-ups and overlays

• Check when pop-ups appear and whether they can be easily dismissed
• Ensure newsletter signups and promotional overlays don't block essential content
• Verify cookie consent banners comply with current 2025 requirements (see compliance section)
• Test that pop-ups work correctly on mobile devices

Information accuracy checklist

Outdated information damages credibility and can confuse potential customers.

Contact details and business information

• Verify your business address matches what's listed on Google Business Profile and other directories
• Check company registration number and VAT number are correct and current
• Ensure opening hours are accurate, especially if they've changed recently
• Confirm social media links go to your active profiles
• Check that your logo is consistent across your website and social media profiles
• Verify you have a proper favicon (the small icon that appears in browser tabs) instead of generic platform logos

Team and company content

• Review 'About Us' and 'Meet the Team' pages – do all listed people still work for you?
• Add any new team members and remove those who have left
• Update job titles, qualifications, and achievements
• Check that company milestones, awards, and achievements are current
• Review your company story and values to ensure they still reflect your business

Products and services

• Audit your product listings – remove discontinued items and add new offerings
• Check that prices are current (or remove them if they change frequently)
• Update service descriptions to reflect current capabilities
• Verify customer testimonials and case studies are recent and relevant
• Refresh client logos if you've gained new customers or lost old ones
• Check that your portfolio showcases your best recent work

Privacy and compliance checklist

Privacy laws have become stricter in 2025, with increased enforcement and heavier fines for non-compliance.

 Cookie compliance (updated for 2025)

• Ensure your cookie consent banner appears before any non-essential cookies are loaded
• Provide equal-weight 'Accept All' and 'Reject All' buttons (no dark patterns)
• Include a clear 'Customise Settings' or 'Cookie Preferences' option
• Allow granular consent for different cookie categories (essential, analytics, marketing)
• Check that refusing cookies is as easy as accepting them
• Test in an incognito browser window to see the full user experience
• Use developer tools to verify no tracking cookies load before consent is given
• Ensure your consent banner works properly on mobile devices

Privacy policy and documentation

• Update your privacy policy to reflect current data processing practices
• List all tracking tools you use (Google Analytics 4, Facebook Pixel, etc.)
• Include information about Google Consent Mode v2 if you're using it
• Explain users' rights and how they can exercise them
• Add clear contact information for data protection queries
• Include data retention periods and international data transfers
• Check your cookie policy is accurate and up to date
• Ensure GDPR consent checkboxes appear on all forms

Data handling

• Review what personal data is stored in your website backend
• Set up automatic deletion of old form submissions if they're not needed
• Implement a process for handling data subject access requests
• Ensure you have valid legal bases for all data processing activities
• Check that third-party tools comply with your privacy commitments

SEO and visibility checklist

Search engine optimisation continues to evolve, with 2025 bringing new focus areas and updated best practices.

Technical SEO basics

• Run a site search in Google ("site:yourwebsite.com") to see which pages are indexed
• Check for pages that shouldn't be indexed or obvious omissions
• Verify all important pages have unique, descriptive meta titles and descriptions
• Ensure your page titles include your target keywords naturally
• Use proper heading structure (H1, H2, H3) throughout your content
• Check that your XML sitemap is submitted to Google Search Console
• Verify your robots.txt file isn't blocking important pages

Core Web Vitals (updated for 2025)

• Test your Largest Contentful Paint (LCP) – should be under 2.5 seconds
• Check your Interaction to Next Paint (INP) – should be under 200 milliseconds (this replaced First Input Delay in March 2024)
• Measure Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS) – should be under 0.1
• Use Google PageSpeed Insights to test both mobile and desktop performance
• Review your Core Web Vitals report in Google Search Console
• Prioritise mobile performance – most users search on mobile devices

Content optimisation

• Ensure your content answers the questions your customers are actually asking
• Update old blog posts with current information and republish with new dates
• Optimise for voice search with natural, conversational content
• Use schema markup to help search engines understand your content
• Create content clusters around your main topics to build topical authority
• Include location-based keywords if you serve local customers

Performance and speed checklist

Website speed directly impacts user experience and search rankings. Modern users expect near-instant loading.

 Speed optimisation

• Compress and optimise images (use WebP format where possible)
• Minimise CSS and JavaScript files
• Enable browser caching through your hosting provider
• Consider using a Content Delivery Network (CDN) for faster global loading
• Remove or defer non-essential plugins and scripts
• Optimise your database if using WordPress or similar platforms
• Check server response time – should be under 200ms

Mobile performance

• Test your website on actual mobile devices, not just desktop browser resizers
• Ensure touch targets are large enough (minimum 44px) and well-spaced
• Check that text is readable without zooming
• Verify images and videos scale properly on small screens
• Test form completion on mobile devices
• Ensure your mobile menu is easy to use

Advanced performance checks

• Review loading priorities – ensure above-the-fold content loads first
• Check for render-blocking resources in your page source
• Monitor for failed resource requests in browser developer tools
• Test performance during peak traffic times
• Implement lazy loading for images below the fold

Security checklist

Website security isn't just about preventing hacks – it's about protecting your customers' data and maintaining trust.

