DIY Website Audit: Tools & Tips for Small Business Owners
- Winnicki Digital
- Apr 4
- 6 min read
Updated: Apr 18
Do you feel like your website isn’t performing as well as it should, but you don’t know where to start? You’re not alone. Many small business owners, solo entrepreneurs, and nonprofits lack the technical expertise or resources to hire an in-house web team. But here’s the good news: you don’t need a tech background or a massive budget to assess and improve your website’s performance.
With the right tools and simple techniques, you can perform a DIY website analysis to monitor performance, optimize user experience, and enhance your online visibility. This guide will walk you through the essential tools and actionable steps tailored to small businesses looking to take control of their online presence.
Why Website Analysis Matters
Your website is often the first impression customers have of your business. A sluggish load time, confusing navigation, or poor mobile experience could drive visitors away. Here’s why this matters for your business today:
Improves User Experience (UX): Understand visitor behavior to identify usability issues.
Enhances SEO: Boost your search engine rankings with data-driven insights.
Saves Money: Avoid outsourcing basic performance checks and put your budget toward impactful changes.
Builds Authority: An optimized site fosters trust and credibility with your audience.
Here are the tools I recommend for SMBs who want control without the chaos.
Tools for DIY Website Analysis
Knowing which tools to use is half the battle. These user-friendly platforms offer powerful insights into your website's health without requiring technical expertise.
1. Your Website Platform Analytics
Purpose: Monitor basic website performance metrics.
Most website platforms include built-in analytics tools free of charge. These tools provide essential insights such as visitor numbers, traffic sources, and popular pages. Platforms like WordPress, Wix, and Squarespace feature user-friendly dashboards to track behavior and identify trends. Use these analytics to stay informed and make targeted improvements without extra costs.
Pro Tip: Regularly check your dashboard to identify top-performing pages and optimize underperforming ones.
Cost: Included with most website platforms.
Purpose: Track website traffic, user behavior, and conversion rates.
Google Analytics is a must-have for small businesses. It lets you monitor how visitors interact with your site, which pages they explore, and where they come from. Use it to track key metrics like session duration, bounce rates, and user demographics.
Pro Tip: Start with a few goals, such as increasing traffic from social media. If you’re new to the tool, explore Google’s free tutorial library.
Cost: Free
Purpose: Monitor your website’s performance in Google search results.
This free tool highlights indexing issues, search queries driving traffic, and mobile usability concerns. It’s also invaluable for identifying and resolving technical SEO issues.
Pro Tip: Check the “Performance” tab to see which keywords bring visitors to your site. Optimize content around those keywords to increase traffic.
Cost: Free
4. SEMrush
Purpose: Conduct SEO and competitor analysis.
SEMrush is a powerful tool for keyword research and tracking rankings. It also provides insights into your competitors’ strategies, which can help refine your content and PPC campaigns.
Pro Tip: Use SEMrush to perform an SEO audit and check for broken links, duplicate content, and missing meta descriptions.
Cost: Starts at $129.95/month, but often offers free trials.
5. Hotjar
Purpose: Understand user behavior with heatmaps and session recordings.
Hotjar provides visual insights into user engagement. Heatmaps show where visitors click the most, while session recordings capture their scrolling and interaction behaviors.
Pro Tip: Use heatmaps to discover CTA buttons or navigation links that are being overlooked.
Cost: Free basic plan; paid plans start at $32/month.
Purpose: Assess website speed and Core Web Vitals.
Page speed is a critical factor in UX and SEO. Google PageSpeed Insights tests your website’s loading speed, highlights bottlenecks, and provides actionable recommendations to improve performance on both desktop and mobile.
Pro Tip: Focus on improving metrics like Largest Contentful Paint (LCP) and Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS) for better rankings.
Cost: Free
7. GTmetrix
Purpose: Provide detailed performance reports on speed and file sizes.
GTmetrix offers in-depth speed insights, including recommendations to optimize JavaScript, image compression, and caching.
Pro Tip: Set up automated performance checks to track improvements over time.
Cost: Free plan; paid plans start at $10/month.
Purpose: Perform technical SEO audits.
This crawler tool helps you identify broken links, 404 errors, and on-page SEO issues like missing alt tags. It’s perfect for small websites.
Pro Tip: Crawl up to 500 URLs for free, which covers most small business sites.
