Free Website Audit: Is Your Site Ready for Headless? (Complete Checklist)
Not sure if headless CMS is right for you? Use this comprehensive checklist to evaluate your current website and determine if a headless migration would benefit your business.
Free Website Audit: Is Your Site Ready for Headless? (Complete Checklist)
"Should we switch to headless CMS?"
I get this question constantly. And my answer is always: "It depends."
Headless isn't right for everyone. But when it's right, it's transformative.
This self-assessment will help you determine whether your website would benefit from a headless architecture—or if your current setup is actually fine.
Time needed: 60-90 minutes for thorough evaluation
What you'll need:
- Access to your website's backend/CMS
- Google PageSpeed Insights (free)
- Google Analytics access
- Knowledge of your content update process
How This Audit Works
You'll evaluate your site across 6 key dimensions:
- Performance - How fast is your site?
- Content Management - How easy is it to update?
- Developer Experience - How efficient is development?
- Scalability - Can it grow with you?
- Integration Capability - Does it play well with other tools?
- Business Impact - How is it affecting your bottom line?
Score each item. Tally your results. Get your recommendation.
Section 1: Performance Audit
Test your site at PageSpeed Insights before starting.
Speed Metrics
| Check | Yes (1pt) | Partial (0.5pt) | No (0pt) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mobile PageSpeed score above 50 | |||
| Desktop PageSpeed score above 70 | |||
| Time to First Contentful Paint under 2.5s | |||
| Largest Contentful Paint under 2.5s | |||
| Cumulative Layout Shift under 0.1 | |||
| Total page size under 3MB | |||
| Server response time under 200ms |
Performance Issues
| Check | No Issues (1pt) | Some Issues (0.5pt) | Major Issues (0pt) |
|---|---|---|---|
| No render-blocking resources | |||
| Images properly optimized | |||
| Browser caching implemented | |||
| Code minified (CSS/JS) | |||
| No excessive third-party scripts |
Performance Score: _ / 12 points
Interpretation:
- 10-12: Excellent performance (headless might not provide significant speed gains)
- 6-9: Room for improvement (headless could help)
- 0-5: Serious issues (headless would likely provide major improvements)
Section 2: Content Management Audit
Answer based on your actual experience updating the site.
Content Update Process
| Question | Easy (1pt) | Moderate (0.5pt) | Difficult (0pt) |
|---|---|---|---|
| How easy is it to update text content? | |||
| How easy is it to add new images? | |||
| How easy is it to create new pages? | |||
| How easy is it to rearrange page sections? | |||
| How easy is it to preview changes before publishing? | |||
| How easy is it to schedule content for later? |
Content Workflow
| Question | Yes (1pt) | Partial (0.5pt) | No (0pt) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Can non-technical team members update content? | |||
| Are there approval workflows when needed? | |||
| Can you revert to previous versions easily? | |||
| Is content structured (not just blobs of HTML)? | |||
| Can you search and filter content easily? |
Content Reuse
| Question | Yes (1pt) | Partial (0.5pt) | No (0pt) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Can the same content appear in multiple places? | |||
| Can you update once and have changes reflect everywhere? | |||
| Is content separated from presentation/styling? | |||
| Could this content easily be used in a mobile app? | |||
| Can content be accessed via API? |
Content Management Score: _ / 16 points
Interpretation:
- 13-16: Your CMS is working well for you
- 8-12: Some friction in content operations
- 0-7: Content management is a significant pain point (strong headless candidate)
Section 3: Developer Experience Audit
If you don't have developers, score based on your vendor/agency experience.
Development Efficiency
| Question | Yes (1pt) | Partial (0.5pt) | No (0pt) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Can developers use modern frameworks (React, Vue, etc.)? | |||
| Is the codebase clean and maintainable? | |||
| Are there good development tools available? | |||
| Can developers work locally without full site setup? | |||
| Is version control properly implemented? | |||
| Are deployments automated and reliable? |
Technical Debt
| Question | No Issues (1pt) | Some Issues (0.5pt) | Major Issues (0pt) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Are all plugins/extensions up to date? | |||
| Is the core platform actively maintained? | |||
| Have there been security issues in the past year? | |||
| Is the code modular and well-organized? | |||
| Is documentation adequate for new developers? |
Development Velocity
| Question | Fast (1pt) | Moderate (0.5pt) | Slow (0pt) |
|---|---|---|---|
| How quickly can you add a new page template? | |||
| How quickly can you make design changes? | |||
| How quickly can you fix bugs? | |||
| How quickly can you add new features? |
Developer Experience Score: _ / 15 points
Interpretation:
- 12-15: Solid technical foundation
- 7-11: Some technical improvements needed
- 0-6: Technical debt is limiting you (strong headless candidate)
Section 4: Scalability Audit
Consider your growth trajectory and future needs.
