The website audit checklist
A practical, jargon-light checklist you can work through on your own site. It is the same ground Quence covers automatically, laid out so you can do it by hand if you prefer. Each item says what to check, and why it matters.
You do not need to be technical to work through most of this. Open your website in one tab, this list in another, and go item by item. If you would rather have it done for you in seconds, with the exact evidence for each point, run a free automated audit instead.
Can Google find and index you
- Each page has a unique title. Around 50 to 60 characters, leading with what the page is about. No duplicates across pages.
- Each page has a meta description. A clear 150-character summary that would make someone click.
- One H1 heading per page. Not zero, not several. It should describe the page.
- No accidental noindex.Check that important pages are not set to “noindex”, which hides them from Google.
- A sitemap exists. Visit
yoursite.com/sitemap.xml. It should list your real pages. - robots.txt is sensible. Visit
yoursite.com/robots.txt. Make sure it does not block the whole site withDisallow: /. - You are in Google Search Console. Free, and the only reliable way to see how Google sees your site.
The single most expensive mistake we see is a live site that is accidentally blocked from Google, either by a stray noindex tag or a robots.txt left over from development. If nothing else on this list, check those two.
Can AI search find and quote you
- AI crawlers are allowed. In your robots.txt, make sure GPTBot, ClaudeBot, PerplexityBot, Google-Extended and CCBot are not blocked, unless you deliberately want to opt out.
- Your content is in the HTML. View the page source. Your real text should be there, not just an empty shell that fills in with JavaScript.
- You have structured data. A JSON-LD block describing your business helps AI and Google understand and quote you. See our AI readiness guide.
Technical health
- HTTPS is on. Your address shows a padlock and starts with https. No mixed-content warnings.
- It works on mobile. Open it on your phone. Text is readable without zooming, buttons are tappable, nothing overflows.
- It loads quickly.Aim for a first view in a couple of seconds. Google’s free PageSpeed Insights gives you a score and the biggest culprits.
- Images have alt text. Describe what is in each meaningful image. It helps accessibility and image search.
- Links work. No dead internal links or 404s on key pages.
Trust and conversion
- It is obvious what you do within five seconds of landing, ideally in the main heading.
- There is a clear next step. A prominent way to call, message, or buy, not buried at the bottom.
- You look real. A genuine address, phone number, and ideally real photos or reviews. Trust signals lift both conversion and rankings.
- You have a privacy policy. If you collect any details through a form, UK law expects one.
- A favicon is set. The little icon in the browser tab. Small, but its absence looks unfinished.
Turning the checklist into action
Work top to bottom. The findability and AI items usually deliver the biggest wins, because they decide whether you are seen at all. The technical and trust items then decide whether the people who do find you stay and act.
If you would like this done automatically, with a score and the exact evidence for every point above, that is precisely what Quence is for. Run your free audit now, and read how it works if you want the detail behind each check.