Templates
Website Audit Report Example + Copyable Template
A complete website audit report example with executive summary, technical SEO, performance, accessibility, on-page, content, security, and analytics sections — plus a copyable Markdown template and an impact vs effort priority matrix.
A website audit report is the document that turns a site review into decisions: it says what was checked, what was found, and what should change, in order of importance. This page shows a complete website audit report example, filled in for a fictional business, plus a copyable template you can fill in for any site. It sits alongside the website proposal example and the website maintenance plan example in the templates library.
The report below covers the sections that make an audit useful rather than decorative: an executive summary, technical SEO, performance, accessibility, on-page SEO, content, security, and analytics, then a prioritized list of recommendations with an impact and effort rating for each. Everything here is an example, not a real audit of a real business.
What a website audit report covers
A report is only as good as the checklist behind it. These are the inspection areas that appear again and again in useful audits, the question each one answers, and a sample finding from the example report.
| Section | What it checks | Sample finding |
|---|---|---|
| Executive summary | The overall health of the site and the fixes that matter most | Three high-impact fixes: images, titles, analytics goals |
| Technical SEO | Whether search engines can crawl and index every page | Twelve pages missing a meta description |
| Performance | How fast pages load for real visitors | Homepage LCP 5.4s on mobile |
| Accessibility | Whether people of all abilities can use the site | Images without alt text; low-contrast text |
| On-page SEO | Whether each page states its purpose clearly | Thin titles; missing H1 headings |
| Content | Whether the words and structure earn trust | Orphaned pages; outdated copy |
| Security | Whether the site and its visitors are protected | Missing security headers |
| Analytics | Whether results can be measured | No conversion goals configured |
Each section turns a finding into a fix: the issue, the pages affected, the severity, and the recommended change. Here is the outline this page's example follows.
- Executive summary
- Technical SEO
- Performance
- Accessibility
- On-page SEO
- Content
- Security
- Analytics
- Prioritized recommendations with impact and effort
Example website audit report
This example audit was written for a fictional photography studio called Northwind Studio. The business, its pages, and its problems are invented to show how findings and recommendations are worded, so the report is easy to adapt even if the details differ from a site you actually audit.
Executive summary
Northwind Studio's website is in fair condition. It loads, ranks for a handful of terms, and is safe to use, but several issues hold it back: the homepage is slow on mobile, twelve of twenty-six pages have no meta description, and analytics do not track any of the actions the studio cares about. The highest-impact, lowest-effort fixes are listed at the end of this report; the single most important change is reworking the homepage images, which also resolves most of the performance issues.
| Area | Status | One-line summary |
|---|---|---|
| Technical SEO | Needs work | 12 pages missing meta descriptions; 3 broken links |
| Performance | Needs work | Homepage LCP 5.4s on mobile |
| Accessibility | Needs work | Alt text and contrast failures |
| On-page SEO | Fair | Thin titles on 8 pages |
| Content | Fair | 2 orphaned pages; outdated copy |
| Security | Fair | Headers and plugin updates |
| Analytics | Poor | No conversion goals configured |
The full report (copyable)
The complete report as a document you can copy and adapt. Paste it into a text editor, fill in your own findings, and hand it to a client or your own team.
# Website Audit Report — Northwind Studio
**Prepared:** 15 August 2026
**Site:** https://northwindstudio.example
**Audit type:** Full technical, on-page, content, security, and analytics review
## Executive summary
Northwind Studio's website is in fair condition. It loads, ranks for a handful of terms, and is safe to use, but several issues hold it back: the homepage is slow on mobile, twelve of twenty-six pages have no meta description, and analytics do not track the actions the studio cares about.
| Area | Status | One-line summary |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Technical SEO | Needs work | 12 pages missing meta descriptions; 3 broken links |
| Performance | Needs work | Homepage LCP 5.4s on mobile |
| Accessibility | Needs work | Alt text and contrast failures |
| On-page SEO | Fair | Thin titles on 8 pages |
| Content | Fair | 2 orphaned pages; outdated copy |
| Security | Fair | Headers and plugin updates |
| Analytics | Poor | No conversion goals configured |
## Technical SEO
Search engines can reach every page, but they are not given clear instructions about what each page is for.
