This is the Website Audit & Technical Review service page for Best Website.
If you know your site needs work but are not sure where to start, this service gives you a structured, honest view of where things stand — and a practical plan for what to do next.
We look at performance, SEO, security, and maintainability through the lens of how your site is actually used, not just how it looks in a design file.
What this service covers
Every audit is tailored to your site, but the core questions are consistent:
- Is this site fast enough for real visitors on real devices?
- Is it discoverable for the searches and audiences that matter?
- Is it safe, stable, and resilient — or one bad update away from trouble?
- Is it maintainable for the team that owns it day-to-day?
To answer those questions, we work across several layers.
1. WordPress and hosting foundations
We start by understanding the platform you are running on:
- WordPress core, PHP, and database versions and configuration
- Theme and plugin stack, including known risk and maintenance levels
- Hosting environment and cache/CDN configuration
- How staging, deployments, and backups are (or are not) handled
If you are considering a move to WordPress Hosting or a deeper Performance Optimization project, this is where we identify the real constraints and opportunities.
2. Performance and Core Web Vitals
Next, we look at how the site behaves for visitors, not just in ideal conditions:
- Page weight, requests, and render patterns for key templates
- Core Web Vitals (LCP, INP, CLS) across desktop and mobile
- Caching behavior, image handling, and font loading
- Third-party scripts that may be dragging performance down
You get a clear view of which issues actually matter for your visitors and which are noise. We highlight the pages and templates where performance work will have the biggest impact.
3. Technical SEO and content structure
An effective site needs more than good content — it needs a structure that search engines can understand.
As part of the audit, we review:
- URL structure, internal linking, and canonical usage
- Page titles, meta descriptions, and heading structure on key pages
- Sitemap integrity and indexation basics
- How your current content maps to your services and locations
- Any blocking technical issues that may be holding rankings back
If you move forward with SEO & Content Strategy, the audit becomes the foundation for that work instead of starting from guesswork.
4. Security, updates, and risk posture
Security is not just about avoiding hacks — it is about reducing the risk of embarrassing or costly incidents.
We look at:
- How updates are handled today (or not handled)
- Known vulnerabilities in current plugins or themes
- Basic hardening and access controls
- Backup and recovery options if something goes wrong
When a deeper security focus is needed, we can connect this directly into our Website Security & Monitoring service so security posture is not just a one-time checklist.
5. Accessibility and usability red flags
We are not replacing a full accessibility audit here, but we do look for:
- Repeated patterns that are likely to cause issues for assistive tech
- Color contrast and type scale concerns on key templates
- Navigation and interaction patterns that may frustrate real users
If a full accessibility engagement is appropriate later, this gives you a head start on where to look first.
6. Maintainability and workflow
A technically impressive site is not very useful if your team cannot safely work with it.
So we review:
- How content editors make changes today
- Where they feel blocked or nervous to touch anything
- How staging, approvals, and deployments work (if at all)
- Whether the current setup supports your actual workflows
This often informs recommendations for Ongoing Website Support or a more sustainable development and content process.
How the audit works
We keep the process straightforward and predictable:
-
Kickoff and goals
We start with a short call to understand what you are seeing, what you are worried about, and what decisions you are trying to make. This shapes where we focus. -
Access and discovery
We collect the access we need — usually read-only WordPress, analytics, and, if applicable, hosting control panel access. We do not make changes in production during the audit. -
Technical review and testing
We run through our structured checklist across performance, SEO, security, and maintainability. For larger sites, we focus on key templates and critical user journeys. -
Findings and prioritization
We organize everything we find into themes and priorities: what is urgent, what is important but not urgent, and what can wait. -
Report and walkthrough
You receive a written report plus a walkthrough call where we explain what we found, answer questions, and connect recommendations to your goals.
What you receive at the end
By the end of the audit, you should not be wondering “So what do we actually do now?”
You receive:
- A plain-language summary of where things stand today
- A prioritized findings list, grouped into short-, near-, and longer-term work
- A clear action plan for the next 30–90 days
- Concrete recommendations for whether to improve what you have or plan a redesign
- Optional follow-on scopes for implementation with Best Website, if you want help
Your internal team can use the report as a roadmap, or we can turn it into a concrete project plan together.
How the packages differ
All three packages follow the same core process. The difference is in depth and how many moving parts we analyze.
- Essential – Best for smaller, leaner sites that need a clear, practical improvement plan without getting lost in the weeds.
- Standard – Ideal for growing organizations with more templates, content types, and stakeholders. You get deeper SEO, performance, and accessibility observations plus a phased action plan.
- Pro – Designed for complex or high-stakes environments where you are deciding whether to rebuild, replatform, or heavily invest in growth. We step back and look at architecture, risk, and long-term options with both leadership and technical audiences in mind.
If you are unsure which tier to choose, we can recommend one based on your site size, traffic, and goals during a short discovery call.
When to choose an audit instead of jumping into a redesign
A redesign is tempting when a site feels painful. But it is not always the right first move.
A Website Audit & Technical Review is usually the better starting point when:
- You suspect there are technical issues, but you cannot quantify them
- Internal teams disagree about whether the site is “fine” or “broken”
- You want to avoid rebuilding the same problems on a new platform
- You need a clearer story for leadership about why changes are needed
Sometimes the outcome is “improve what you have.” Other times it is “you will spend less long-term by rebuilding.” The point is to make that decision with real data.
How this connects to other Best Website services
The audit is often the first step into a broader relationship with Best Website.
Depending on what we find, natural next steps often include:
- Web Design & Development – When the right move is a thoughtful redesign or rebuild.
- WordPress Hosting – When your current infrastructure is clearly holding you back.
- Ongoing Website Support – When your team needs a reliable partner to execute on the action plan over time.
- SEO & Content Strategy – When the main opportunity is better structure, targeting, and content.
- Performance Optimization – When speed and Core Web Vitals are the obvious bottlenecks.
- Website Security & Monitoring – When risk and incident prevention are the highest priorities.
You do not have to commit to any follow-on work to get value from the audit, but the option is there if you want a partner to help carry the plan forward.
If you are responsible for a site that clearly needs attention but you cannot yet say exactly what is wrong, Website Audit & Technical Review gives you what you are missing: a precise, honest picture of where you are — and a realistic, prioritized roadmap for where to go next.