So your website seems to be in good working order. It loads fine, nothing seems to be broken, and all is well (or so it seems). But how do know for sure if your website has errors or not? Well, thankfully there are plenty of tools for that. These tools, which are completely online and browser-based, are essential for helping you check a website for errors. In this article, we outline our 5 favorite online tools that we use to check a website for errors.

As we've discussed before, Core Web Vitals have become a significant ranking factor for SEO purposes. Thanks to Google's Page Experience update, and along with the new Helpful Content update, websites with known errors are being punished via lower search engine results rankings. So it's imperative that you check your website for errors.

Best of all, these tools are all FREE.

1. Google PageSpeed Insights

PageSpeed Insights is a free online tool that Google developed to evaluate a website's speed on desktop and mobile platforms. Each page receives a score and detailed recommendations for improvement. The tool is intended to assist website owners and web developers in improving the speed and usability of their pages.

PageSpeed Insights evaluates a webpage's HTML, CSS, and JavaScript content as well as other resources like photos and videos. A score is then generated depending on how closely the page adheres to a set of performance best practices after comparing the page against these best practices. The result is displayed as a number between 0 and 100, with higher scores indicating faster and more optimized pages.

The ability to assess a page's speed on desktop and mobile devices is one of PageSpeed Insights' core capabilities. This is crucial since a page's performance can differ greatly depending on the device being used. A page that loads rapidly on a desktop computer could take longer to load on a mobile device due to hardware, network, and other issues. PageSpeed Insights assists website owners and developers in ensuring that their sites are optimized for all visitors by testing a page on both desktop and mobile devices.

PageSpeed Insights offers detailed recommendations for enhancing a page's performance in addition to the score. There are two categories for these recommendations: "Should Fix" and "Consider Fixing." The "Should Fix" recommendations are the most crucial problems that ought to be resolved first because they have the biggest effects on performance. Although the "Consider Fixing" recommendations are less urgent, they can nevertheless help the page operate better as a whole.

Some examples of the types of suggestions that PageSpeed Insights may provide include:

• Optimizing images by reducing their size or using a more efficient image format
• Minifying CSS and JavaScript files to reduce their size
• Enabling compression to reduce the size of transferred data
• Leveraging browser caching to reduce the number of server requests
• Eliminating render-blocking resources to improve the loading time of a page

Web designers and site owners that wish to improve the performance of their pages should definitely use PageSpeed Insights. It's the main tool in our arsenal that helps us develop websites with no technical errors. It identifies places where a page can be made faster and more user-friendly by offering a score and detailed suggestions for improvement. Developers and site owners can make sites that load quickly and give their visitors a better user experience by fixing these problems and implementing the best practices advised by the tool.

2. GTmetrix

Another great free online tool and one of our favorites is GTmetrix. It's also a website performance testing tool that examines a page's overall performance and page loading speed. It gives a thorough analysis of the page's performance, including how long it takes to fully load, how big the page is, and how many server requests were made. GTmetrix also offers advice for increasing the performance of the page based on best practices and industry standards.

Users only need to enter the URL of the page they wish to test into GTmetrix, and the program will evaluate the page and produce a report. The report gives the page a performance grade and provides specifics on how well it did in many categories, including page speed and overall page size. The program also offers a list of ideas for enhancing website performance, including advice on image optimization, minifying CSS and JavaScript files, and making use of browser caching.

In addition to the performance report, a function on GTmetrix called a "waterfall chart" offers a visual representation of the page's loading procedure. This graph displays the sequence in which the various website elements load as well as how long it takes for each element to load. This can assist developers in locating individual page elements that are causing loading delays and implementing the necessary changes to speed up performance.

This waterfall chart is one of the most useful features of GTmetrix as it really helps up achieve perfect scores for the websites we develop. It is especially helpful to determine which fonts are being loaded and from where, whether they're being loaded locally or from Google or Adobe. Loading fonts locally is always recommended as it reduces the number of requests in the network chain and plays a huge factor in page loading speed.

The capability of GTmetrix to test a page's performance across many platforms and browsers is one of its primary advantages. This is significant because the device and browser being used can have a big impact on how well a website performs. GTmetrix assists website owners and developers in ensuring that their sites are optimal for all visitors by testing a page across various platforms and browsers.

GTmetrix offers a variety of other tools in addition to its performance testing capabilities to assist website owners and developers in optimizing their pages. For instance, it has a function called "Video Comparison" that enables users to view a side-by-side comparison of the performance of the page before and after applying optimizations. A variety of well-known performance enhancement products, like Cloudflare, Amazon Web Services, and Google PageSpeed Insights, are also integrated with GTmetrix.

To utilize the video comparison, you'll need to sign up, which is completely free. The video is most useful because it allows you to see in slow-motion how exactly your website is loading and what may be causing some issues you might be running in to. This is especially useful for debugging any cumulative layout shift (CLS) issues (which, by the way, tends to be related to font loading issues).