| # | Finding | Pages affected | Severity | Recommended change |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | Missing meta description | 12 of 26 | High | Write a unique description per page |
| 2 | Duplicate title tags | 2 | Medium | Rewrite one title per page |
| 3 | Broken internal links | 3 links | Medium | Fix or remove dead links |
| 4 | Sitemap not refreshed | 1 | Low | Regenerate and resubmit |
## Performance
The largest problem is speed: the homepage takes more than twice the recommended time to show its main content on a mid-range phone.
| # | Finding | Pages affected | Severity | Recommended change |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | Large, unoptimized images | Homepage, portfolio | High | Convert to WebP and size to the viewport |
| 2 | Render-blocking scripts | All pages | Medium | Defer non-critical JavaScript |
| 3 | Fonts without display swap | All pages | Medium | Add font-display: swap |
| 4 | No caching headers | All pages | Low | Cache static assets |
## Accessibility
Several checks fail and stop some visitors from using the site at all.
| # | Finding | Pages affected | Severity | Recommended change |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | Images missing alt text | 14 images | High | Add descriptive alt text |
| 2 | Low color contrast | 6 elements | High | Meet WCAG 2.1 AA contrast |
| 3 | Heading order jumps | 4 pages | Medium | One H1 and ordered headings |
| 4 | Form fields without labels | Contact page | Medium | Add visible labels |
## On-page SEO
Each page should answer one clear question. Several do not.
| # | Finding | Pages affected | Severity | Recommended change |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | Thin titles | 8 pages | Medium | Extend titles to describe the page |
| 2 | Missing H1 | 3 pages | Medium | Add one H1 per page |
| 3 | No meta description | 12 pages | High | Write unique descriptions |
| 4 | Unclear URL slugs | 2 pages | Low | Keep short, readable slugs |
## Content
The copy is written for the studio, not for the visitor's question.
| # | Finding | Pages affected | Severity | Recommended change |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | Orphaned pages | 2 | Medium | Link from navigation or merge |
| 2 | Outdated services copy | 1 | Medium | Refresh prices and scope |
| 3 | Thin blog posts | 5 | Low | Expand or combine |
## Security
The site uses HTTPS, but a few settings leave it weaker than it should be.
| # | Finding | Pages affected | Severity | Recommended change |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | Missing security headers | All pages | High | Add HSTS and a content security policy |
| 2 | Outdated plugins | 3 | High | Update or remove |
| 3 | Forms without spam protection | Contact page | Low | Add a honeypot or CAPTCHA |
## Analytics
No actions are measured, so the studio cannot see whether the site works.
| # | Finding | Pages affected | Severity | Recommended change |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | No conversion goals | All | High | Define goals for key actions |
| 2 | Consent not configured | All | High | Configure consent mode |
| 3 | No form submission events | Contact page | Medium | Track form submissions |
## Prioritized recommendations
| Priority | Recommendation | Impact | Effort |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | Optimize homepage images (WebP + resize) | High | Low |
| 2 | Write unique meta descriptions and titles | High | Low |
| 3 | Add alt text to all images | High | Low |
| 4 | Add security headers | High | Low |
| 5 | Configure analytics goals and consent | High | Medium |
| 6 | Fix broken links and orphaned pages | Medium | Low |
| 7 | Update plugins and outdated copy | Medium | Medium |
| 8 | Defer render-blocking scripts | Medium | Medium |
| 9 | Add form labels and fix heading order | Medium | Medium |
| 10 | Improve color contrast | Medium | Medium |
Recommendations 1-4 are quick wins: low effort, high impact. Schedule them first, then work through the medium-effort items.
## Sign-off
- Prepared by: [Name]
- Reviewed by: [Name]
- Next audit: [Date]
How to read the priority and effort matrix
Every recommendation in the report carries two ratings. Impact is how much the fix moves the site toward its goals: being found, understood, trusted, and measured. Effort is how long the change takes. The matrix below shows the example report's recommendations on one screen.
| Priority | Recommendation | Impact | Effort |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Optimize homepage images (WebP + resize) | High | Low |
| 2 | Write unique meta descriptions and titles | High | Low |
| 3 | Add alt text to all images | High | Low |
| 4 | Add security headers | High | Low |
| 5 | Configure analytics goals and consent | High | Medium |
| 6 | Fix broken links and orphaned pages | Medium | Low |
| 7 | Update plugins and outdated copy | Medium | Medium |
| 8 | Defer render-blocking scripts | Medium | Medium |
| 9 | Add form labels and fix heading order | Medium | Medium |
| 10 | Improve color contrast | Medium | Medium |
Work top to bottom: high-impact items first, low-effort ones before large projects. Anything rated high impact and low effort is a quick win worth doing this week.
