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The Bootstrapper’s Website Audit Checklist


Marketing trends for 2026.

Your website is often the first impression your business makes with your potential customers.

However, for small businesses, especially new startups, keeping costs down can mean seeking DIY tools (or let’s face it - a friend of a friend who designs websites as a side hustle).

 

We get it - a budget-friendly approach may make sense when bootstrapping is your only option, but it also creates more issues down the line. If your site is not built with best practices in mind, or isn’t regularly maintained, it can quietly work against you.


Before doing anything to a website, we always recommend performing a website audit. Without it, you risk overlooking errors or compounding issues that could waste valuable time, money, and resources in the long run. 


What is a Website Audit?

From site performance to website design, user experience to technical setup, a website audit helps ensure your website is actually supporting your business goals and generating results. If your small business has a homegrown or bootstrapped website, or even if you did work with a professional, it might be time for a checkup.


Below is our small business website audit checklist that covers what to review and the free tools you can use to get started.


  1. Know Your SEO (Performance)

Strong SEO performance increases organic traffic, leads, and income opportunities over time. Monitoring SEO helps ensure your site can actually be found by people searching for your products or services, not just by those who already know your name. When starting out with your website, it’s important to do your homework on the right keywords to use and to keep on top of how they’re performing.


Google Search Console

Free tools to use:

  • Google Search Console to know what keywords you rank for, click-through rates, and index coverage.

  • Google Keyword Planner (requires Google Ads account) helps you identify keyword trends and find the high-volume, low competition ones to use for improving search results.



  1. Check for Common Technical Errors

Technical errors like broken links, missing pages, or incorrect redirects frustrate users and can hurt your search rankings. Fixing these issues boosts user experience and helps search engines crawl and index your site more effectively.


Free tools to use:


  1. Ensure Data Privacy and Accessibility Compliance

Data privacy compliance (like cookie consent and clear privacy policies) creates confidence and helps you avoid legal risk. Accessibility ensures people with disabilities can use your site, expands your audience, and can provide SEO benefits.


CookieYes cookie policy generator

Free tools to use:




  1. How Fresh Is Your Content?

Fresh, relevant content signals that your business is active and helps you rank for more search terms over time. Updated pages also tend to perform better with users, who are looking for current information, pricing, and services.


Free tools to use:

  • Use Google Search Console to find pages with declining clicks or impressions that may need updates.

  • AnswerThePublic (limited free searches) can help you discover topics and questions your audience is asking - in real-time.



  1. How Fast Is Your Website?

Site speed directly affects user experience and conversion rates; slow pages cause visitors to bounce before they ever read your content or contact you. Search engines also factor page speed and Core Web Vitals into rankings.


GT Metrix Website

Free tools to use:

  • PageSpeed Insights and Lighthouse to test desktop and mobile speed, plus Core Web Vitals.

  • GTmetrix (free tier) for additional information about slow-loading elements and waterfall timing.




  1. Surf Your Site Like a Customer

Manually browsing your site like a new visitor helps you catch confusing navigation, unclear messaging, and friction in your key paths (like “book a call” or “request a quote”). This perspective shows whether your site actually supports your customer journey.


Free tools to use:

  • Incognito mode and different devices (mobile, tablet, desktop) to test the experience as a new visitor.

  • Microsoft Clarity gives you session recordings and heatmaps to see where real visitors click, scroll, or get stuck.



  1. Know the Metrics That Matter

Tracking the right metrics helps you understand whether your site is doing its job—bringing in leads, sales, and inquiries—not just pageviews. Highlighting clear goals makes future website decisions more strategic and less based on guesswork.


Key metrics to watch:

  • Website conversions (form fills, calls, bookings, purchases).

  • Traffic by channel (organic, direct, social, referral).

  • Top landing pages and their conversion rates.


Google Search Console

Free tools to use:

  • Google Analytics (GA4) to track goals/events, user journeys, and channel performance.

  • Google Looker Studio (free) to create simple dashboards for your key website metrics.



  1. Track Your Competitors

Keeping an eye on competitors’ websites gives you ideas for better messaging, offers, and content, and helps you understand what customers might compare you against. This can reveal gaps you can fill or areas where you can differentiate more clearly.


Free tools to use:

  • Manual review: Visit competitor sites to note their structure, calls to action, and content themes.

  • Ubersuggest (limited free searches) provides estimated traffic sources and top pages.

  • SEO Minion (free browser extension) to quickly review on-page SEO elements on competitor pages.


Getting Started and When To Get Help

There’s no doubt that there are plenty of ways to expand your business using any of the above tactics. Finding the time to experiment and starting small is important to getting comfortable with trying new approaches to marketing. 


Bootstrap Marketing

We're here to help.

If you’d like help with making a plan or learning how to best leverage marketing tools for your business, contact us today.

 
 
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