What problems can you solve with the Semonto website audit?

What is a website audit?

A website audit is like a report card for your website. It gives you a snapshot of the current situation and a list of problems you must tackle. Because before you can fix issues, you first need to identify them.

Step 1: find acute problems

The easiest way to perform a website audit is by using a tool like Semonto. Semonto scans your website and sends you an alert of issues that need your attention:

• Links that don’t work or images that are not displayed.
• Security issues, like elements served over an insecure HTTP connection.
• A failed SSL certificate.
• An expired domain name.
• Slow loading times, SEO issues or accessibility problems.

Step 2: know your performance over time

Finding the acute problems is should be your first step. But you don’t want to limit yourself to only fixing issues when they arise, because then you will miss the bigger picture. If the same concern keeps returning, this is a sign of a structural issue. That is why you also need to measure long-term indicators, like the monthly uptime percentage of your website. If you have a Semonto account, you automatically get a monthly e-mail to inform you of this longer-term performance.

Step 3: prevent issues before they happen

Ideally, you also want to prevent website and server issues before they happen. For example, why wait until your domain name has expired, your server disk space is full, or your SLL certificate renewal has failed if this can all be avoided? Semonto reminds you in advance when a renewal is due or when you are approaching a threshold. You can also build custom tests to watch the server parameters that are important to you.

Who fixes what?

So now you are the first to know when something is wrong. But what should you do with that information? A website is the responsibility of multiple people, so you might need some help from others to fix the problems you encounter:

• You: You can fix most issues yourself in your website’s CMS.
• The web developer or web agency: If you have a maintenance contract with the person or company that built your website, they usually serve as the first point of contact for all issues you could not fix yourself.
• The hosting firm: But even the web developer is not in control of everything. In most cases, your hosting firm is responsible for issues with the security certificate (TLS/SSL, HTTPS), uptime, and server performance. If the website is offline too often, it’s best to check the findings with them or consider a different hosting partner.
• The content team: The content team, communication department or marketing team typically fixes broken links. The marketers can also help you improve your SEO based on the Lighthouse findings reported by Semonto.

Bonus: show the improvements you have made

Did you make the necessary improvements? Great, now you are ready for the best part: showing the results to others. Via website performance reports, you can visualise the evolution of your website. Reporting is especially useful if you are in charge of keeping multiple websites healthy for clients. In Semonto, you can generate beautiful PDF reports for a period of your choice. You can add a personal note and your company logo to make it more personal.

Don’t stop after the audit

It’s not enough to check the health of a website once a year or even once a month. The best way to keep a site healthy is by proactively monitoring it day and night. This way, you are alerted in real-time when something goes wrong. You can fix it immediately, and the issues do not get a chance to pile up. Another advantage is that Semonto keeps track of all the test results so that you can see the evolution over time.

Why is website health so important?

Without a website audit or monitor, you are not aware of how many times your website is offline or performing poorly. If you neglect the health of your website, this will negatively impact your SEO ranking. In addition, error messages and general bad usability will annoy website visitors. They will go elsewhere, and that will affect your sales. Your credibility also takes a hit when your website is falling apart technically. So, there are plenty of reasons to make a website audit and website monitoring part of your routine.

Start your website audit now

The easiest way to start your website audit is to use a tool like Semonto. For €7 a month, you can already audit and monitor 3 websites. You can also test all features for free for 14 days by creating a free trial. Give it a try, and let us know how you get on.