In conclusion, GTmetrix is an effective and thorough tool for evaluating and improving the performance of web pages. It aids web designers and developers in making quicker, more streamlined pages by offering thorough reports and suggestions for enhancement. GTmetrix is a useful tool whether you're a developer trying to improve the speed of your own website or a site owner trying to enhance visitor experience.

3. Cumulative Layout Shift Debugger

Another tool created by Google, the Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS) Debugger tool can be used to assist web designers and site owners in locating and resolving layout shift problems on their pages. Layout shift, which occurs when items on a website change size or location while the page is loaded, is the term used to describe the unexpected movement of content on a webpage. Users may find this frustrating because it makes it challenging to connect with the page and may even result in users accidentally clicking on the wrong elements.

The CLS Debugger tool provides a visual representation of the layout shifts that take place on a page, assisting developers and site owners in identifying layout shift issues. It displays a history of the changes along with details on what triggered them and how they affected the design. This enables developers to identify the precise page elements that are causing layout changes and make the appropriate adjustments to resolve the problem.

The CLS Debugger tool offers a score for the page's overall layout stability in addition to a visual representation of layout alterations. This score is determined using a formula established by the Web Vitals initiative and is based on the overall amount of layout shift that occurs on the page. A higher score denotes a layout that is more stable, whereas a lower number denotes a plan that is shifting more.

The Web Vitals initiative, a Google-led project, intends to give web developers and site owners a set of performance indicators that can help enhance the user experience on the web. The CLS Debugger tool is a component of this program. The Web Vitals program contains measures for layout shift in addition to other crucial web performance factors including loading time, interactivity, and visual stability.

Developers and site owners can install the Web Vitals extension in their web browser to use the CLS Debugger tool. As users interact with the page after the extension has been installed, it will automatically collect information on layout shift and other Web Vitals indicators. The CLS Debugger tool can then be used to evaluate this data and offer a thorough report on the performance of the page along with recommendations for enhancements.

In conclusion, web designers and site owners who want to increase the layout stability of their pages should consider using the CLS Debugger tool. It assists in identifying and resolving layout shift issues, improving the user experience for visitors by providing a visual depiction of layout changes and a score for overall layout stability.

4. SEOptimer

The website analysis program SEOptimer is another excellent tool to check a website for errors and help you with search engine optimization. It offers a thorough analysis of a website's functionality, accounting for factors like SEO, speed, security, and user experience. Additionally, the tool provides thorough recommendations for improvement in these areas based on industry standards and best practices.

All you need to do is enter the URL of the website you wish to study in order for SEOptimer to provide you with an exhaustive SEO audit report. The analysis gives the website a performance grade and goes into great depth about its SEO, speed, security, and user interface. It also offers a list of suggestions for enhancements and detailed guidelines for putting those suggestions into action.

Some of the key features of SEOptimer include:

• SEO analysis: The tool analyzes the website's SEO, including its title and meta tags, header tags, and keyword usage. It provides recommendations for improving the website's SEO, such as optimizing titles and meta tags and using relevant keywords.
• Speed analysis: The tool measures the website's loading speed and provides recommendations for improving it, such as optimizing images and minifying CSS and JavaScript files.
• Security analysis: The tool checks for common security vulnerabilities, such as unencrypted connections and outdated software, and provides recommendations for fixing these issues.
• User experience analysis: The tool analyzes the website's user experience, including its layout, content, and navigation. It provides recommendations for improving the website's user experience, such as optimizing the layout and using clear, informative content.

Web designers and site owners who wish to optimize their websites for search engines and enhance the user experience in general will benefit greatly by utilizing SEOptimer. It can assist users in making knowledgeable decisions about how to optimize their sites by offering a thorough analysis of the website's performance and precise recommendations for improvement.

5. AtomSEO

AtomSEO Broken Links Checker is another free online tool that allows you to check for broken links on your website. Broken links, also known as dead links or 404 errors, occur when a user clicks on a link that leads to a webpage that no longer exists. This can be frustrating for users and can also negatively impact your search engine rankings. AtomSEO Broken Links Checker can help you identify and fix broken links on your website to improve the user experience and maintain good search engine rankings.

Summary

In conclusion, checking a website for errors is an important task that helps ensure a positive user experience and helps maintain the overall quality of the site. While there are a variety of tools and techniques that can be used to check a website for errors, including manual testing, automated testing, and online error checking tools, these 5 tools we've outlined here are our favorites. Using these tools in conjunction with each other, we are able to develop error-free websites and achieve perfect 100 PageSpeed scores.

By regularly checking your website for errors, you can fix any issues that arise and ensure that your website is functioning properly.

If you need help with any of this, King Bogey specializes in website PageSpeed optimization. We can check your site and fix whatever errors are present. We can also provide you with a complete audit and a detailed report with before and after results. Book your FREE consultation using the form below.