SSL and encryption

• Verify your website uses HTTPS (look for the padlock in the browser bar)
• Check your SSL certificate expiry date and set renewal reminders
• Ensure all pages (not just forms) use secure connections
• Test that HTTP pages automatically redirect to HTTPS versions
• Verify third-party integrations also use secure connections

Access management

• Audit who has admin access to your website
• Remove accounts for former employees or old agencies/developers
• Ensure all remaining users have appropriate permission levels
• Enable two-factor authentication for admin accounts where possible
• Use strong, unique passwords for all accounts
• Review any shared login credentials and update them

Backup and recovery

• Verify automated backups are running regularly
• Test that backups can actually be restored (not just created)
• Ensure backups are stored securely and separately from your main site
• Document your backup and recovery procedures
• Check backup frequency matches your content update schedule
• Verify you have access to backup files and restoration tools

Accessibility checklist

Making your website accessible isn't just good practice – it's increasingly a legal requirement and expands your potential customer base.

Visual accessibility

• Check colour contrast ratios meet WCAG standards (use online contrast checkers)
• Ensure your website is usable without colour (test in grayscale)
• Verify text can be enlarged to 200% without breaking layouts
• Add alt text to all images (describe what's shown, not just "image")
• Use clear, descriptive link text instead of "click here" or "read more"
• Ensure focus indicators are visible when using keyboard navigation

Navigation accessibility

• Test your website using only keyboard navigation (no mouse)
• Ensure all interactive elements can be reached and activated via keyboard
• Check that your website works with screen readers
• Use proper heading hierarchy (don't skip heading levels)
• Provide skip-to-content links for keyboard users
• Ensure forms have properly associated labels

Content accessibility

• Use plain English and avoid unnecessary jargon
• Provide transcripts or captions for audio and video content
• Ensure your website doesn't trigger seizures (avoid flashing content)
• Give users control over auto-playing audio or video
• Make sure error messages are clear and helpful

Analytics and tracking checklist

You can't improve what you don't measure. Proper analytics setup gives you insights to grow your business.

Google Analytics 4 setup

• Verify Google Analytics 4 is properly installed (not the old Universal Analytics)
• Check that data is being collected by looking at recent reports
• Set up conversion goals for your business objectives (form submissions, phone calls, purchases)
• Configure enhanced ecommerce if you sell products online
• Link Google Analytics to Google Ads if you run paid campaigns
• Enable demographic and interest reporting (if privacy-compliant)
• Ensure your website is registered and verified in Google Search Console
• Submit your XML sitemap if it's not automatically detected
• Review the Performance report to see which keywords bring traffic
• Check the Coverage report for indexing issues
• Monitor the Core Web Vitals report for performance problems
• Set up email alerts for critical issues

Additional tracking

• Install social media pixels (Facebook, LinkedIn) if you run social ads
• Set up phone call tracking if phone leads are important to your business
• Use tools like Microsoft Clarity or Hotjar to see how users interact with your site
• Ensure all tracking complies with your privacy policy and cookie consent
• Test that tracking works across different devices and browsers

Technical maintenance checklist

Regular maintenance prevents small issues from becoming big problems.

Software updates

• Update your content management system (WordPress, Shopify, etc.) to the latest version
• Update all plugins and themes – remove any you're not using
• Check that all integrations still work after updates
• Review hosting requirements and PHP version compatibility
• Test your website thoroughly after any major updates
• Keep a staging site for testing changes before going live

Domain and hosting

• Check your domain expiry date and set renewal reminders well in advance
• Verify you have access to your domain registrar account
• Review your hosting plan – do you need more resources or better performance?
• Monitor uptime and loading speeds regularly
• Ensure you have admin access to hosting control panels
• Review DNS settings and clean up unused subdomains

Error monitoring

• Check browser console for JavaScript errors on key pages
• Monitor server error logs for recurring issues
• Set up alerts for website downtime
• Review 404 error reports and fix or redirect broken links
• Test critical user journeys (contact forms, checkouts) regularly

Mobile experience checklist

With mobile traffic often exceeding desktop, your mobile experience can make or break your business.

Mobile usability

• Run Google's Mobile-Friendly Test on your key pages
• Test your website on different mobile devices and screen sizes
• Ensure buttons and links are easily tappable (not too small or close together)
• Check that popup forms don't overwhelm small screens
• Verify your mobile menu is intuitive and easy to use
• Test horizontal scrolling – it should be minimal or eliminated
• Ensure form fields are appropriately sized for mobile input

Mobile performance

• Test loading speed on mobile networks (not just WiFi)
• Optimise images specifically for mobile viewing
• Minimise the need for pinch-to-zoom
• Ensure your mobile site loads essential content first
• Check that your mobile site works in landscape and portrait modes
• Test your website in mobile browsers beyond just Chrome

Mobile SEO

• Remember Google uses mobile-first indexing – your mobile site is primary
• Ensure your mobile and desktop sites have equivalent content
• Check that structured data works on mobile versions
• Verify local search optimisation works on mobile devices
• Test mobile page speeds and Core Web Vitals specifically

Making the most of your website audit

Don't try to tackle everything at once. Prioritise issues that directly impact your customers' experience or your business goals. Start with functionality problems (broken forms, dead links) before moving on to performance optimisations.

Consider setting up a quarterly review schedule to work through this checklist systematically. Your website is a living tool that should evolve with your business and industry standards.

If some of these technical aspects feel overwhelming, remember that many can be automated with the right tools or handled by a web professional. The key is knowing what needs attention so you can make informed decisions about your digital presence.

A well-maintained website isn't just about avoiding problems – it's about creating opportunities. Every improvement you make enhances your ability to attract, engage, and convert visitors into customers.