This website optimisation checklist will help you perfect your website’s:
Performance
SEO
Security
Mobile Performance
Is Your Website Meeting Your Visitors’ Expectations?
Your company’s website is a powerful first impression tool, a resource for ensuring customer retention, and a way for you to promote your brand. So, why wouldn’t you have it optimised?
Your website serves as a crucial gateway to your organisation—it’s where potential members form their first impressions, where existing members return for valuable resources, and where you showcase your brand to the world. If your site isn’t optimised, you risk losing visitors, diminishing user experience, and missing out on opportunities for growth and engagement.
Optimising your website isn’t just about fixing issues; it’s about elevating every aspect of your online presence. From enhancing performance and improving SEO to bolstering security and ensuring mobile responsiveness, effective optimization ensures that your website not only meets but exceeds your visitors’ standards.
Use this checklist to systematically address and refine each critical area of website optimisation. Prioritise your site’s SEO, performance, mobile experience, and security to deliver an exceptional user experience and achieve your organisational goals.
1. PERFORMANCE OPTIMISATION:
1.1 SPEED AND LOAD TIME
Task
Completed
Page Speed Test: Use tools like Google PageSpeed Insights or GTmetrix to test and analyse page load times.
Image Optimisation: Compress images without losing quality using tools like TinyPNG or ImageOptim.
Caching: Implement browser and server-side caching to reduce load times.
Minify Files: Minify CSS, JavaScript, and HTML files to reduce file sizes.
Content Delivery Network (CDN): Use a CDN to distribute your content globally and speed up load times.
1.2 SERVER PERFORMANCE
Task
Completed
Hosting: Choose a reliable web hosting provider with strong performance metrics.
Server Resources: Ensure adequate server resources (CPU, RAM) to handle traffic spikes.
Database Optimisation: Regularly clean and optimise your database to improve query performance.
1.3 USER EXPERIENCE (UX)
Task
Completed
Navigation: Ensure that navigation is intuitive and user-friendly.
Broken Links: Regularly check for and fix broken links.
Interactive Elements: Ensure interactive elements like forms and buttons work correctly and are responsive.
2. SEO Optimisation
2.1 ON-PAGE SEO
Task
Completed
Keywords: Perform keyword research and incorporate relevant keywords into page titles, headings, and content.
Meta Tags: Write compelling meta titles and descriptions for each page.
Headings: Use proper heading tags (H1, H2, H3) to structure your content effectively.
Internal Linking: Create a robust internal linking strategy to enhance navigation and SEO.
2.2 Technical SEO
Task
Completed
XML Sitemap: Ensure an XML sitemap is created and submitted to search engines.
Robots.txt: Check and update your robots.txt file to guide search engine crawlers.
Schema Markup: Implement schema markup to enhance search engine understanding and visibility.
Redirects: Set up proper 301 redirects for any broken or outdated URLs.
2.3 Content Strategy
Task
Completed
Quality Content: Regularly publish high-quality, relevant content that provides value to your audience.
Blogging: Maintain an active blog with fresh and engaging posts.
User Engagement: Encourage user engagement through comments, reviews, and social sharing.
3. Security Optimisation
3.1 SSL Certificate
Task
Completed
Quality Content: Regularly publish high-quality, relevant content that provides value to your audience.
Renewal: Regularly renew your SSL certificate to maintain security.
3.2 Vulnerability Management
Task
Completed
Updates: Keep all software, plugins, and themes updated to the latest versions.
Backup: Implement regular backups and ensure you have a reliable restore process.
Firewall: Use a web application firewall (WAF) to protect against malicious attacks.
3.3 User Access Control
Task
Completed
Passwords: Enforce strong password policies and use multi-factor authentication (MFA) where possible.
Permissions: Regularly review and adjust user permissions and roles to prevent unauthorised access.
4. Mobile Performance Optimisation
4.1 Mobile Responsiveness
Task
Completed
Updates: Keep all software, plugins, and themes updated to the latest versions.
Touchscreen Usability: Optimise navigation and interactive elements for touchscreen use.
Viewport Meta Tag: Implement the viewport meta tag to control layout on mobile browsers.
4.2 Mobile Speed
Task
Completed
Mobile Speed Test: Use tools like Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test to analyse and improve mobile load times.
Image Scaling: Ensure images are properly scaled for mobile devices to avoid slow loading.
4.3 Mobile User Experience
Task
Completed
Readability: Ensure text is easily readable on mobile devices with appropriate font sizes and line spacing.
Buttons and Forms: Optimise buttons and forms for easy use on mobile screens, ensuring they are appropriately sized and spaced.
Does your website meet your visitors’ standards? Your website is more than just a digital presence—it’s a crucial part of your brand’s first impression, member retention, and promotional efforts. By using this checklist, you can prioritise and address key areas of optimisation to enhance performance, SEO, security, and mobile user experience, ensuring your website delivers a top-notch experience for all visitors.
