Most nonprofit websites are built, launched, and then left largely untouched for years. Problems accumulate without anyone noticing: links break, pages slow down, content grows stale, and accessibility issues appear as the site ages. A website health check brings all of these issues into one view so you can prioritize what to fix.
Here is what a thorough nonprofit website health check should include.
Broken links and 404 errors
Every page on your site should be checked for links that no longer work, both internal links between your own pages and external links pointing to other websites. Broken links erode visitor trust, disrupt the donation flow, and signal neglect to search engines. A health check should return a complete list of broken links, where they appear, and what they were supposed to point to.
Page speed and performance
Slow load times cause visitors to leave before they've seen your content. A health check should measure load time across your key pages, including the homepage, About page, and donation page, and identify the specific assets that are causing slowdowns. Common culprits include oversized images, too many third-party scripts, and inadequate caching configuration.
Mobile usability
More than half of nonprofit website traffic arrives on mobile devices. A health check should confirm that your site renders correctly on small screens, that buttons are large enough to tap, that text is readable without zooming, and that forms including your donation form work properly on mobile. Issues that look fine on a desktop are often severe problems on a phone.
Accessibility compliance
Accessibility is both a legal consideration and a mission-alignment issue for nonprofits. A health check should test against WCAG 2.1 AA standards, the widely accepted baseline for accessibility. Common issues include missing alt text on images, poor color contrast, unlabeled form fields, and heading structures that don't make logical sense to screen readers.
SEO fundamentals
A health check should verify that every page has a unique, descriptive title tag and meta description, that your site is properly indexed by Google, that your sitemap is current and submitted, and that there are no duplicate content issues or pages accidentally blocked from search engines.
Trust signals and donation experience
Your homepage and donation page should be reviewed for the presence of key trust signals: visible contact information, HTTPS security, a privacy policy, third-party credibility markers, and clear calls to action. The donation flow itself should be walked through end to end to identify friction points or unexpected redirects.
A GoodSiteReport Website Health Audit covers all of these areas and delivers findings in plain language, organized by priority, so your team can act without needing a developer to interpret the results.
Content freshness
Outdated content is one of the most common and easily overlooked health issues on nonprofit sites. A health check should flag staff pages listing people who no longer work there, annual report links pointing to reports from several years ago, news or events sections that haven't been updated in a long time, and copyright dates that haven't been updated.
Security
Beyond HTTPS, a health check should verify that your content management system and any plugins are up to date, that there are no exposed admin login pages, and that your forms include basic spam protection. Security gaps are a growing problem for nonprofits, which are increasingly targeted because they often run older, less-maintained software.
How often to run one
A thorough website health check should happen at least once a year. Good times to schedule one include before a major fundraising campaign, after a website redesign, or when you notice a drop in donations or web traffic. Catching problems before a campaign launch is far less costly than discovering them after.