Before this assignment, I had never conducted a website audit or used programs like Screaming Frog, Semrush, or WAVE. I was familiar with evaluating websites from a visual perspective, but analyzing their technical performance was completely new to me.
At first, I was honestly confused by the terminology and the amount of information these programs provided. Even after completing the assigned readings, I found myself doing additional research just to understand what certain results meant and why they mattered.
For this project, I chose to audit the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater New Haven, an organization where I worked for nearly two years. Because I was already familiar with its programs and the families it serves, I thought it would be interesting to examine its website from a different perspective. Instead of focusing only on whether the website looked appealing, I had to consider how effectively it communicated information and whether visitors could find what they needed.
I started with a manual review of the homepage and several additional pages, paying attention to the overall presentation of content. I then used Screaming Frog to examine page titles, meta descriptions, headings, and image alt text. Semrush helped me understand the website’s search visibility, while WAVE identified potential accessibility concerns.
One of the biggest challenges was learning how to interpret the results. Seeing hundreds of warnings or unfamiliar SEO terms was overwhelming because I didn’t immediately understand which findings were important. I spent a lot of time comparing the results with what I could actually observe on the website to reassure myself I was analyzing everything properly.
However, once I started understanding the programs, the process became somewhat fun. I had never analyzed a website this closely before, and I began noticing details I would normally overlook. For example, something as simple as an enrollment button could lead visitors through several pages before they reached the information they needed. I also became more aware of how inconsistent formatting or missing accessibility features could affect someone’s experience.
What stood out to me most was how much goes into evaluating a website beyond its appearance. I have always paid attention to visual design, but this assignment pushed me to think about the technical decisions behind a website and how they influence the way people interact with it.
Although I found the assignment challenging, I can see why this type of evaluation is useful in a professional setting. It provides a more structured way to identify problems instead of relying entirely on personal opinions about design. More importantly, it changed how I look at website layouts. I now find myself thinking less about whether a page simply looks good and more about whether it actually works for the people using it.
VIEW MY AUDIT:
