How to Audit Your Own Website in 30 Minutes

Split your time into six 5-minute segments. Each one focuses on a critical area of your site’s performance. You don’t need to fix everything right now—just identify issues and note down where improvements are needed.

1. Visual & UX Check (5 minutes)

Start by opening your homepage and a couple of key internal pages. Look at them through fresh eyes—ideally, pretend you’re a potential customer visiting for the first time.

Ask yourself:

• Is it immediately clear what your business does? Your headline should state your offer or service within seconds. If a stranger can’t figure out what you offer in 5 seconds, your messaging needs work.
• Is the design clean and modern? Look out for cluttered layouts, outdated graphics, and mismatched fonts or colours.
• Does the content guide the visitor naturally? Is the layout intuitive? Is there a clear next step? Good UX should gently nudge the user toward action—whether it’s learning more or making contact.
• Are links and buttons working properly? Test clickable elements to ensure nothing’s broken.
• Is your branding consistent? Logos, colours, fonts, and tone should feel unified across every page.

If anything feels overwhelming or confusing, flag it. Clear, user-friendly sites convert better—period.

2. Mobile Friendliness (5 minutes)

Over half of your traffic likely comes from mobile. If your site’s clunky or hard to navigate on a phone, you’re losing business.

Do a manual check first:

• Open your homepage and key pages on your phone.
• Scroll slowly—does the layout adapt properly?
• Are fonts easy to read without pinching/zooming?
• Are buttons and forms easily tappable?

Then run a quick scan using Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test. This will highlight specific usability problems, like clickable elements being too close or content wider than the screen.

Mobile experience is also a ranking factor for SEO—so this one’s a must.

⚡ 3. Speed Performance (5 minutes)

Website loading time directly affects user experience and bounce rates. A slow website can drive visitors away before they even see your content.

Head to PageSpeed Insights and pop in your homepage URL. You’ll get two scores—one for mobile, one for desktop.

Here’s what to look out for:

• Scores below 60 need urgent attention.
• Scores between 60–80 are OK, but could be improved.
• Scores 80+ are good.

Common culprits for poor speed include:

• Oversized images
• Too many scripts or plugins
• Poor web hosting

Don’t worry about fixing all the technical stuff straight away—just make note of what’s slowing you down.

4. SEO Basics (5 minutes)

SEO may sound intimidating, but at a basic level, it’s about making your website clear and easy for Google (and your users) to understand.

Start by looking at a few key pages—your homepage, services page, and any high-traffic blog posts.

Check for:

• Title Tags: Are they unique and descriptive? A homepage title like “Home – My Site” is a wasted opportunity. It should say what you do (e.g. “Affordable Website Design for UK Startups | Lumos Marketing”).
• Meta Descriptions: These don’t affect rankings directly but do affect click-through rate. Make sure they’re clear, persuasive, and match the page content.
• H1 Headings: Each page should have a clear headline in an <h1> tag. Don’t use more than one per page.
• Alt Text on Images: Hover over images or inspect the page code—does each image have descriptive alt text? This helps with SEO and accessibility.
• Keyword Focus: Are you targeting relevant, low-competition keywords? Tools like Ubersuggest can show you basic search volume and keyword ideas.

If your pages are missing tags or keywords feel forced, note those pages down for SEO improvement.

🎯 5. CTA & Conversion Check (5 minutes)

Your site exists to help people take action—whether that’s booking a call, downloading a guide, or making a purchase. But CTAs are often unclear or buried.

Check every page for:

• One clear, visible CTA: Each page should guide users to one main goal. “Book Now”, “Get a Quote”, “Download the Guide”, etc.
• Button visibility: Are CTAs high up on the page? Do they stand out in colour and design?
• Form functionality: Try submitting your own forms. Do they work? Are you taken to a confirmation or thank-you page? Do you receive the follow-up email?
• Form length: Don’t ask for too much. Name and email is plenty for a lead magnet. You can qualify leads later.

Strong CTAs make the difference between a visitor bouncing and becoming a lead.

🧩 6. Technical Errors (5 minutes)

Finally, check for back-end issues that might hurt your SEO and user experience.

Use the free version of Screaming Frog SEO Spider to scan your website. This tool will show you:

• Broken internal or external links
• Missing page titles or meta descriptions
• Duplicate content or headings
• Pages that can’t be crawled by search engines

Also check your site has:

• An active SSL certificate (your URL should start with https://)
• No 404 pages or redirect loops

You don’t need to fix everything immediately—but noting them down means you can prioritise them with your developer or agency.