Website audit describes at least five different examinations: technical and search, accessibility, performance, security, and conversion. They are performed by different specialists, find different problems and cost different amounts. Commissioning one and expecting another is the commonest reason an audit is filed and never acted on.
The five audits and what each finds
Technical and search covers crawling, indexing, structure and content. Accessibility checks against a recognised standard with assistive technology. Performance measures loading and stability. Security examines the platform, dependencies and configuration. Conversion examines why visitors leave. Name which you want, because a supplier will otherwise deliver the one they specialise in.
Accessibility is increasingly the one that must happen
Requirements have tightened for public bodies and organisations serving the public, and remediation is far more expensive than building to a standard. An accessibility audit should use assistive technology and human testing rather than an automated checker alone, which catches only a portion of real problems.
The output has to be prioritised and costed
A list of two hundred issues with no priority is a document. A useful audit ranks findings by impact and effort, names who would fix each, and estimates what fixing it is worth. Ask to see a sample report before commissioning, and judge it on whether you could act from it tomorrow.
Who implements, and when
An audit that nobody implements achieves nothing, and implementation usually depends on a developer queue the auditor does not control. Agree at commissioning who will do the work and when, or commission the audit and the fixes together so the findings have somewhere to go.
Questions people ask about website auditing services
How much does a website audit cost?
It varies by type and depth. The more useful control is scope: a focused audit answering one question is cheaper and more likely to be acted on.
Are free audits worth anything?
They show how a firm thinks and are usually templates with generic findings. Paid audits are the deliverable rather than a sales cost.
How often should a site be audited?
After significant changes, before a migration, and periodically for accessibility and security. Routine annual audits of a static site rarely find much.