“I’m not a website programmer, so how can I tell if my website is performing well or not? How do I know if my site is as accessible as it could be on all devices? Are there SEO issues that I should know about? How well are the social media aspects of my site performing? Are there programming issues harming my sites performance or the visibility of my site on search engines?”
These are all very good questions and happily there are a number of free online tools that can help show you the answers with a few clicks. Here are 3 to get you started.
1. Google Mobile Friendly Test
Mobile accessibility is a hot topic at the moment because Google’s search algorithm is becoming even more strict about sites that are truly mobile friendly — in page load times and usability. Text needs to be legible, every tappable item needs to be big enough for a normal finger and the navigation needs to be clear on a small screen to name a few.
Google’s Mobile Friendly Test will show you exactly what is not mobile friendly and also give you very detailed information on how to fix it.
2. Google PageSpeed Insights
Google’s PageSpeed Insights will give you information on how fast your site is loading. The page load speed of is important because Google and other search engines penalize slow sites. Users are more likely to leave a website if the page takes too long to load.
The test is very thorough and again will give you detailed instructions on coding issues and server issues that may be slowing down the page load speed.
3. Nibbler
Nibbler is a recent discovery for us. It’s a bit more comprehensive and gives you a report, scoring your website out of 10 for key areas including accessibility, SEO, social media and technology. Unlike the first tools, it scores a few pages at the same time to give a result more representative of your site rather than an individual page.
What next?
Now you know the status of your site but can’t fix everything, what can you do next? Some solutions can be as simple as a code or text change, whereas others may require a whole new website design. Providing you with solutions is what Paradigm specializes in and we are happy to look at your site and give some advice free of charge. Contact us now
