Website audit: how to get your website checked

What exactly is a website audit?

A website audit, also called a website check or analysis, is a review of your site on a few fixed areas. Think of technology, speed, findability, ease of use and legislation. The result is an overview: what is going well, what could be better and what is a real problem.

An audit is not a redesign. You look at what is there before changing anything. Sometimes a few targeted changes turn out to be enough. Sometimes the foundations are so outdated that redesigning your website is the wiser choice. Both are good to know before you spend money.

When should you get your website checked?

There is no fixed rule, but these moments are often a good reason:

• You get few enquiries or calls through the website.
• Your site feels slow, especially on your phone.
• You rank lower in Google than competitors, or you are not found at all.
• Your website is years old and nobody knows exactly how it is put together.
• You want to start advertising and first want to be sure your site holds on to visitors.
• You are considering a new website and want to know what to take with you.

Even without complaints, it is useful to check your site about once a year. Technology ages, legislation changes and Google adjusts its requirements.

What does a good website audit look at?

A full audit looks at six areas. You can also use them as a checklist if you get started yourself.

• Speed: how fast does your site load on mobile? Google measures this with the Core Web Vitals. Good values are an LCP under 2.5 seconds, an INP under 200 milliseconds and a CLS under 0.1.
• Mobile use: is the text readable, are buttons easy to tap and are forms easy to fill in on a phone?
• Findability: does every page have a good title and description, are pages indexed and are there no broken links?
• Content and conversion: does a visitor understand within a few seconds what you do, for whom and what the next step is?
• Security: does the site run on https, are plugins and software updated and are there backups?
• Legislation and accessibility: is there a privacy statement, does the cookie notice comply with the GDPR (AVG in Dutch) and can people with a disability use your site?

For the technical side of findability, our technical SEO checklist goes into more depth. Here the focus is on the overall picture.

Checking your website yourself with free tools

You can already check a lot yourself. These free tools are a good start:

• Google PageSpeed Insights: gives your speed score and the Core Web Vitals per page, for mobile and desktop.
• Google Search Console: shows which pages Google knows, which search terms you appear for and which errors Google finds.
• Your own phone: go through the most important route, from homepage to contact form. Where would you give up?
• An accessibility browser extension, such as WAVE, or the built-in Lighthouse test in Chrome.
• A colleague or customer who has never seen your site: ask what they think you do and how they would get in touch.

Bear in mind that free tools often give dozens of warnings. Not every warning is equally important. A score of 70 instead of 90 isn't always a problem. A contact form that doesn't send is.

Having a specialist audit your website: what do you get extra?

Tools measure what can be measured. A specialist also looks at what a tool can't see. For example, whether your copy matches what your customers search for, whether your main service has its own page and whether your enquiry route makes sense.

The biggest difference is turning it into action. A good audit doesn't end with a list of 80 points, but with an order: this first, this later and this you can leave. With an estimate of the effort and what it delivers.

So always ask beforehand what you will get. An automated report from a tool is something different from a personal analysis with advice.

From website audit to improvements

An audit is only valuable if you act on it. Here is how to handle the results:

• Fix the real errors first: broken forms, pages that don't load, missing https.
• Then go for quick wins: shrink oversized images, improve titles and descriptions, add a clear button at the top of your homepage.
• Plan bigger items separately, such as new pages per service or making your website faster at a technical level.
• Measure before and after. Note your speed score, your number of enquiries and your Google rankings, so you can see what works.
• Repeat the audit after a few months, or after a major change.

Common mistakes in a website audit

• Only looking at the homepage. Visitors often land on a service page or blog post.
• Only testing on desktop, while most visitors often come via mobile.
• Blindly chasing a score instead of looking at enquiries and customers.
• Trying to fix everything at once, so that in the end nothing gets done.
• Forgetting legislation. Since 28 June 2025 the European Accessibility Act applies to some businesses. If you are unsure whether it applies to you, check with a legal expert.

Getting your website checked by Violexa

At Violexa we look at your website together in a free quickscan. It is a 30-minute conversation, online or on location in Amsterdam. We discuss where your site stands now and what will deliver the most. Afterwards you get short written advice with a price indication.

If more turns out to be needed, we can fix it too. We build custom websites and apps from €1,799 excl. VAT (€2,177 incl. VAT). That includes design, development, a design that works on every screen, basic SEO, Google Analytics, a CMS connection and guidance. For larger projects you get a fixed price upfront, in writing.

Want to know how your website is doing? Book a free quickscan. There is no commitment, and afterwards you know exactly where your opportunities are.

Frequently asked questions