Find out the health condition of any website instantly

A few days ago one of my reputed clients had asked me to audit his website. When I submitted the report to him with the necessary correction and editing indications, he urged me to prepare a report which could be understood by common users lacking IT knowledge and expertise.
The query that arises here is the reason why a lay person wants to understand website performance analysis or health conditions in the first place? The answer is simple – a large number of website owners have little

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knowledge about internal and external factors of a website that need to be effective.

After deep research on the subject of website audit, I have listed a report that can be read and understood by common users, website owners and even webmasters. This will enable you to check out the health conditions of any website instantly. 

1. Domain and Hosting booked for a long period:-

Domain name is the identification indicator of any website. There are many domain registers around the world and it is better to book one for at least 5 years if not 10 in terms of both domain and hosting. This will ensure a factor of trustworthiness among the users/audience and usability of change of time. 

2. World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) validation:-

World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) is the only ISO (international standards organization) body for the World Wide Web which tries to enforce compatibility throughout the global programming and coding balance. W3C Validation ensures that any website will look proper on majority of web browsers at any given point of time and wherever applicable with Internet protocol suite. Any site can gain the proper validation here - http://www.w3.org/Consortium/join.html

3. XML Sitemap protocol:-

The sitemap is an XML file which lists all the URLs for a site and shows either search engine bots or normal users. It carries robots.txt files too with following search engines guidelines and submission rules.

http://www.sitemaps.org/protocol.html

http://support.google.com/webmasters/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=156184

4. Web Page Size (Length & Width):-

Responsive design is the preferred user-friendly method for any website width and length. There are various forms of device used for accessing a website. It is better to have a smaller page size which will make the website load faster and enable more user interaction and browsing. 

Hence standard determination on the proper length and width for any webpage is a balance of page and screen size, documentation, browser experience and available bandwidth to the audience. The safest and easiest way to go is set the length and width table in % (for example 100%). By this method, the page will show the same proportion on all resolutions and devices (desktop, laptop, tablet PC, phone etc)

More details :: http://forums.adobe.com/thread/467656

https://forums.digitalpoint.com/threads/standard-webpage-size.271455/

5. Webpage Contents:-

It is common knowledge that content (article/posts) is the most important part of any website or blog. There are 3 types of content that get a response from audiences – real time, unique and basic needs (fundamental issues). If any website/blog carries these types of content then there is no need for the webmaster (s) to worry about visitors, with the contents being the primary criteria to be trawled by search engines and shown in the SERP (search engine result page). 

To know more: 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_content

http://support.google.com/webmasters/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=40349

6. Programming Code Analysis:-

There is a lot of code programming available but it is vital to choose the correct one for adjusting your website specific needs. The most popular query languages are Multi-language , .NET , ActionScript , Ada , C/C++ , Java , JavaScript , Objective-C , Perl , Python etc (A few more are available on the market). The code analysis of any website should be an essential part of any webpage. The Static Application Security Testing (SAST) is used to analyse the sophistication i.e highlighting possible coding errors in any webpage or complete website. 

Here is a reliable list for analysis:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_tools_for_static_code_analysis

7. Website Loading Speed:-

 

Website loading time is a key factor for user interaction and engagement with the site. This is why the loading speed of the website should be tested both before the launch and after the website is online. This testing must include multi-step transactions, video capture, content blocking, resource loading, waterfall charts, jquery.js, style.css, www-embed_core_module-vfl3QV3p6.js and others.

If any site has a loading time that is much more than the standard one, there must be an improvement in the query languages, as well as in the total cache method to limit the usage of bandwidth and server memory. Google provides free pagespeed [https://developers.google.com/speed/pagespeed/ ] tools for improvement of website speed. But there are many other tools online to check loading speed:
http://www.webpagetest.org/
http://tools.pingdom.com

8. Search engine optimization (SEO):-
In toda y’s virtual world, search engine optimization (SEO) is one of the highest researched words by webmasters and bloggers. Positive SEO can bring life to a website or a blog just as negative SEO can shut it down.

SEO carries many factors, some of which are given below -
a. Meta title:
The title of any website or page is the first impression that audience and visitors will have of it. Hence it is common sense that an eye-catching title can bring more interaction and interest from readers. At this point it should be kept in mind that the title must be related to the main content on the webpage/website/blog. 

b. Meta description:

Meta description or the sub-title is the secondary part of any web site or web page. It is the summary of the entire website/webpage and hence must carry similar relevancy to it. 

c. Meta keywords:

Meta keywords or labels are the chosen words which are relevant to the webpage or website. They are also labeled ‘incoming terms’ or words which are ‘SERP (search result engine page) friendly’. Hence it is better to choose meta keywords which are likely to give a better result via SERP.

d. Image with title and alt tag:

An image is one of the best ways to express thousand words through a single frame. It is better to use photos which we have taken or created on our own but if there is a lack of needed images then we have to use copyrighted free images without making any changes to them. Again the relevance of these images or related content must be kept in mind. 