Copyable website audit report template
This is the blank version of the report. Copy it, replace every [ ... ] with your own details, and delete the sections that do not apply to the site you are auditing.
# Website Audit Report
**Prepared:** [Date]
**Site:** [URL]
**Audit type:** [Full / technical / on-page / performance / security]
## Executive summary
[Two or three sentences on the overall health of the site and the single most important fix.]
| Area | Status | One-line summary |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Technical SEO | [Good / Fair / Needs work] | [Summary] |
| Performance | [Good / Fair / Needs work] | [Summary] |
| Accessibility | [Good / Fair / Needs work] | [Summary] |
| On-page SEO | [Good / Fair / Needs work] | [Summary] |
| Content | [Good / Fair / Needs work] | [Summary] |
| Security | [Good / Fair / Needs work] | [Summary] |
| Analytics | [Good / Fair / Needs work] | [Summary] |
## Technical SEO
| # | Finding | Pages affected | Severity | Recommended change |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | [Finding] | [Pages] | [High / Medium / Low] | [Change] |
## Performance
| # | Finding | Pages affected | Severity | Recommended change |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | [Finding] | [Pages] | [High / Medium / Low] | [Change] |
## Accessibility
| # | Finding | Pages affected | Severity | Recommended change |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | [Finding] | [Pages] | [High / Medium / Low] | [Change] |
## On-page SEO
| # | Finding | Pages affected | Severity | Recommended change |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | [Finding] | [Pages] | [High / Medium / Low] | [Change] |
## Content
| # | Finding | Pages affected | Severity | Recommended change |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | [Finding] | [Pages] | [High / Medium / Low] | [Change] |
## Security
| # | Finding | Pages affected | Severity | Recommended change |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | [Finding] | [Pages] | [High / Medium / Low] | [Change] |
## Analytics
| # | Finding | Pages affected | Severity | Recommended change |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | [Finding] | [Pages] | [High / Medium / Low] | [Change] |
## Prioritized recommendations
| Priority | Recommendation | Impact | Effort |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | [Recommendation] | [High / Medium / Low] | [Low / Medium / High] |
## Sign-off
- Prepared by: [Name]
- Reviewed by: [Name]
- Next audit: [Date]
How to run a website audit
The template is only useful if the checks behind it are real. A practical audit covers the same eight areas regardless of the site's platform, and most checks take minutes with free tools:
- Crawl the site — list every page and look for broken links, redirects, and orphaned pages. Understanding the website structure first makes this faster.
- Check the technical basics — a readable HTML structure, one H1 per page, unique titles and meta descriptions, and a working sitemap.
- Measure performance — test the homepage and key pages on a mobile connection; images are the usual cause of slow loads.
- Review accessibility — run an automated scan for alt text, contrast, labels, and heading order.
- Read the content — check that each page answers the question a visitor arrived with.
- Check security — confirm HTTPS is on, headers are set, and software is up to date. A static website has less to patch than a dynamic one.
- Verify analytics — make sure goals and consent are configured before recommending anything else.
For the pages behind the findings — how a business site is supposed to work, how it should look on a phone, and how to plan its structure — see the website basics, responsive website example, and business website examples pages.
FAQ
Website audit report FAQ
What is a website audit report?
What should a website audit report include?
How do I prioritize the recommendations in an audit report?
Is a website audit the same as an SEO audit?
Who is a website audit report for?
How often should I audit my website?
Can I copy this audit report template?
Where to go next
The audit is the review; the website proposal example is the plan you write before work begins, and the website maintenance plan example is the schedule that keeps a site healthy after the fixes land. If you are auditing a site you plan to rebuild, the website wireframe example shows how to sketch the new structure before writing code.