How to Check Your Website’s Optimisation

A well-optimised website is easier to find, quicker to use and more accessible to visitors. Regular checks can help you spot problems before they affect your audience or your search performance. The good news is that you can review the essentials with a few straightforward steps.

Check your website’s loading speed

Slow pages can frustrate visitors, particularly those browsing on mobile devices or slower internet connections. Test key pages with tools such as Google PageSpeed Insights. Look for practical improvements, including compressing large images, reducing unnecessary scripts and enabling browser caching.

Test more than your homepage. Product, article and contact pages may load differently, so check a range of important pages on both desktop and mobile.

Review the mobile experience

Your website should be easy to use on a small screen. Check that text is readable without zooming, buttons are easy to tap and visitors do not need to scroll sideways. Menus, forms and images should also fit comfortably within the screen.

Check search engine basics

Search engine optimisation (SEO) helps search engines understand your pages and can make them easier for people to discover. Review the following elements:

• Page titles: Make sure each important page has a clear, descriptive title.
• Meta descriptions: Write a concise summary that accurately describes the page.
• Headings: Use headings in a logical order to organise the content.
• URLs: Keep page addresses short, readable and relevant.
• Image descriptions: Add meaningful alt text to images that convey information.
• Internal links: Link related pages to help visitors and search engines navigate your site.

Use relevant search terms naturally. Repeating keywords excessively can make content harder to read and does not create a good experience for visitors.

Test usability and accessibility

Try completing common tasks as a first-time visitor. Can you find key information, understand what the organisation offers and contact the right person? Check that links and forms work, instructions are clear and important actions are easy to find.

Accessibility matters too. Use sufficient colour contrast, provide captions or transcripts for video and make sure the site can be navigated using a keyboard. Descriptive link text is more helpful than vague phrases such as “click here”.

Check your content

Useful, accurate content is central to an effective website. Review pages for outdated details, broken links, spelling errors and duplicated information. Make sure each page has a clear purpose and gives visitors the information they need.

Look for technical issues

Technical problems can prevent pages from working properly or being discovered. Check for broken links, missing pages, redirect errors and security warnings. Confirm that your site uses HTTPS and that important pages can be indexed by search engines.

Tools such as Google Search Console can help identify indexing and usability issues. Website analytics can also show which pages attract visitors and where people tend to leave.

Make optimisation an ongoing task

Website optimisation is not a one-off job. Browsers, devices, search engines and visitor expectations change over time. Set a regular schedule to test performance, review content and fix technical problems. Prioritise issues that affect speed, accessibility, security or the ability to complete important tasks.

A consistent review helps create a website that is easier to use, more reliable and better suited to the needs of its audience.