If you manage a WordPress site, running a regular WordPress website audit is one of the most effective ways to ensure your site is secure, optimized, and performing at its best. From plugin vulnerabilities to slow load times and SEO issues, an audit helps you catch problems before they cost you traffic or credibility.
In this guide, we’ll walk through how to perform a complete WordPress site audit—focusing on SEO, performance, and security—and the best tools to help you do it.
Why a WordPress Audit Matters
Whether you’re a site owner, agency, or SEO consultant, an audit helps you:
- Detect outdated or insecure plugins
- Improve SEO rankings
- Increase loading speed
- Identify broken links and unused assets
- Ensure mobile and browser compatibility
You can also offer WordPress website audit services as a value-add for clients.
Step 1: Audit WordPress SEO
Use tools like:
- Yoast SEO or Rank Math for on-page SEO guidance
- Google Search Console to identify indexing issues
- Screaming Frog SEO Spider to analyze metadata, headers, and crawl depth
Key checks:
- Meta titles and descriptions
- Use of H1/H2 tags
- Alt text on images
- Internal linking structure
Tip: Search for “audit SEO WordPress” templates to speed up your workflow.
Step 2: Audit WordPress Security
Security checks should include:
- Outdated WordPress core, plugins, and themes
- Weak or reused admin passwords
- File and directory permissions
- Presence of security headers
Use PressVuln.com to:
- Scan for plugin and theme vulnerabilities
- Detect known CVEs (Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures)
- Check WordPress version and update status
✅ PressVuln is a free and fast way to perform a basic WordPress vulnerability scan.
Step 3: Audit WordPress Performance
Tools to use:
- Google PageSpeed Insights
- GTmetrix or Pingdom
- Query Monitor plugin (for developers)
Performance factors to audit:
- Page load speed
- Image optimization
- Cache and CDN usage
- JavaScript and CSS bloat
Bonus: WordPress Accessibility & UX Audit
Don’t forget to:
- Test mobile responsiveness
- Check color contrast for accessibility
- Evaluate menu and navigation logic
Final Thoughts
A proper audit of your WordPress website covers SEO, security, and performance. Whether you’re auditing your own site or providing a WordPress website audit service, having a checklist and the right tools ensures nothing gets missed.
Start by scanning your site at PressVuln.com to detect vulnerabilities, then work through SEO and performance tuning for a stronger, safer WordPress site.