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Workflow: Website Audit

Workflow: Website Audit

Section titled “Workflow: Website Audit”

Estimated time: 20 minutes Difficulty: Beginner Category: 📣 Communication Professions: All (tradespeople, retailers, freelancers)

🌐 Disponible aussi en Français

Use Case

Section titled “Use Case”

Your website is often a prospect’s first impression. This workflow helps you:

  • Identify critical issues on your business website
  • Verify essential information is visible
  • Improve conversion (visitor → contact)
  • Benchmark against local competition

⚠️ Cowork limitation: Cowork can browse your site via the built-in browser, but cannot truly test mobile. Mobile audit is based on visual analysis.

Prerequisites

Section titled “Prerequisites”
  • Cowork enabled in Claude Desktop
  • Your website URL
  • 2-3 competitor URLs (optional)
  • Workspace folder created

Step-by-Step Instructions

Section titled “Step-by-Step Instructions”

Step 1: Prepare the audit

Section titled “Step 1: Prepare the audit”
Terminal window
mkdir -p ~/Cowork-Workspace/output/website-audit

Step 2: Complete site audit

Section titled “Step 2: Complete site audit”
Open my website: [your URL]


Perform a complete audit based on these criteria:


══════════════════════════════════════
1. CONTACT INFORMATION (Critical)
══════════════════════════════════════
□ Phone number visible in 1 click (header or sticky)
□ Physical address (if applicable)
□ Contact email
□ Working contact form
□ Business hours


Score: /5


══════════════════════════════════════
2. MESSAGE CLARITY (Critical)
══════════════════════════════════════
□ Within 5 seconds, I understand what you do
□ Clear main headline (no jargon)
□ Service area mentioned (city, region)
□ Main services listed
□ Customer promise visible


Score: /5


══════════════════════════════════════
3. TRUST SIGNALS
══════════════════════════════════════
□ Customer reviews visible (Google, testimonials)
□ Real project photos
□ Complete legal notices
□ Certifications/licenses displayed
□ Years of experience mentioned


Score: /5


══════════════════════════════════════
4. CALLS TO ACTION (CTAs)
══════════════════════════════════════
□ "Get a Quote" button visible
□ CTA above the fold
□ CTA repeated at page bottom
□ Phone number clickable (click-to-call)
□ No more than 2 main actions


Score: /5


══════════════════════════════════════
5. TECHNICAL ASPECTS
══════════════════════════════════════
□ Site is secure (HTTPS)
□ Fast loading (<3 seconds)
□ No broken links
□ Readable text (contrast, size)
□ Simple navigation (max 5 menu items)


Score: /5


══════════════════════════════════════
SUMMARY
══════════════════════════════════════


Total score: /25


TOP 3 URGENT ISSUES:
1. [Critical issue #1]
2. [Critical issue #2]
3. [Critical issue #3]


STRENGTHS:
- [What works well]


Save: ~/Cowork-Workspace/output/website-audit/audit-[date].txt

Step 3: Generate recommendations

Section titled “Step 3: Generate recommendations”
Based on the previous audit, generate a prioritized action plan:


FORMAT:


══════════════════════════════════════
URGENT FIXES (this week)
══════════════════════════════════════


Action 1: [Title]
- Problem: [Description]
- Solution: [Specific instructions]
- Impact: [Why it matters]
- Difficulty: Easy / Medium / Needs webmaster


Action 2: ...


══════════════════════════════════════
IMPORTANT IMPROVEMENTS (this month)
══════════════════════════════════════


[Medium priority actions]


══════════════════════════════════════
FUTURE OPTIMIZATIONS (to plan)
══════════════════════════════════════


[Non-urgent but useful actions]


Save: ~/Cowork-Workspace/output/website-audit/action-plan-[date].txt

Step 4: Compare with competition (optional)

Section titled “Step 4: Compare with competition (optional)”
Compare my site [your URL] with these local competitors:
- [Competitor URL 1]
- [Competitor URL 2]
- [Competitor URL 3]


Comparison criteria:


| Criteria | My site | Competitor 1 | Competitor 2 | Competitor 3 |
|----------|---------|--------------|--------------|--------------|
| Message clarity | | | | |
| Contact visible | | | | |
| Customer reviews | | | | |
| Real photos | | | | |
| Effective CTA | | | | |
| Speed | | | | |


ANALYSIS:
- What competitors do better: [...]
- What I do better: [...]
- Differentiation opportunities: [...]