There are 2 technical factors that should be followed every time an image is uploaded onto a website or blog – title and alternative (alt) tag. If the image is not shown in any browser, then at least the alt tag will be visible, making it easier for users to detect the linked image. However, the search engine trawls alt tags only for their SERP.

e. RSS feed validation:

Really Simple Syndication (RSS) feeds are some of the most used syndications, though Atom feeds are also seen for this purpose. RSS feeds can seamlessly distribute content/webpages from anywhere at any time. It is the automated copy cat content from original website or web pages, but has full control over the feed content. It is better to choose an encrypted feed which forces the audience to visit the original website. There are many RSS feed providers but maximum webmasters use the Google provided Feedburner [http://feeds.feedburner.com ] feeds. Keep in mind that your feed must be validated. If you are not getting any visitors, please visit one of the sites below to validate it now. 

http://validator.w3.org/feed/

http://feedvalidator.org/

www.rssboard.org/rss-validator/

f. Proper robots.txt file:

Robot.txt file is a list of web pages that normal users as well as search engine bots are not allowed to visit. Normally it carries an admin panel, a control panel, a moderation panel etc. A robot.txt file indicates that trawlers don’t follow them [ rel="nofollow" ]. It can keep your site from unauthorized or compromising use.

To know more about robots.txt visit 

www.robotstxt.org/robotstxt.html

http://support.google.com/webmasters/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=156449

g. Inbound links:

Inbound links or backlinks are the backbone of any website’s reputation. Backlinks are the links which are placed on other sites but which point to the targeted site. Backlinks provide 2 types of advantages for webmasters or bloggers – diverting visitors to their website, and Google PR status. So it is better to get inbond links from high DA [Domain Authority] and PR [Page Rank] sites. However it is important to keep in mind that low quality backlinks can destroy the reputation of your website as well as have a bad impact on the SERP. 

To know more guidelines on backlinks, check out the following websites - 

http://googlewebmastercentral.blogspot.in/2012/07/new-notifications-about-inbound-links.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Backlink

h. Outbound links:

Outbound links or outgoing links are also an important factor of web pages or websites. To put it simply, the suggested or related links are placed on a website (s) or webpage (s). It is better to place high DA and PR website links that are relevant to the website or webpage. Google has recently changed its outbound and external links guidelines [http://support.google.com/analytics/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=1136920].

Get a complete set of reading on external links at Wikipedia [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:External_links].

i. Comment moderation:

Comments are one of the best ways to interact with the audience/readers. They can also give a better idea about the needs of the visitors as well as the performance of the webpage. However it can be seen that a large volume of spamming comments has forced comment sections of webpages to be closed down.

There is a simple way to get around this. Just allow each and every comment to run under the ‘moderation mode’ making it easy to filter through the spam for relevant comments. The recently updated comment policy in WordPress [codex.wordpress.org/Comment_Moderation ] has given successful indications.

To know more about comment process check out Google 

[http://support.google.com/blogger/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=42537]

j. A Clean URL structure:

The Universal Resource Locator [URL] is the server location where any web page is stored and it is always an unique query for any browser. But what is a ‘Clean URL?’ A URL that is memorable and simple is called as a Clean URL. This URL must also be SEO friendly to improve the SERP. 

For example –

http://yoursite.com/index.php?page=umain30  [ An Unclean URL]

http://yoursite.com/umain30  [ A Clean URL]

To know more about Clean URLs, please check out -

http://www.centernetworks.com/top-3-reasons-to-use-clean-urls/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clean_URL

9. Social Media presence:-

Social media websites have not only become the darling of our generation, but also the corporate world. A recently carried out survey says that it is the youth population and the business establishments that create majority of the social media profiles around the globe. 

