The digital landscape is ever-changing more rapidly than ever, making a regular website audit much more crucial for your business. It may feel like a full-time job just trying to keep up with the latest website and digital marketing trends, and what works and doesn’t work best to optimise your website.

What you should know is that your website is potentially one of your business’ most valuable assets. A website isn’t just a website; it can be a 24/7 sales presence. your online shop window and typically the first point of contact for many potential customers.

So, if your website isn’t performing in search or generating leads or sales like it once did, then why would you not check its performance, security and overall user experience?

A website audit shouldn’t be seen as a once in a blue moon activity, it needs to be at least an annual task. With an evolving and competitive digital market, regular website audits should be part of your ongoing marketing strategy to ensure that your website is optimised, secure and delivering the results that your business is after.

What Is a Website Audit?

A website audit is very much like a health check of your website. It ensures that it is in full working order and has no minor or major issues that need to be fixed.

A website audit doesn’t necessarily have a set blueprint and doesn’t need to cover every single aspect of the below every single time, but typically website audits look at:

  • Technical performance – Reviewing page speed, mobile-friendliness and broken links is critical in today’s digital world.
  • SEO – Is your site well-optimised for Google? Are there keyword opportunities you can maximise on that you are currently missing?
  • Site performance – Analyse your Google Analytics to understand just how it is performing
  • Security – Is your site protected against cyber threats and vulnerabilities?
  • User experience (UX) – How easy and friendly is your site to use by your target audience?
  • Content quality – Content is King – but is it up to date, still relevant to your brand and services, engaging your audience to complete an action? Is it still accurately reflecting the latest information?
  • Competitor analysis – Understanding how your website performs is one thing, but also auditing your competitors can valuable insight into the wider landscape and help benchmark future website changes.

Why Website Audits Are Essential in 2025

1. Google’s Algorithm Updates are More Frequent

Google is constantly refining its algorithm to deliver better search results. In 2025 and with the advent of AI, updates are more frequent meaning what worked last year might not be enough today.

A website audit helps you keep up with these changes and maintain (or improve) your rankings. We have seen how some Google algorithm updates can both positively and negatively impact your rankings, so if you have suddenly found that you aren’t getting as many leads then it could be because your rankings have dropped.

No one can predict what changes Google are going to make, so trying to do so and stay ahead of these changes is impossible, but you can be proactive to optimise your website in a natural way that Google will appreciate. This includes:

  • Reviewing your keyword strategy – are you targeting the right phrases for your audience? Remember targeting a keyword isn’t about ramming it into your content as many times as possible.
  • Content quality – Google prioritises helpful, engaging content. Although you don’t want to be constantly scrolling through a website page, remember detailed and quality content that helps a user achieve a goal works!
  • Technical SEO – Although some of these checks may be beyond your skillset, checking things like broken links, slow load times and missing meta data can help mitigate the risk of ranking drops.

2. Cybersecurity Threats Are Increasing

Cybercrime is on the rise, and websites are prime targets for attacks. If your website is hacked this can reflect badly on your brand image therefore you should take the security of your website extremely seriously. Auditing the security of your website can help identify server or other coding vulnerabilities before hackers can exploit them.

Avoid a compromised website and avoid the risk of losing customer trust, data and even revenue.

An audit of your website’s security should check for:

  • SSL certificates – Ensuring all of your pages are secure
  • Outdated plugins or software – A common entry point for hackers
  • Malware or suspicious activity – Early detection is crucial
  • Backup systems – Do you have recent, secure backups in case of an attack?

3. User Expectations Are Higher Than Ever

As human’s we are becoming more and more used to accessing information, products and services instantly. Your visitors expect a fast, seamless and intuitive experience. Slow loading times, broken links or difficult navigation can lead to lost leads and sales. Regular site audits ensure your site delivers the best possible user experience.

When it comes to ensuring your website is performing and delivering results, user experience (UX) design should be a key focus. Websites that are designed with the user in mind are more likely to engage and therefore drive sales or enquiries.

UX elements to check include:

  • Page speed – every second of delay reduces conversions.
  • Mobile responsiveness – more users are browsing on mobile than ever before.
  • Navigation and structure – can visitors find what they need quickly?
  • Calls to action (CTAs) – are they clear, relevant, and easy to use?
  • Engaging content – is your content easy to read, jargon-free and engaging to your audience.
  • Accessibility – can your website be accessed by everyone? Consider how your site can be used by users with permanent or temporary disabilities.

4. Mobile and Voice Search Dominate

More people are using mobile devices and voice search to find businesses online. If your website isn’t mobile-friendly or optimised for voice search, you’re missing out on valuable traffic. An audit highlights areas for improvement.

  • Mobile usability – Does your site function properly on all screen sizes? Or if the majority of your traffic comes from mobile, is it optimised for mobile devices first and foremost?
  • Page load speed on mobile – Google prioritises fast-loading mobile experiences. Mobiles aren’t always connected to Wi-Fi or fast mobile speeds so optimising for speed on mobile as much as possible is key.
  • Voice search optimisation – People phrase searches differently when speaking. Are you optimising for long-tail conversational queries?

5. Your Competition Is Doing It

Depending on their budget, in-house capability and marketing goals your competitors are likely to be investing in regular website audits or at least have a tactical plan for maintaining and updating their website on a regular basis.

If you want to keep up then this means that your website needs to be optimised on an ongoing basis, and therefore regularly audited to ensure that it remains optimised, areas of concern aren’t missed you keep up with latest digital trends.

To remain competitive, your audit should assess:

  • Benchmarking against competitors – How does your website compare visually and in terms of performance? You can use tools like SEMRush to help identify what they rank for.
  • Industry trends – Are you keeping up with customer expectations? If the majority of your industry is investing in certain tools or software for a website and you aren’t then your business can look outdated.
  • Conversion rate improvements – How can you generate more leads or sales?

Key Areas to Audit in 2025

Whether you need help with outsourcing a website and SEO audit or you want to start by conducting your own mini audit in-house, then these are some of the areas you should focus on:

  • Page speed – Use tools like Google Page Speed Insights, GTMetrix and Lighthouse to check whether your site is slow sites and frustrating your users.
  • Mobile usability – Ensure your site works perfectly on all devices. Not just visually but can you easily and quickly find what you are looking for and complete the action.
  • SEO performance – Check where you rank for your targeted keywords and review meta data and page content.
  • Security measures – Look for outdated plugins, weak passwords, and SSL issues.
  • Content quality – Can old content be refreshed and remove outdated information?
  • Conversion rate optimisation – Identify barriers to lead generation and sales.

How Often Should You Audit Your Website?

In our honest opinion, for most businesses, a full website audit should be carried out at least once or twice a year.

However, if you run an e-commerce site or rely heavily on online traffic, then more regular smaller audits are recommended.

Need Help with Your Website Audit?

Conducting a site audit can be time-consuming and complex. At All Things Web®, we offer comprehensive website audit packages that highlight issues and provide clear, actionable recommendations.

Don’t let your website fall behind in 2025. Contact us today for a free consultation and keep your online presence strong.