We run the same audit for every new client. One week, twelve questions, a spreadsheet and a fifteen-page report. It's the cheapest way to find out whether the site is a foundation problem or a cosmetic one — and it pays for itself in the first month of any redesign.
Day 1 — the brief + the first pass
Kickoff call. What does this site do for the business? Who's the target reader? What do you want them to do? Then we walk the homepage and three deep pages as a new user would. We write down every 'what is this?' moment. Usually there are 8–12.
Day 2–3 — technical sweep
- —PageSpeed on 4 key pages (home, product, pricing, contact) — mobile + desktop
- —Core Web Vitals on real users if we have access to analytics
- —Broken links (we use Screaming Frog free edition)
- —Accessibility — manual keyboard pass + axe DevTools scan
- —Security — plugin/theme versions, SSL, backup, admin users
- —SEO basics — titles, descriptions, schema, sitemap, robots.txt
Day 4 — content + copy
One short email every few weeks. Like this note, but in your inbox.
The part most audits skip. We read every headline above the fold out loud, in a boardroom voice. If it sounds like filler, it is. We also check whether the site's copy answers the three questions every buyer asks: what is it, who's it for, what do I do next.
"The site that needs the most work is never the one that scores worst on PageSpeed. It's the one whose hero you can't summarise to a friend."
Day 5 — the report
Fifteen pages, three sections: what's working, what's broken, what we'd ship first. The last section is a ranked list with effort + impact estimates — 'move this button' sits next to 'rebuild the checkout' with clear weights. We deliver it as a PDF + a walkthrough call. The client owns the artifact, even if they don't hire us for the redesign.
Want one for your site?
Fixed fee, one week, no surprises. If you hire us for the redesign within 60 days, the audit fee comes off the project. Book a call via /contact.