 

An interesting factor is the steep rise of celebrities around the globe being the focus of many social media websites and pages. 

a. Facebook Fan Pages:

Facebook is the most visited social website in the world. Creating a personal profile as well as maybe a fan page has become the rampant norm. The upside of fanpages for celebrities and corporate bodies is the seemingly limitless possibility for fans. In this regard, a personal profile does have a few limitations in its use (Refer http://fb.com/readnsurf ).

b. Twitter:

Twitter is one of the most visited micro blogging social media websites in the world. It allows users 140 words per tweet (the twitter form of posts) to share their thoughts, express their feelings and opinions. On a normal basis, there is no upper limit set for daily tweets but Twitter’s excellent automated system catches and identifies spamming easily and limits/suspends the user (s) in question immediately. Most celebrities and corporate entities have already created Twitter profiles for added widespread exposure. 

Check out these posts for more info on the same - 

http://twitter.com/readnsurf

c. LinkedIn:

LinkedIn is one of the pioneer corporate social media websites in the world. It allows business personalities to create their profiles and show their expertise in their field. It also allows them to connect with other professionals with similar interests. There is the option to create company profiles as well. This is why maximum number of professionals love to use LinkedIn for easy connectivity across the world. 

d. Pinterest:
Pinterest is a fast growing social media website used by professionals for ‘pinging’ their activities. It allows users to ping any photo or video from any website. However illegal entries are deleted almost instantly. Users can create boards and others can like them and follow the users that they want.
e. MySpace:
MySpace is a pioneer social media website for vocal artists and professionals from the music world. It allows users to upload their own activities with blogging options on their site. It also allows the upload and tagging of images.

For example - 
http://www.myspace.com/main.uddin

http://www.myspace.com/shazidamain

f. YouTube:

The Google owned YouTube is the highest popular video sharing website in the world. It allows users to upload unlimited personal videos or creative common licence videos. It also allow users to share description and links which generate huge amount of traffic to targeted websites. Corporate bodies as well as common users to celebrities have started their own YouTube channels to get more publicity around the globe.

g. Dailymotion:

Dailymotion is another viedo sharing website which allows users and brands to share their own videos and allows users to create channels. It has an easy method to upload and publicize factors as they pay the users who share their videos (self uploaded or others).

h. Quora:
Quora is a question and answer website which allows user to ask any question, and reply to other users’ questions. It is one of the best ways to get attention from users of the same interest base. Quora also allows users to share referral links on the question or replies.
i. Google+:
Google+ (owned by the Google Corporation) is the most publicized social media networking site in the world. Google+ became popular among IT as well as corporate professionals but is far from reaching common users yet. It allows the users to share any webpage or website either from the Google search page or directly from the individual web page. It also allows users to create business pages as well as communities to discuss mutual objectives. 
10. Performance analysis:-

Analysis of performance is one of the major factor of business strategies. There is no limitation of success but this doesn’t mean that every website is doing well either. So it is better to conduct an online or offline (or both) performance analysis. It can give a better idea for a potential future plan for the website. There are many tools available online to analyse a website. A few of them are listed below - 

a. Alexa:

Alexa provides paid and free website performance analysis which includes all the factors from keywords to speed limits. Just go to alexa.com and verify the site with a simple code inserting method.

b. Google Analytics:

Google Analytics is one of the most reliable tools to analyse a website. It allows users to check a particular date or duration of any website. However before using these tools, the webmaster must verify the website by inserting a certain code in the server which is provided by the analytics [www.google.com/analytics/] team at the time of verification. It allows users to check real time audience statics with incoming and out going sources. 

c. WebPageTest:

Webpage Test [http://www.webpagetest.org/] is one of the best tools I use to check my website performance analysis. It allows the users to check Connection settings, Browser and Location settings, Numerous exceptions, Capture network packet trace and many more things. More interestingly it is an in-depth free tool that provides a range of basic and advanced analyses for any website. 

d. GTMetrix:

GTmetrix [http://www.gtmetrix.com/] is one of the great tools to check website performance analysis. It allows a user both paid and free analysis in PDF and excel mode. It allows users to compare their website with websites of other competitors which is a positive factor of this tool.

e. YSlow:

The YSlow [http://developer.yahoo.com/yslow/] is one of the oldest tools developed by the Yahoo Corporation. It allows users to check minimizing HTTP requests, Gzipping components, minifying CSS and JavaScript and others.It has an exceptional performance team and allows users simplicity plug-ins and ad-ons. It is one of the best website performance checking tools, allowing all major browsers via extension or ad-ons.

Final thoughts of the author:-

All the tools and tips are listed here from my own online marketing and blogging experience of the last 9 years. I am not a celebrity blogger or marketing agent but these tools and tips can easily inspire anyone to understand the health conditions of their website within a few minutes. If there are any useful tools that I’ve missed, then please don’t hesitate to contact us for future updates.