Website Health Check:
Test Your Own Site
for Free.
A healthy website loads quickly, works on every phone, keeps visitors safe, and shows up when customers search. This guide explains what good looks like and walks you through checking your own site in about 30 minutes, using free tools.
What a Healthy Website Should Do
A website can look good and still lose customers. These six things are what separate a site that works for your business from one that only sits there.
It loads fast
The main content appears within about 2.5 seconds on a phone, and the page responds straight away when someone taps a button or a menu.
It works on every screen
Text is readable without zooming, buttons are easy to tap, and nothing runs off the side of the screen on a phone or tablet.
It is secure
Every page loads over HTTPS with a valid certificate, the software behind it is kept up to date, and browsers show no security warnings.
Google can find it
Pages are indexed, each has a clear title and description, and a sitemap tells search engines what exists.
Everyone can use it
Text has enough contrast, images have descriptions, and the site can be used with a keyboard or a screen reader.
It turns visitors into enquiries
Contact details are easy to find, forms deliver to your inbox, and no link leads to a dead end.
What Good Speed Metrics Look Like
Google measures real-world page experience with three numbers called Core Web Vitals. These are the published targets, and the free tools in this guide report all three.
Largest Contentful Paint
How long the biggest thing on the screen, usually the main image or headline, takes to appear.
Interaction to Next Paint
How quickly the page reacts after a tap, click or key press.
Cumulative Layout Shift
How much the page jumps around while it loads. Lower is better.
Other numbers worth knowing
Performance score
PageSpeed Insights and Lighthouse
First Contentful Paint
When the first text or image appears
Time to First Byte
How quickly your server starts responding
How to read your results
Judge your site on its mobile results first, since that is where most small-business sites are slowest. Google counts a page as passing when at least 75% of real visits meet the Good target for all three Core Web Vitals. A new or low-traffic site may show no real-visitor data yet. In that case, use the lab scores as your guide and check again in a few months.
How to Check Your Own Website
Work through these eight checks in order and note anything that fails. You will finish with a clear list of what to fix.
Run a free speed test
Google's PageSpeed Insights tests any public page and reports the Core Web Vitals above.
- Go to PageSpeed Insights, paste in your home page address and press Analyze.
- Read the Mobile tab first, then Desktop.
- At the top, look for the Core Web Vitals assessment: Passed or Failed.
- Below that, note the four scores: Performance, Accessibility, Best Practices and SEO. Aim for 90 or higher on each.
- Repeat for your two or three most important pages, such as services and contact.
Test it on your own phone
A tool cannot tell you how your site feels to use. Turn off Wi-Fi so you are on mobile data, then visit your site the way a customer would.
- Can you read the text without zooming in?
- Are buttons and links big enough to tap without hitting the wrong one?
- Does anything run off the side so the page scrolls sideways?
- Does the menu open, close and take you where you expect?
- Does tapping your phone number start a call?
- Does anything cover the content, such as a pop-up you cannot close?
Preview other screen sizes on your computer
You do not need a drawer full of devices. Chrome has a built-in preview for phones and tablets.
- Open your site in Chrome, right-click anywhere on the page and choose Inspect.
- Click the phone and tablet icon at the top of the panel, or press Ctrl+Shift+M on Windows or Cmd+Shift+M on a Mac.
- Pick different devices from the dropdown above the page and look for overlapping text, cut-off images and cramped buttons.
- Drag the edge of the preview to see how the layout behaves between sizes.
Check your security
Visitors and search engines both expect a secure connection. Browsers warn people away from sites that do not have one.
- Your address should start with https:// and the browser should show no Not Secure warning.
- Type your address with http:// instead. It should switch to https:// automatically.
- Run the free SSL Labs test and aim for an A grade. It also shows when your certificate expires.
- Run Security Headers for a quick grade on your site's protective settings.
- If your site runs on WordPress or a similar system, confirm the core software, theme and plugins are up to date.
Make sure Google can find you
A fast site is no use if it is missing from search results.
- Search Google for site:yourdomain.ca using your own address. The results are the pages Google has indexed. If important pages are missing, there is a problem.
- Set up Google Search Console. It is free and shows which pages are indexed, which have errors and what people searched to find you.
- Add /sitemap.xml to the end of your address. You should see a list of your pages.
- Add /robots.txt to the end of your address and make sure it is not blocking your whole site.
- If you serve local customers, claim your free Google Business Profile and check that your name, address and phone number match your website exactly.
Review your on-page SEO basics
These are the details search engines read to understand each page.
