What I Actually Check in a $199 Website Audit (and What You Get Back)

A while back I wrote about why a website audit matters. This post is the other half of that conversation: what I actually look at when I audit your site, what lands in your inbox afterward, and why I price it at $199.

I’ve been building and fixing websites since 1998. Over that time I’ve learned that most sites that aren’t bringing in leads aren’t broken. They’re just quietly getting in their own way. An audit is how I find out where.

Why an Audit Instead of a Free Scan?

Free tools are useful. I use some of them myself. But they hand you a score and a long list of warnings with no sense of which ones matter for your business. A plumber, a moving company, and a real estate agent can get the same score for very different reasons, and the fix for each one is different.

On the other end, agency audits can run into the hundreds or thousands of dollars and sometimes arrive as a 60-page PDF that nobody reads.

My audit sits in the middle. A real person (me) goes through your site the way a customer would and the way Google would, then tells you in plain language what’s worth fixing first.

What I Check

Every audit is tool-assisted and personally reviewed by me. The tools do the measuring; I read the results, check your site myself, and tell you what to fix first.

Here’s what I look at, grouped into seven areas.

1. How It Works on a Phone

Most of your visitors are probably on their phones, so I start there.

• Mobile layout: how your site looks and works on a phone

Can people read the text without zooming, tap the buttons easily, and reach you without a pop-up in the way?

2. Speed and Technical Errors

A slow site loses people before they ever see what you offer.

• Speed and Core Web Vitals, on mobile and desktop
• Broken links and redirects

I look for the usual culprits, like oversized images and heavy plugins, and note any dead ends a visitor would hit.

3. Search Basics (SEO)

This is where a lot of small business sites leave easy wins on the table.

• Meta titles and descriptions
• Headings and page structure
• Image alt text
• That your business name, address, and phone number match across your pages
• I compare your Google listing with your website

In plain terms: do your titles say what you do and where, does each page have a clear main heading, and is your contact information the same everywhere?

4. Accessibility Basics

• Basic accessibility issues, like contrast and missing labels (a basics check, not a compliance certification)

I flag common problems, like light gray text on white or unlabeled form fields, so more people can use your site.

5. The Path to Contacting You

This is the one I care about most, because it’s where leads are won or lost.

• I check that your contact form is working and set up correctly

I also look at it like a customer ready to hire you: Can I find how to reach you within seconds? Is it clear what happens next?

6. Security and Upkeep

• SSL: that your site is secure (HTTPS) and your certificate is current
• Outdated WordPress and missing security headers

Outdated software is a sign nobody’s been minding the store, and neglected sites are easier targets.

7. Content and Freshness

• A first-pass review of your content: clarity, thin pages, and calls to action

Old content sends a quiet message. I watch for things like an old copyright year, outdated services or prices, and pages that say very little about what you actually do.

What You Get Back

You get a written report in plain English. No wall of jargon.

For each area, I tell you:

• What I found, with screenshots where they help
• Why it matters to your customers or your search visibility
• What to do about it, ranked so you know what to tackle first

Some fixes are things you can do yourself in an afternoon. Some you might hand to whoever manages your site. Some might point to a bigger conversation. I’ll tell you honestly which is which.

I also don’t hand you a report and disappear. If something in it isn’t clear, text or email me and I’ll walk you through it.

What an Audit Is Not

It’s not a sales pitch dressed up as a report. If your site is in good shape, I’ll say so and point out the few things worth tightening. If it needs a lot of work, I’ll say that too, and you’re free to take the report to anyone you like.

It’s also not a full rebuild plan or an ongoing SEO campaign. It’s a clear, honest snapshot of where your site stands today and what would make the biggest difference.

Who It’s For

The audit tends to make the most sense if:

• Your site gets some visitors but hardly any calls, texts, or form submissions
• Your original designer moved on and nobody’s looked under the hood in a while
• You’re thinking about a redesign and want to know if you actually need one
• You’re about to spend money on ads or a blog and want to make sure the site can handle the traffic

I work with all kinds of small businesses. Lately a lot of them are movers, real estate agents, and mortgage teams, but the checklist applies to almost any local business.

The $199 Credit

If the audit shows your site needs more than a few tweaks, you won’t pay twice. Your $199 audit fee is credited in full toward any redesign or website repair plan, or $49 of it toward anything smaller, when you sign up within 30 days.

So if the audit leads to a new site or a website repair plan, the audit effectively costs you nothing. If it leads to “you’re in good shape, fix these three things,” you’ve spent $199 for peace of mind and a clear to-do list.

What Usually Comes Next

After an audit, people usually go one of a few ways:

• Fix it themselves using the report as a checklist
• Keep the site healthy with my monthly hosting and maintenance plan, so updates and security don’t slide again
• Start a redesign when the site is more trouble than it’s worth
• Add fresh content through a monthly blog plan (see my blog and social media services)

There’s no wrong answer. The point is that you’re deciding based on what’s actually going on, not guessing.

Ready to See What’s Really Going On?

You can order your audit on the Professional Website Audit page.

Have a question first? Text me at 321-578-8133 or email nadine@twinrivers.net.