Give the audit a purpose
A list of URLs is an inventory, not yet an audit. Start with the decision you need to make: improving an important journey, updating neglected guidance or reducing repeated material. Looking back at a 2025 collection can reveal how it developed, but assess the current accuracy and usefulness of every page before relying on it today.
Add a reader task to each page
Write what someone is trying to accomplish when they arrive. If you cannot describe the task, investigate the page's role before assigning a score. Group pages that answer the same question. Keep performance data and editorial judgment in separate fields so that one does not quietly replace the other.
Choose a small set of actions
Use actions that lead to work: keep, improve, combine or retire. For each proposed change, write the reason and the dependencies. Combining pages requires decisions about the destination, links and redirects; retiring a page should not leave an important reader journey broken. Preserve useful information before removing material.
Review a manageable batch
Start with a section rather than every page on the site. Assign owners and define what a completed improvement looks like. After changes, verify links and the resulting experience. The first audit should create a repeatable decision process, not a spreadsheet so elaborate that nobody wants to reopen it.
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This article combines general educational guidance with original planning exercises. It does not claim first-hand field testing or an endorsement from the linked organization. Sources checked October 2026.
