This is one of the most essential questions you can ask yourself when it comes to your website as everything may look good from a far, but is it far from good?

For example how many times have you visited a website and found that the images don't load or there are links that don't take you to your desired destinations… Maybe there are spelling errors, structural issues, colours used throughout the website that don't comply with visual web standards or maybe usability issues such as no 'back to top' link for scrollable pages.

I know I've visited many website's that have had quite a few of these issues and just like many other people, I myself do tend to become frustrated and annoyed with websites that don't seem to work accordingly.

That is where having a website health check done to your website can be very beneficial.

What is a website health check?
A website health check is the process of analysing a website according to a set criteria to check whether or not the website is delivering its maximum usability, performance and commercial benefits. The criteria that's assessed ranges from checking that there are no 'broken links' or pages with spelling mistakes right through to checking the usability, validation and also the effectiveness of the website's colour and structural layout.

These are some of the big factors that play a major role throughout a website's development and performance but there are numerous reasons why having a healthy website is so important. Some of these reasons are:

• If you are still unsure or unsatisfied with your website and wish to have piece of mind.
• If your website doesn't appear to be higher up within the search engine rankings (e.g. Google and Yahoo).
• If your website doesn't appear to be effective in reaching your targeted audience.
• If you're not sure as to whether or not your website is driving customers to or away from your business.

But you still may be asking yourself, 'Does my website need a health check?'…
In my honest opinion, every website needs a thorough going over every now and again.
Whether it's small or large website, these days an increasingly large number of people look at websites as a means of finding out more about a business and services they have to offer. This is one of the first impressions that they will get of the business so the website needs to be effective in every way. Also, it is important that the website is built to comply with web standards so that it does not discriminate against disabled visitors. If a website makes it impossible or difficult for them to access information and services then they can even take legal action.

Therefore, having a website health check done to your website will be much more beneficial for your business than you think.

So do you have ahealthy website?