A simple web audit checklist for DIY Beginners

DIY Website Checklist for beginners (Version 1)

Many small business clients and those just getting started out sometimes ask a lot of questions many of which are trivial if you already know but not necessarily impossible to understand and do yourself given a bit of a nudge in the right direction. Usually I'll say give it a try yourself first and if you struggle give me a shout. If anything this will give a basic understanding on what is needed and why.

So here is a DIY checklist that small businesses who run their own website can follow to get a head start, I've tried to keep this as simple as possible for a target audience with minimal experience. This won't make you an expert or put specialists out of a job as this can only scratch the surface but hopefully it will either empower you to perform some of these optimisations yourself or at least help you build a vocabulary you can discuss with specialists so they don't need to rip you off.

This is by no means comprehensive, I'd encourage users to do some additional follow up research but the aim here is to take it one step at a time one section at a time!

Try your best to follow along a few at a time, maybe start with the low effort / easy ones in one category and go from there, if you get stuck take a break and come back later and try again. If you still struggle, feel overwhelmed or simply just can't be arsed head over to our contact page and drop us a message via our contact page :) Downloadable spreadsheet near the bottom of this article.

With any of these measures I'd say keeping a backup copy before making changes so you can always roll back if it's not working out or you make a mistake!

SEO

SEO Checklist

• GSC - Google Search Console

A word on SEO

SEO isn't just something that you have or do not. Even with the best SEO in the world you are not guaranteed visitors. Be aware of competition for your keywords and user intent based on their searches. There's a lot of misinformation regarding SEO on the web and many older techniques that are no longer relevant. Ultimately you can't force Google (or other search engines) crawlers to do anything you can request crawls, and provide hints for the search engines and guide them. Do focus on local search as competion will be smaller and your potential audience will be more accessible and relevant. I encourage further reading on this subject but take any information with a pinch of salt.

Old McDonald had a farm AEO SEO GEO

While Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) and Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) are evolving fields, they are largely extensions of high-quality SEO, they are also out of scope of this article, if you're following the best principles to building your content well for humans, you should be already headed in the right direction but if you're not discoverable to begin with the optimisation is moot. Feel free to read up on AEO and GEO and decide for yourself if they're just a subset of SEO or not.

The SEO Toolkit (If you're feeling brave)

For those just starting out, Google Search Console and the free version of Screaming Frog are the ultimate "power couple," providing almost all the technical insights you need without costing a penny.

Further Reading

• Google's own SEO Starter guide - straight from the horses mouth https://developers.google.com/search/docs/fundamentals/seo-starter-guide
• Google My Business Getting Started: https://support.google.com/business/answer/15697615
• WordPress SEO (If you're already using Wordpress you have some SEO built in but can still be improved): https://wordpress.com/support/seo/

Performance

Performance Checklist

• GSC - Google Search Console
• Pagespeed Insights - Page Speed Insights
• WebPageTest - WebPageTest

A word on Performance

In 2026, "fast enough" is no longer a fixed number; it’s about responsiveness. With the replacement of FID with INP (Interaction to Next Paint), Google now measures how quickly your site reacts when a user actually clicks something, not just how fast the pixels appear.

Don't fall into the trap of "plugin bloat"—every "speed-up" plugin you add can ironically slow you down by adding more JavaScript. Start with the basics: high-quality hosting, HTTP/3 protocol, and a solid CDN. If your server is slow, no amount of front-end optimisation can save the user experience.

Performance Toolkit

Further Reading

• Web.dev Core Web Vitals Guide: https://web.dev/vitals/
• Optimizing for INP: https://web.dev/optimize-inp/

Security

Security Checklist

A word on Security

Security is not a "once and done" task—it is a continuous practice of reducing your attack surface. Most hacks aren't targeted strikes; they are automated bots looking for the easiest possible door to kick in. By keeping your software updated and enforcing Two-Factor Authentication (2FA), you essentially move your site to a "safer neighborhood."

For those looking to go further, a Content Security Policy (CSP) is a powerful way to prevent cross-site scripting (XSS) by telling the browser exactly which scripts are allowed to run. However, it can be incredibly tedious for beginners to configure correctly and often breaks legitimate tools like analytics or video embeds. It is worth investigating once your fundamentals are solid, but handle it with care.

Security is a huge landscape that is ever growing as new threats and vulverabilities are discovered, especially with the rise of vibe coding. Depending on your industry and purpose of your business, site, application you may require more extensive security auditing in which case a DIY approach may not be the best and you may have additional compliance requirements. Get in touch with us if you believe this to be the case and we can either assist or connect you with suitable specialist security professionals.

Security Toolkit

Further Reading

• Google CSP Evaluator: https://csp-evaluator.withgoogle.com/
• OWASP Top 10 Security Risks: https://owasp.org/www-project-top-ten/
• Web.dev - "Security": https://web.dev/security/

User Interface & User Experience

UI / UX Checklist

• WebAIM Contrast Checker - WebAIM Contrast Checker

A word on UI/UX

In 2026, great design isn't about how your site "looks"—it's about how it functions for the user. Modern UX is heavily focused on Accessibility. If a user with a visual impairment or a motor disability can't navigate your site, you aren't just being exclusive; you're losing a massive portion of your potential audience and hurting your SEO.

Keep it simple. White space is your friend. Don't try to be clever with navigation or icons that nobody recognises. A user should never have to "think" about how to use your website; it should feel like an invisible slide leading them directly to the information or product they need.

UI / UX Toolkit

Further Reading

• Nielsen Norman Group (UX Basics): https://www.nngroup.com/articles/ten-usability-heuristics/
• The A11Y Project (Accessibility): https://www.a11yproject.com/

This isnt a checklist!! I can't use this!

Yep, theres a lot of supporting information interspersed between, the attachment below can be used as a checklist with each category it's own sheet and checkboxes and notes columns for your convenience.

Give it a go and see how many of these items you can check off! Feel free to use it as a template and add your own to the list from your own research & discovery.

Part 2 coming soon

I wanted to keep this bite sized but these lists have already gotten quite long while still only touching the surface, if you've managed to get through all of the points above or at least considered them, stay tuned for part 2 where I'll list further metrics, checks and improvemnts you can apply and perhaps go more indepth into some of the measures.

Possible future guides

If it is of any help at all, I may further expand this guide to some of the following, in the meantime you can use the below as search phrases or prompts for your favourite LLM:

• How to read, understand & action Google Page Speed Insights
• Setting up redirects for SEO the right way
• How to [Any of the checklist items above] in detail

Let me know if any of these guides would be of help!