Cost: Free version (up to 500 URLs); paid version costs £149/year.
Purpose: Analyze user interactions with session replays and heatmaps.
FullStory’s free tier is great for small businesses looking to understand user actions like rage clicks or drop-offs.
Pro Tip: Use session replays to identify and fix areas where users get stuck or frustrated.
Cost: Free for up to 1,000 sessions/month.
Tool | Key Purpose | Ease of Use | Best For | Cost |
Your Website Platform | Basic performance metrics | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | Quick insights without setup | Included |
Google Analytics | Traffic, behavior, conversions | ⭐⭐⭐ | In-depth traffic insights | Free |
Google Search Console | SEO performance + indexing | ⭐⭐⭐ | Monitoring keywords & SEO issues | Free |
SEMrush | SEO + competitor analysis | ⭐⭐ | SEO strategy & audits | From $129.95/mo |
Hotjar | Heatmaps & session recordings | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | Understanding user behavior | Free plan available |
Google PageSpeed Insights | Site speed & Core Web Vitals | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | Improving load times & UX | Free |
GTmetrix | Page speed + performance breakdown | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | Advanced speed diagnostics | Free plan available |
Screaming Frog | SEO Audit | ⭐⭐ | Spotting broken links & SEO gaps | Free (up to 500 URLs) |
FullStory | Session replays + advanced insights | ⭐⭐⭐ | Identifying user friction points | Free (1,000 sessions/mo) |
Quick Wins: DIY Website Analysis for Small Business
Feeling overwhelmed? Start here. These five simple actions can give your site a fast performance and usability boost—no tech degree required.
1. Run a Speed Test
Use Google PageSpeed Insights or GTmetrix to check load time. Fix oversized images or slow-loading scripts.
2. Check Mobile Friendliness
Use Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test to ensure your site looks and works well on phones.
3. Set Up Google Analytics & Search Console
Track user behavior and see what keywords are bringing traffic to your site. These free tools are game-changers.
4. Spot User Frustration
Install a free tool like Hotjar or FullStory to see how users interact with your site—where they click, scroll, or get stuck.
5. Fix Basic SEO Errors
Run a free SEO audit using Screaming Frog or SEMrush. Focus on fixing broken links, missing meta descriptions, and slow-loading pages.
DIY Techniques for Website Analysis
Set Clear Goals
Start with clear objectives. Are you focused on reducing bounce rates, optimizing for mobile users, or increasing conversions? Define metrics that align with your goals and track progress using tools like Google Analytics.
Check Core Web Vitals
Core Web Vitals are critical SEO and UX factors. Use tools like Google PageSpeed Insights or WebPageTest to measure:
Largest Contentful Paint (LCP): Measures loading performance.
First Input Delay (FID): Measures responsiveness.
Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS): Measures visual stability.
Monitor Visitor Behavior
Use Hotjar or FullStory to study how visitors interact with your site. Pinpoint areas that are confusing or underperforming, such as poorly clicked buttons or abandoned forms.
Test Mobile Responsiveness
Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test ensures your site works seamlessly on mobile devices. With mobile traffic at an all-time high, optimizing for small screens is no longer optional.
Conduct an SEO Audit
Run an audit with SEMrush or Screaming Frog to catch broken links, improve meta tags, and track keyword rankings. Optimized SEO not only improves rankings but also makes your site more accessible to your audience.
Benchmark Against Competitors
Use tools like DareBoost or SEMrush to compare your website’s performance, speed, and SEO ranking against your competitors. Identify gaps and opportunities.
Leverage Insights for Actionable Improvements
When you’ve completed your analyses, the next step is implementing changes. Focus on quick wins, such as resizing images, improving calls-to-action, or fixing broken links. For bigger projects, like redesigning your site, consider consulting a professional.
Take Control of Your Website
A well-performing website isn’t just a technical asset; it’s a bridge between you and your customers. By leveraging tools like Google Analytics, Hotjar, and SEMrush, even the smallest businesses can take significant steps toward a high-functioning online presence.
With these tools and techniques, you’re equipped to make data-driven decisions that lead to measurable improvements. Start your DIY website analysis today, and watch your site transform into a customer-converting machine!
🛠️ Need help putting this into action? Let’s talk. A 30-minute strategy session could save you hours of guessing. Learn how we can help >
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