Does your website look great? Are the metric numbers high and impressive?
It all might look fine and dandy on the surface but it’s still possible you have a broken website, littered with issues that could ruin your business at any moment.
Not sure how to tell if your site works the way it’s supposed to? Don’t panic, we’ve got a guide here for you. Read our steps below to fully diagnose and fix a broken site:
Identifying Issues
Let’s start by learning how to diagnose a broken website.
First off, don’t assume your site isn’t broken simply because the usual metrics seem healthy. Having a healthy amount of traffic and conversions doesn’t automatically mean there are no problems to fix. These numbers simply mean your technical SEO efforts are on the right track.
What can we do to identify a broken website? What should we look for? There are four crucial steps to follow:
1. Content Audit
Your first goal is to look for content that isn’t relevant anymore. You don’t want to keep blog posts filled with outdated information. You don’t want to have products up for sale when you no longer offer them or keep them in stock.
Run a content audit for this. It can take time, especially if you have hundreds of pages and posts, but it’s worth finishing.
You should also run a separate audit for all your media content, like images and videos. Some might no longer load because the source got deleted. If the media sources got lost or deleted, take the time to replace them!
One last bit about content auditing: look for coding errors. These are issues with the CSS or HTML coding that keeps your site running. You can find telltale signs of broken code like text no longer appearing in the right location, broken text looking like a jumbled mess, or not italicized when they should.
2. Check for Broken Links
You’ve got a serious problem when web pages won’t load. Broken links leading to error 404 pages can significantly affect the user experience (UX) score. In the long run, Google’s algorithm will rank your pages down because of this.
Fortunately, hunting down broken links isn’t too taxing. We’ll tackle how you can get this done below.
3. Sudden Slowdown
Did you know that most people expect a web page to fully load in only two seconds? If it takes a few seconds longer, you might lose them! You could lose most of your potential visitors if your pages load slowly.
Even Google acknowledges this. Page speed isn’t among the top ranking factors but the search engine does consider it.
With that in mind, take time to check your average page speed. You need to cut down on things that slow your site down, like Flash animation and images with large file-sizes.
4. Low-Quality Design for Mobile Users
Does your website look great on a desktop computer? That’s great, but did you take time to consider its appearance and navigation quality on a mobile device? Relying on the built-in responsive web design features of WordPress or any other site builder isn’t enough!
Your web design has to work around the limitations of mobile users. This means using shorter, two to three sentence paragraphs on your blog posts. It also means using clear buttons and hyperlinks, using readable typefaces, and a color scheme that’s pleasing to the eye when viewed on a tiny screen.
Fixing a Broken Website
Does it look like your site has a few issues? Don’t panic yet, there are multiple ways to get back on track. Check out the following ways to fix a broken site:
1. Use Auditing Tools and Plugins
Get tools like Broken Link Checker and Dyno Mapper. You can also use Google Search Console to isolate all error 404 pages.
Of course, you can’t fix every broken code or missing page. The good news is they don’t have to be dead-ends. You can install plugins that allow you to customize error 404 pages, adding redirecting options to keep visitors on your site.
There are also content auditing tools that can help bunch together all your blog posts. This makes it easier to find posts no longer relevant.
You can edit these blog posts, delete them, or put an addendum notifying readers that the content isn’t relevant. Add a link to a more updated post.
2. Conduct Quality Surveys
Even with the best tools, you can’t find and fix every issue on your site. One great alternative is to install plugins that hand out surveys to visitors before they leave your website. They can tell you about their experience and rate their satisfaction or report any problems.
As soon as someone reports an issue, work on it immediately. This is a good method of fixing broken pages since the user feedback points at specific issues you can tackle without having to conduct a content or SEO audit.
3. Monitor Bounce Rates
Want to fix pages quickly? Instead of auditing your whole site, check your bounce rates.
High bounce rates don’t automatically mean bad or broken pages. However, you shouldn’t see high bounce rates on pages you expect to lead visitors to explore further. If there are high bounce rates on landing pages designed for sales, there’s something wrong!
Get on those pages and work on a redesign. There might be issues with your Call-to-Action or its placement, the color scheme, UX, or mobile-compatibility.
4. Hire a Professional
All of these steps to fix a broken site take time, money, and manpower. If you don’t want to risk making further mistakes, it’s better to call professionals. Let them audit and fix your pages for you.
This can be a lot more affordable than you’d think.
Yes, the initial payment might seem high but you save money in the long-run. They have better tools, experience, and training to guarantee high-quality output.
Fix Your Site Today!
Do you have a broken website? Follow this guide to diagnose and fix any problems you have. It isn’t too difficult or too taxing to get your site back to speed once you know what you’re doing or if you’re working with the best consultants in the field.
If you’re looking for reliable experts to audit and fix your website, feel free to get in touch with us right now! We offer a ton of other services too so don’t hesitate to check out what we’ve got!