- Every page has its own title that says what the page is about, roughly 50 to 60 characters.
- Every page has its own description of roughly 150 to 160 characters. This is often the text shown under your link in search results.
- Each page has one main heading, with subheadings in a sensible order.
- Images have short descriptions (alt text) and are no larger than they need to be.
- Page addresses are short and readable, for example /services rather than /page?id=12.
- If you use structured data, the Rich Results Test will confirm Google can read it.
Check accessibility
An accessible site works for people using screen readers, keyboards or larger text, and it tends to be easier for everyone else too. The common standard is WCAG 2.2 Level AA.
- Run your page through WAVE, a free checker that marks problems directly on your page.
- Check text contrast. Normal-size text needs a contrast ratio of at least 4.5 to 1 against its background.
- Put your mouse aside and press Tab repeatedly. You should be able to reach every link, button and form field, and see where you are.
- Make sure every form field has a visible label, not only grey hint text inside the box.
Hunt for broken links and forms
Nothing loses an enquiry faster than a button that does nothing.
- Fill in and submit your own contact form, then confirm the message reaches your inbox.
- Click every item in your menu and footer, including social media icons.
- Scan the whole site for dead links with a free crawler such as Screaming Frog, which checks up to 500 pages at no cost.
- Type a made-up address after your domain. You should get a helpful Page Not Found page with a way back to the home page.
- Check that your copyright year, opening hours, prices and team details are current.
Free Website Health Check Tools
Every tool below has a free version that is enough for a small-business site. Each link opens in a new tab.
PageSpeed Insights
Google's speed test, with Core Web Vitals from real visitors where available.
Open toolLighthouse
The same audit, built into Chrome. Open Inspect and choose the Lighthouse tab.
Open toolGoogle Search Console
Indexing, search queries, mobile and Core Web Vitals reports for your own site.
Open toolGoogle Business Profile
Controls how your business appears in Google Maps and local results.
Open toolScreaming Frog SEO Spider
Crawls your site for broken links and missing titles. Free for up to 500 pages.
Open toolSSL Labs Server Test
Grades your HTTPS setup from A to F and shows your certificate expiry date.
Open toolW3C Markup Validator
Checks your page's HTML for errors that can cause display problems.
Open toolSigns Your Website Needs Attention
Small issues are normal and usually quick to fix. These are the ones worth acting on soon, because each can cost you visitors or enquiries.
- Your Core Web Vitals assessment says Failed on mobile.
- Your mobile Performance score is below 50.
- The browser shows a Not Secure warning on any page.
- Important pages are missing when you search site:yourdomain.ca.
- Your contact form does not reach your inbox.
- The page scrolls sideways or text is too small to read on a phone.
- You cannot remember when the site's software was last updated.
How Often to Check
Website Health Check FAQ
What is a website health check?
It is a review of how well your site performs in the areas that affect visitors and search engines: speed, mobile usability, security, search visibility, accessibility and working links and forms. You can do a basic one yourself with free tools.
How fast should a website load?
Aim for the main content to appear within 2.5 seconds on a phone. That is Google's Good target for Largest Contentful Paint. The page should also respond to taps within 200 milliseconds.
What is a good PageSpeed Insights score?
A Performance score of 90 or higher is rated Good, 50 to 89 needs improvement, and below 50 is Poor. The score is a lab estimate, so treat the Core Web Vitals assessment, which uses real visits, as the more important result.
Does website speed affect Google rankings?
Yes, though it is one factor among many. Google uses page experience signals, including Core Web Vitals, in ranking. Useful, relevant content still matters most, and speed helps when pages are otherwise similar.
How do I check if my website is mobile friendly?
Google retired its standalone Mobile-Friendly Test in December 2023. Use the Mobile tab in PageSpeed Insights, the device preview in Chrome, and your own phone, as described in steps 1 to 3.
Why does my score change every time I test?
Lab tests are affected by server load, network conditions and third-party scripts, so a swing of a few points is normal. Run the test three times and use the middle result.
How often should I test my website?
A quick form-and-links check each month and a full check every three months suits most small-business sites. Always re-test after a redesign or after adding new features.
What if my site fails several checks?
Start with anything that blocks customers: security warnings, broken forms and pages that are unusable on a phone. Then work on speed. If the fixes are beyond what your website platform lets you change, it may be time for professional help or a rebuild.
Found Problems You Would Rather Not Fix Yourself?
Send us your results and tell us about your business. We will go through them with you in a free consultation and explain, in plain language, what is worth fixing and what it would involve.