why conduct a website audit?

1) An expert ‘health check’: A website audit gives an expert overview of the technical, UX, functionality and design aspects of your site, including KPIs such as code quality, usability, server configuration, speed, user experience, structure and content.

2) Pinpointing opportunities for improvement: A website audit highlights any problem areas and suggests where improvements can be made. These could be things such as increasing page speed, improving mobile or browser compatibility, changing the navigation menu or layout, fixing bugs, upgrading security or improving accessibility.

3) Rapid, actionable feedback: A site audit is a relatively quick and inexpensive tool to get vital information that can be used to improve site performance and benefit your bottom line.

4) Minimal disruption caused: A website audit can be done using a copy of your site so it doesn’t disrupt your usual work, and users can still visit and engage with your site as normal.

5) Aiding website development: If you’re in the process of building or restructuring your website, identifying potential issues early on in the project is a key way to ensure the best possible user experience and end result. 

what’s next?

Following a website audit, you get a comprehensive report outlining a list of identified problems, their severity and how important it is that they’re fixed. We focus on highlighting the changes that will bring greatest results to your organisation and conversions. We also identify other areas for potential improvement, including ‘easy wins’ and longer-term strategic changes.

When you put the recommendations into practice – often with only a few small tweaks in the right places – your site metrics can improve immensely, leaving you well on the way to achieving your full digital potential!

With our technical knowledge and two decades of experience, our expert website audits are tailored to your needs and guaranteed to improve your digital results – get in touch to book an audit now.

what is the GDPR and why is it important?

GDPR stands for General Data Protection Regulation, a European Union-wide law concerning the way data is collected, used and stored. It is applicable to anyone who collects or processes personal data. Breaches of the law not only incur fines of up to €20m but could also seriously damage your company’s reputation.

how can you make your website GDPR compliant?

1. Update your privacy notice: Ensure there’s an up-to-date privacy notice on your website that tells people when their data is collected, for what purpose it is collected, who data will be shared with, and how long it will be kept for. You also need to mention that people can contact the Information Commissioners Office if there’s a problem or they have a complaint. Your privacy notice should be concise, transparent and easy to understand.
2. Check cookie policies: Under the GDPR, cookies are considered to be personal data. Therefore, if collecting cookies on your website, you need to inform all site visitors, explain how their data is used, and gain and record their consent.
3. Be clear on contact forms: Make sure you have a tick box for users to agree to their data being processed, which either includes or links to your privacy notice. The tick box must be unticked by default. You need separate tick boxes if you want users to consent to you sending further marketing communications.
4. Enable individual updates and opt-outs: Make sure you have procedures in place to keep data accurate and remove any information when no longer needed. Users need to be able to change their information, withdraw consent, or see their data at any time.
5. Maximise security: Encrypt your site by upgrading to HTTPS to ensure data is transported securely. You should also check you have adequate virus protection and other security systems in place to keep data safe.
6. Check other systems, platforms and apps: Whether you use email marketing software, databases, Google tools, or have a mobile app, you need to ensure GDPR compliance with these too, as they are also processing your data.

where can you find more information?

For more information about data protection, visit the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) website. Some other useful resources are the ICO’s 12 steps to prepare for the GDPR, the NCVO’s preparation guide for charities and not-for-profits and the main EU GDPR website.

If you’d like any further assistance with website security and data protection, please check out our on-demand website maintenance services or get in touch and we’ll be happy to help!

Please note that this article is intended as a starting point towards website GDPR compliance and does not constitute legal advice.