Save: ~/Cowork-Workspace/output/website-audit/competitor-benchmark-[date].txt

Example Prompts

Section titled “Example Prompts”

Express audit (5 minutes)

Section titled “Express audit (5 minutes)”
Open [URL] and answer in 30 seconds:


1. Is phone number visible without scrolling? YES/NO
2. Do I understand the business in 5 seconds? YES/NO
3. Is there a visible "Quote" button? YES/NO
4. Are there customer reviews? YES/NO
5. Is the site secure (HTTPS)? YES/NO


Quick score: /5
Verdict: ✅ OK | ⚠️ Needs work | 🚨 Urgent

Homepage audit

Section titled “Homepage audit”
Open [URL] and analyze only the homepage:


ABOVE THE FOLD (visible without scrolling):
- Main headline: [transcribe the text]
- Subheadline: [transcribe]
- Main CTA: [button text]
- Phone visible: YES/NO
- Photo: [description]


CRITIQUE:
- Is the headline clear? [analysis]
- Is the CTA compelling? [analysis]
- What's missing? [suggestions]


SUGGESTED REWRITE:
- New headline: [proposal]
- New subheadline: [proposal]
- New CTA: [proposal]

Basic local SEO audit

Section titled “Basic local SEO audit”
Open [URL] and check local SEO:


IN THE CODE (if accessible):
- Title: [transcribe title tag]
- Meta description: [transcribe]
- City/region mentioned: YES/NO


ON THE PAGE:
- Full physical address: YES/NO
- Embedded Google Map: YES/NO
- Service areas mentioned: YES/NO
- Link to Google My Business: YES/NO


LOCAL SEO VERDICT:
- Score: /10
- Priority action: [...]

Troubleshooting

Section titled “Troubleshooting”

Cowork cannot access the site

Section titled “Cowork cannot access the site”

Cause: Blocked site, SSL issue, or site offline Solution: Verify site is accessible in a normal browser:

The site [URL] seems inaccessible.


Check:
1. Is the URL correct? (no spaces, https://)
2. Does the site respond? (test in browser)
3. Is there a redirect? (www vs non-www)


If the site works in your browser but not in Cowork,
it's probably a temporary block. Try again in a few minutes.

Audit too superficial

Section titled “Audit too superficial”

Cause: Prompt too vague Solution: Request specific points:

Analyze the "Contact" section of [URL] in more detail:


- Is the form functional? (fields, submit button)
- Are required fields clear?
- Is there a confirmation message after submission?
- Is response time mentioned?
- Is the phone number in clickable format (tel:)?

How to compare with competitors without knowing their URLs

Section titled “How to compare with competitors without knowing their URLs”
Find my 3 main local competitors:


My business: [your trade]
My city: [city]


Google search: "[trade] [city]"


List the first 3 results (excluding ads):
1. [Name] - [URL]
2. [Name] - [URL]
3. [Name] - [URL]


Then run the comparative benchmark.

Variations

Section titled “Variations”

Complete online reputation audit

Section titled “Complete online reputation audit”
Online reputation audit for [Business name]:


SEARCHES TO PERFORM:
1. "[Business name]" on Google (first results)
2. "[Business name] reviews" on Google
3. Google My Business listing (if exists)
4. Facebook page (if exists)
5. Directory mentions (Yelp, etc.)


FOR EACH SOURCE:
- Average rating: /5
- Number of reviews: X
- Latest review: [date]
- Unanswered negative reviews: YES/NO
- Information up to date: YES/NO


SUMMARY:
- Overall reputation score: /10
- Urgent actions: [...]
- Opportunities: [...]


Save: ~/Cowork-Workspace/output/website-audit/reputation-[date].txt

Pre-redesign audit

Section titled “Pre-redesign audit”
Before rebuilding my site, audit the existing [URL]:


WHAT WORKS (keep):
- [positive elements]


WHAT DOESN'T WORK (change):
- [identified problems]


CONTENT TO SALVAGE:
- Text: [list of pages with good content]
- Photos: [photos to reuse]
- Testimonials: [customer quotes]


SUGGESTED REQUIREMENTS:
- Essential pages: [list]
- Required features: [list]
- Elements to add: [list]


Save: ~/Cowork-Workspace/output/website-audit/redesign-requirements.txt

Multi-site audit (franchise, network)

Section titled “Multi-site audit (franchise, network)”
Audit consistency across [X] network sites:


URLs:
- [Site 1 URL]
- [Site 2 URL]
- [Site 3 URL]


CONSISTENCY CRITERIA:
□ Logo identical
□ Brand guidelines followed
□ Key messages aligned
□ Legal information complete
□ Local contact visible


COMPARISON TABLE:
[Generate table with scores per site]


ANOMALIES DETECTED:
- [Site X]: [problem]


Save: ~/Cowork-Workspace/output/website-audit/network-audit-[date].xlsx

Best Practices

Section titled “Best Practices”
  1. Audit regularly — At least once per quarter
  2. Test on mobile — 60%+ of visits are mobile (ask someone to test)
  3. Verify your info — Phone, hours, address must be current
  4. Respond to reviews — Google favors businesses that respond
  5. Benchmark yourself — Your competitors improve, so should you
  6. Prioritize — Fix what blocks contact first (phone, form)
  7. Measure — Before/after each improvement, note results
  8. Get feedback — Your customers are the best testers

Limitations

Section titled “Limitations”
What Cowork can doWhat Cowork cannot do
Browse the siteActually test on mobile
Read visible contentAccess complete source code
Analyze structureMeasure real performance (exact load time)
Compare visuallyTest forms (actual submission)
Identify obvious issuesDeep technical SEO audit

For a complete technical audit, use specialized tools:

  • PageSpeed Insights (Google) — performance
  • GTmetrix — speed
  • Google Search Console — SEO
  • Mobile-Friendly Test (Google) — mobile compatibility

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