Happy Tuesday! We’ve been exploring tools again, and have found a few new ways to keep the Belle site up and thriving. The best way to make sure your own website is visible, fast and accessible is to routinely test it out, on multiple platforms. We’ve compiled a list of tools that are on our radar and can be used to evaluate your own site.
What to Test
When searching for tools to evaluate your website, be sure to look at a wide range of criteria such as user experience, lead generation, SEO, design and content to identify areas for improvement. Below are five tools – some that we already like, and some that we’ve just discovered. Check out the descriptions and links, and try a few for yourself!
1.) SimilarWeb
Keeping an eye on your competitors’ sites is always a good idea. SimilarWeb is an SEO tool that can be used to evaluate any website (clients, competitors, your own, etc). The free version of this tool provides a quick site overview, sharing estimates of traffic, engagement and monthly visits.
2.) Nibbler
Nibbler is another tool that can be used to discover how well your site is performing. The analysis provides five scores (overall, accessibility, experience, marketing, technology), and a detailed explanation of the contributing tests behind each. If there are errors on your site, Nibbler will also provide recommendations on how to fix each issue. This is a great, free tool for anyone that wants to get started with site updates.
A favorite in marketing circles, Hubspot Marketing Grader is a handy tool that can show how all your hard work is paying off. The evaluation looks at blogging, social media, SEO, lead generation and mobile before providing an overall score for your site. Within the evaluation, there are checklists of recommendations that should be completed for the site. If you are looking to send more traffic to your blog, look here first for tips like setting up an RSS feed and adding social sharing buttons.
4.) WooRank
WooRank jumps in and provides a great overview of your site. The tool considers SEO, mobile, usability, technologies, social, local and visitors. One of my favorite takeaways is the mobile speed and speed tips. The analysis is easy to understand, and has a full range of criteria.
5.) Clarity Grader
Clarity Grader is a tool that uniquely reviews the wording on your site. It scans your pages, and provides feedback on sentence length, passive language, readability and other criteria related to wording – even spelling! Not only does the grader show details about your site, it also provides explanations behind each recommendation.
Creating your own website is an amazing accomplishment, but you should never see your site as “finished,” because there is always room for improvement. These tools can help you reach your goals if you’re ready to dig in and update your website.
Is your favorite website evaluation tool on this list? Do you have a go-to site that we should check out? Let us know in the comments!
