Your website might be losing visitors, sales, and search rankings right now-and you don't even know it. Most website owners only discover problems when customers complain or sales drop. By then, the damage is already done.
In this guide, we'll walk you through the 7 critical areas you need to check regularly, how to identify problems, and what to do about them.
1. Page Speed and Performance
If your website takes more than 3 seconds to load, you're losing 53% of mobile visitors. Google also uses page speed as a ranking factor, meaning slow sites rank lower in search results.
What to Check:
- Time to First Byte (TTFB) - Should be under 200ms
- Largest Contentful Paint (LCP) - Should be under 2.5 seconds
- Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS) - Should be under 0.1
- Interaction to Next Paint (INP) - Should be under 200ms
💡 Pro Tip: Test your site on mobile with a 3G connection. That's how many of your visitors experience it.
2. Security Vulnerabilities
43% of cyber attacks target small businesses, and 60% of those businesses close within 6 months of an attack. Your website security isn't optional-it's essential.
Critical Security Checks:
- SSL Certificate - Must be valid and properly configured
- Security Headers - CSP, X-Frame-Options, HSTS
- Software Updates - CMS, plugins, and themes must be current
- Malware Scanning - Regular scans for malicious code
3. SEO Health
Poor SEO means invisible to search engines. Even small issues can significantly impact your rankings and organic traffic.
SEO Essentials to Verify:
- Every page has a unique title tag (50-60 characters)
- Meta descriptions are compelling (150-160 characters)
- Images have descriptive alt text
- URLs are clean and descriptive
- No broken internal or external links
- XML sitemap is submitted and up-to-date
4. Mobile Responsiveness
Over 60% of web traffic comes from mobile devices. Google uses mobile-first indexing, meaning your mobile site is what gets ranked.
Mobile Checks:
- Text is readable without zooming
- Buttons and links are easy to tap
- No horizontal scrolling required
- Forms are easy to fill on mobile
- Images scale properly
5. Accessibility Compliance
15% of the world's population has some form of disability. Beyond being the right thing to do, accessibility issues can lead to lawsuits-ADA website lawsuits increased 300% in recent years.
Accessibility Basics:
- All images have alt text
- Color contrast meets WCAG standards (4.5:1 ratio)
- Site is keyboard navigable
- Form fields have proper labels
- Videos have captions
6. Broken Links and 404 Errors
Broken links frustrate visitors and hurt your SEO. They signal to search engines that your site isn't well-maintained.
Common Causes:
- Deleted pages without redirects
- Changed URLs without updating internal links
- External sites removing content
- Typos in links
7. Core Web Vitals
Google's Core Web Vitals directly impact your search rankings. These metrics measure real-world user experience.
The Three Vitals:
- LCP (Loading) - How fast the main content loads
- INP (Interactivity) - How quickly the page responds to interactions
- CLS (Visual Stability) - How much the page layout shifts
Monitor Your Website 24/7
FixiWeb scans all 7 areas automatically and gives you a clear action plan.
Start Free →How Often Should You Check?
We recommend:
- Daily: Uptime and basic functionality
- Weekly: Performance and security
- Monthly: Full comprehensive scan
- After any change: Always test after updates
The Bottom Line
Website problems don't fix themselves-they get worse. The sooner you identify issues, the easier and cheaper they are to fix. Regular monitoring isn't a luxury; it's a necessity for any business that depends on its online presence.
Start with a free scan to see where your website stands, then create a regular maintenance schedule to keep it healthy.