SayPro Week 1-2: Comprehensive Website Audit

Objective:

The primary objective of the website audit is to identify areas of improvement that can enhance user experience, optimize conversion rates, and align the website with SayPro’s strategic goals. The audit will focus on technical performance, SEO, content quality, UX/UI, accessibility, and overall design.

1. Preparation Phase (Day 1-2)

• Kickoff Meeting:
  Schedule a meeting with key stakeholders (marketing team, web development team, content team, and MEL team) to gather initial insights and identify key goals for the audit.
  Key questions to address:
  • What are the primary goals of the SayPro website (e.g., lead generation, course registrations, brand awareness)?
  • Are there specific user groups or segments to focus on?
  • What tools and analytics are currently being used to monitor website performance?
• Set Up Tools:
  Ensure that all necessary tools and analytics platforms are set up:
  • Google Analytics: Verify the tracking code is correctly implemented.
  • Google Search Console: Ensure the site is registered for performance tracking.
  • SEO Audit Tools (e.g., SEMrush, Ahrefs, Moz): Set up for site crawling.
  • UX Tools (e.g., Hotjar, Crazy Egg): Set up for heatmaps, user session recordings, and click-through tracking.
  • Accessibility Testing Tools (e.g., WAVE, Lighthouse): Set up to evaluate website accessibility.

2. Technical Website Audit (Day 3-4)

The technical audit focuses on the backend and infrastructure to ensure the website is running smoothly, efficiently, and is optimized for search engines.

• Site Speed Analysis:
  • Use tools like Google PageSpeed Insights, GTmetrix, or Pingdom to check page load speeds.
  • Identify slow-loading pages and potential reasons (e.g., large images, unoptimized code, excessive plugins).
  • Set benchmarks for acceptable load times (ideally under 3 seconds).
• Mobile-Friendliness:
  • Test responsiveness using Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test.
  • Ensure all pages are easily navigable on mobile devices (font size, button sizes, image scaling).
• Broken Links & Redirects:
  • Use tools like Screaming Frog or Ahrefs to scan for broken links (404 errors) and identify any incorrect redirects.
  • Fix internal and external broken links.
• Security Check:
  • Ensure SSL encryption is enabled (HTTPS).
  • Verify the website’s security protocols, including protection against malware and vulnerabilities.
  • Check for any security alerts in Google Search Console.
• Crawlability & Indexing:
  • Ensure that the website’s robots.txt file is correctly configured and that important pages are not blocked.
  • Submit an updated sitemap to Google Search Console.
  • Ensure the site is fully indexable and that no important pages are accidentally excluded from search engines.

3. SEO Audit (Day 5-7)

SEO is essential for ensuring the website ranks well in search engines and is easily discoverable by target audiences.

• On-Page SEO:
  • Meta Tags: Review title tags, meta descriptions, and header tags (H1, H2) for optimization.
  • Keyword Optimization: Ensure relevant keywords are strategically placed throughout the website, especially in headlines, body copy, and image alt text.
  • Content Quality: Evaluate if the content is engaging, informative, and up-to-date. Check if there is any keyword cannibalization (duplicate content targeting the same keywords).
  • Internal Linking: Ensure effective use of internal links to help users navigate and strengthen SEO.
• Technical SEO:
  • XML Sitemap: Ensure the sitemap is up to date and includes all important pages.
  • Robots.txt: Ensure that the robots.txt file does not block important pages from being crawled.
  • Canonical Tags: Check if canonical tags are implemented correctly to avoid duplicate content issues.
• Backlink Profile:
  • Review the website’s backlink profile using Ahrefs or Moz to identify high-quality backlinks.
  • Disavow any harmful or low-quality backlinks.
• Image SEO:
  • Ensure that all images have descriptive alt text and are optimized for quick loading without compromising quality.

4. User Experience (UX) Audit (Day 8-10)

The UX audit will identify any usability issues that may hinder user engagement and conversions.

• Navigation & Information Architecture:
  • Review the website’s navigation structure to ensure it is clear, intuitive, and consistent across all pages.
  • Evaluate the flow of the user journey from homepage to conversion points (e.g., course registration, lead capture form).
• User Interface (UI):
  • Evaluate the visual design of the website. Is it modern, aligned with the brand, and easy to use?
  • Ensure that buttons, CTAs (calls-to-action), and links are easy to locate and click.
• Content Readability:
  • Ensure that fonts, colors, and text sizes are easy to read.
  • Evaluate line length and paragraph breaks for easy scanning.
  • Check that content hierarchy (headings, subheadings, bullet points) is optimized for readability.
• Forms and Conversions:
  • Analyze forms on the website, such as contact forms, sign-ups, and registration forms, for usability. Are they easy to fill out? Do they ask for excessive information?
  • Track form abandonment rates and identify potential friction points.
• Heatmap & Session Recording:
  • Review heatmaps and session recordings using tools like Hotjar to see where users are clicking, scrolling, and spending time. Look for friction points where users may be dropping off or not engaging with CTAs.

5. Content Audit (Day 11-12)

Content is a crucial element of the website’s ability to engage users and convert visitors into clients or leads.

• Content Relevance:
  • Evaluate whether the website’s content is aligned with the needs and interests of the target audience.
  • Ensure that the content addresses key pain points and presents clear solutions (e.g., service offerings, success stories, product descriptions).
• Content Freshness:
  • Check if the content is up to date and reflects the latest trends, services, and data.
  • Ensure that case studies, testimonials, and success stories are current.
• Content Structure:
  • Assess if content is divided into easily digestible sections (e.g., short paragraphs, headers, lists).
  • Evaluate the use of multimedia (images, videos, infographics) to supplement text and improve engagement.

6. Reporting & Recommendations (Day 13-14)

• Compile Findings:
  • Create a detailed report summarizing the key issues identified during the audit, including technical, SEO, UX/UI, and content-related findings.
• Prioritize Issues:
  • Rank the issues based on their impact on website performance, user experience, and conversions. Focus on high-priority fixes that align with business goals.
• Recommendations for Improvement:
  • Provide actionable recommendations for addressing the identified issues. These should include technical fixes, content improvements, SEO adjustments, and UX/UI refinements.

7. Next Steps

• Assign Tasks:
  Once the audit report is complete, assign specific tasks to the relevant teams (e.g., developers for technical issues, content team for content updates, marketing team for SEO adjustments).
• Set Timeline:
  Establish a clear timeline for implementing the changes, and plan for a follow-up audit to track improvements.