Website Health & SEO Checklist
A simple guide to boost performance, rankings & user trust.
In today’s fast-evolving digital world, having a beautifully designed website is just the beginning. For developers and designers alike, understanding the deeper layers — like SEO, performance, and security — is what truly sets a modern website apart.
Whether you’re launching a portfolio, business site, or blog, this Website Health & SEO Checklist will help ensure your site not only looks great but performs brilliantly, ranks well on search engines, and offers a secure experience for your users.
Here’s a checklist that’ll help you cover all the key things before going live. Save it, use it, share it — let’s dive in!
1. Basic SEO Setup
Let’s start with the basics. If Google can’t understand your site, people won’t find it either.
Essentials:
- Meta Title: Keep it under 60 characters and use primary keywords.
- Meta Description: A brief summary (under 160 characters) to attract clicks.
- Clean URLs: Use clean URLs like yourdomain.com/about-us
- Canonical Tag: Prevents duplicate content issues.
- Keywords: Use them naturally in content, headings, and image alt texts.
Tip: Helpful tool — Try metatags.io to see how your page will look in Google.
2. Open Graph & Twitter Card (Social Sharing)
Your site’s appearance on social media matters. That’s where Open Graph (for Facebook, LinkedIn) and Twitter Card meta tags come in.
Essentials:
- Open Graph Tags: og:title, og:description, og:image
- Twitter Card Tags: twitter:card, twitter:title, twitter:description, twitter:image
- Recommended image size: 1200×630px for social sharing
Tip: The same image can work for both Open Graph and Twitter.
3. Structured Data (Schema Markup)
Schema helps search engines better understand your content. It’s also the secret sauce behind those rich results (like star ratings, article cards, etc.).
Essentials:
- Add Organization or Person schema on homepage
- Use BlogPosting schema on blogs
- Add Breadcrumb schema for better crawl structure
- For schema keep it minimum 1200px wide, aspect ratio around 16:9
Tip: Use Google’s Rich Results Test to validate your schema setup.
4. Security & Best Practices
Even simple static sites need protection.
Essentials:
- Always use HTTPS (SSL certificate)
- rel="noopener noreferrer" with target="_blank" to avoid tab hijacking
- No mixed content (don't load images or scripts via HTTP)
- Add a robots.txt file to guide search engine crawlers
- Protect email addresses from spam bots (use JS encoding or contact forms)
Tip: Add security headers and consider using a service like Cloudflare for extra protection.
5. Performance Optimizations
Nobody likes a slow website. And Google doesn’t either.
Essentials:
- Compress images (WebP or AVIF formats)
- Enable lazy loading for images
- Minify HTML, CSS, and JavaScript
- Enable caching and use a CDN
- Add cache control headers
- Defer JavaScript that’s not needed right away
Tip: Check performance via Lighthouse or GTmetrix.
6. Mobile First – Because Everyone’s on Their Phone
Most of your traffic will come from mobile — make sure your site handles it well.
Essentials:
- Responsive design using media queries or frameworks (like Bootstrap)
- Touch targets big enough (minimum 48px x 48px)
- Readable fonts (16px+)
- Avoid horizontal scrolling
- Include a favicon for branding
Tip: Use Chrome DevTools to simulate your site on different mobile devices.
7. Google Search Console & Analytics
Track, monitor, and grow your presence.
Essentials:
- Submit your sitemap.xml to Google Search Console
- Monitor crawl errors and index status
- Connect Google Analytics to track user behavior
- Set preferred domain (www or non-www)
Tip: Submit your sitemap in Google Search Console after every major update.
8. Links Matter – Internally & Externally
A good website is one that helps users — and bots — navigate easily.
Essentials:
- Internal links should work and guide visitors clearly
- External links should open in new tabs
- Add rel="nofollow" for links you don’t want Google to follow
- Use breadcrumb navigation for better crawlability
Tip: Use rel="nofollow" for social media, affiliate, and untrusted links.
9. Content & Blog Optimization
Content is king — but structure is the crown.
Essentials:
- Only one <h1> per page
- Headings in semantic order (H1 > H2 > H3…)
- Clear paragraphs, bullet points, and bolds for scannability
- Use keywords naturally — don’t overstuff
- Add ALT text for all images
- Include a featured image for every blog post (at least 1200px wide)
- Keep updating your blog or site regularly
Tip: Tools like Hemingway or Grammarly can help make your writing more scannable.
10. Extra Nice-to-Haves
These little things make your site feel more polished.
Essentials:
- Custom 404 page
- Sitemap.xml auto-updates
- Email obfuscation (to avoid spam)
- Contact form working with validation
- Add proper error pages for 403, 404, 500
- Blog pagination or Load More
Tip: Create a custom 404 page that guides users back to your main content.
BONUS - Developer's Gold Tips
- HTML validated (use https://validator.w3.org/)
- Lighthouse scores above 90 (Performance, SEO, Accessibility)
- ALT text added to every image
- <noscript> fallback where needed
- Avoid inline JS for better SEO
- No broken links
- Favicon added
- All forms tested
Tip: Use validator.w3.org to check for HTML errors quickly.
Conclusion
- A successful website isn’t just about eye-catching layouts or smooth interactions — it’s about building something sustainable, discoverable, and trustworthy.
- This checklist serves as a roadmap for developers who want to create well-optimized, user-friendly, and SEO-smart websites. By ticking these boxes, you ensure that your site stands out not only visually but also technically in the crowded online space.
- And if you're just starting out, don't worry — even implementing a few of these steps can make a significant impact.
