Website audits are a useful tool for both web designers and their clients. But… do a quick Google search for “website audit” and let me know what you find.

You’ll see it all – design audit, development audit, branding audit, audits all around and for any purpose it seems.

Do you actually know what you are looking for and what you actually need? How much should an audit really cost? What do you do with those results and who helps you understand the solutions?

Let’s break down a few things you should know about audits and how to navigate knowing what kind of an audit you need for your website.

For non-techies:

What is an audit and why would you need one?

A website audit evaluates your website performance and speed prior to optimizing it for SEO or a redesign. So when would you need to get one? My suggestion is if you’re thinking about switching platforms, overhauling your website, or rebranding your business, you should have an audit of your current website. Different types of audits will render different results, so it’s best to choose an audit for exactly what you’re planning to improve on your website.

For example: A brand designer may offer an audit prior to working with you (or they may even include this in their service offering) where you walk through your branding together, talk about what’s working and what’s not, discuss improvements that could be made, and plan your next steps toward improving your existing brand. This is a great audit to take advantage of if you’re focus is on your branding strategy, design, or other design assets, and especially if you’re reworking what you already created.

How much does an audit cost and should you charge for this service as a designer?

You’ll see the cost of an audit on a spectrum from free to thousands of dollars. Is it worth it to pay for one as a business owner? In my opinion – this totally depends on your goal! But there are TWO key things to look out for before you consider paying for an audit:

• A detailed list of what’s being reviewed should be provided with the results of your audit. Don’t just take their word for it that it was audited and problems were found. If someone is charging you for an audit, ask to discuss the results in a meeting where they can explain everything to you. If terms like “mobile robot crawlers” and “page indexing” confuse you, pay for that audit and take the opportunity to learn from your designer or developer and have them explain what these things mean for your website.
  
• Implementation of the solutions they recommend. Please please PLEASE make sure that if you are paying for an audit, the designer or developer should not simply hand you a file with a rundown of what they audited and the results only to leave you hanging with no idea how to make the changes necessary to see that improved performance. It may seem silly, but I have seen it so many times where designers offer website audits, do the bare minimum, hand a confused client a sheet of results and then never help them actually update their website. Which is awful because you can audit your website on your own for free if you really wanted to. So why pay someone else to do it for you if they aren’t really going to DO it? Yeah, no thanks.

For designers and developers:

Are you offering audits as a part of your services?

When I was just beginning to find clients to work with, a really great way for me to feel more confident in cold outreach was finding a business with a bad website, running through my checklist for an SEO or design audit, then reaching out to that business with results in hand and an offer to implement solutions. This is still something I offer and use regularly within my business for potential clients at a lower price point to help them get their foot in the door with (what’s often times) their first experience working with a professional web developer or designer.

There’s nothing wrong with charging for an audit or offering one for free, but just make sure your audit is worth what you decide to charge for it. If you are planning on charging a few hundred or more dollars for an audit, it should be thorough and cover all the client’s bases. If it’s free, there’s no real need to take a deep dive (unless you want to!) and you can stick to totally free tools and you don’t need to offer to implement any solutions to any issues you may find or bring to the client’s attention.

If you’re interested in having your website audited for speed, SEO, and performance, send me a DM on Instagram or apply for a project with me!