Current Scale
| Question | No Problems (1pt) | Occasional Issues (0.5pt) | Regular Issues (0pt) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Site handles traffic spikes well | |||
| No database slowdowns | |||
| Image/file storage is adequate | |||
| Search functionality works quickly |
Future Readiness
| Question | Ready (1pt) | Partially Ready (0.5pt) | Not Ready (0pt) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Could you launch in additional regions/languages? | |||
| Could you support 10x current traffic? | |||
| Could you add 10x current content volume? | |||
| Could you support multiple websites/brands? | |||
| Could you add a mobile app sharing content? |
Multi-Channel Needs
| Question | Yes (1pt) | Planning To (0.5pt) | No (0pt) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Do you need content on mobile apps? | |||
| Do you need content on digital signage/kiosks? | |||
| Do you need content across multiple websites? | |||
| Do you need voice assistant integration? |
Scalability Score: _ / 13 points
Interpretation:
- 10-13: Well-positioned for growth
- 6-9: Some scalability concerns
- 0-5: Architecture may limit growth (strong headless candidate)
Section 5: Integration Audit
Evaluate how well your website works with other business tools.
Current Integrations
| Integration Type | Works Well (1pt) | Works Partially (0.5pt) | Doesn't Work (0pt) |
|---|---|---|---|
| CRM (Salesforce, HubSpot, etc.) | |||
| Email Marketing (Mailchimp, etc.) | |||
| Analytics (GA4, etc.) | |||
| E-commerce/Payments | |||
| Customer Support |
Integration Flexibility
| Question | Yes (1pt) | Partial (0.5pt) | No (0pt) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Can you add new integrations without developer help? | |||
| Do integrations work reliably without breaking? | |||
| Can you access site data via API? | |||
| Can external systems push data to your site? | |||
| Are there webhooks for real-time updates? |
Data Flow
| Question | Smooth (1pt) | Friction (0.5pt) | Manual (0pt) |
|---|---|---|---|
| How does lead data move from site to CRM? | |||
| How do product updates flow to the site? | |||
| How does inventory sync? | |||
| How do analytics data export? |
Integration Score: _ / 14 points
Interpretation:
- 11-14: Good integration ecosystem
- 6-10: Integration friction exists
- 0-5: Integration limitations hurting operations (strong headless candidate)
Section 6: Business Impact Audit
Evaluate the business results of your current website.
Conversion Performance
| Question | Strong (1pt) | Average (0.5pt) | Weak (0pt) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Is conversion rate meeting targets? | |||
| Is bounce rate acceptable (under 50%)? | |||
| Are users completing desired actions? | |||
| Is mobile conversion acceptable? |
SEO Performance
| Question | Yes (1pt) | Partial (0.5pt) | No (0pt) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ranking well for target keywords? | |||
| Organic traffic trending up? | |||
| Core Web Vitals passing? | |||
| Proper technical SEO implemented? |
Competitive Position
| Question | Ahead (1pt) | Even (0.5pt) | Behind (0pt) |
|---|---|---|---|
| How does your site compare to competitors? | |||
| Are you able to launch features as fast as competitors? | |||
| Is your site experience better than competitors? |
Cost Efficiency
| Question | Efficient (1pt) | Moderate (0.5pt) | Expensive (0pt) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Are hosting costs reasonable? | |||
| Is development time well-spent? | |||
| Are maintenance costs manageable? | |||
| Is content operation cost-efficient? |
Business Impact Score: _ / 15 points
Interpretation:
- 12-15: Website is serving the business well
- 7-11: Room for improvement
- 0-6: Website may be limiting business growth
Calculate Your Total Score
| Section | Your Score | Maximum |
|---|---|---|
| Performance | _ | 12 |
| Content Management | _ | 16 |
| Developer Experience | _ | 15 |
| Scalability | _ | 13 |
| Integration | _ | 14 |
| Business Impact | _ | 15 |
| TOTAL | _ | 85 |
Your Percentage: _ %
(Total Score ÷ 85 × 100)
Your Recommendation
75-100%: Your Current Setup is Working
Headless recommendation: NOT URGENT
Your website is performing well. A headless migration would provide incremental improvements but may not justify the investment right now.
Consider headless when:
- You need multi-channel content delivery
- You're planning a major redesign anyway
- Scalability needs change significantly
Focus instead on:
- Optimizing what you have
- Incremental improvements
- Building your content strategy
50-74%: Room for Improvement
Headless recommendation: WORTH EXPLORING
Your website has friction points that headless could address. The decision depends on your specific weak areas.
Strong indicators to switch:
- Content Management score below 50%
- Scalability score below 50%
- Integration score below 50%
Consider:
- What are your biggest pain points?
- What's your growth trajectory?
- Do you have upcoming projects that could justify a rebuild?
Next step: Get a professional assessment of your specific situation.
Below 50%: Serious Limitations
Headless recommendation: STRONGLY CONSIDER
Your current website is likely holding your business back. The limitations you're experiencing in multiple areas suggest architectural issues that patches won't fix.
Likely improvements from headless:
- Significant performance gains
- Dramatically easier content updates
- Better developer productivity
- Improved scalability
- Enhanced integration capabilities
- Better business results
Next step: Plan a migration strategy. The sooner you start, the sooner you'll benefit.
Red Flags (Automatic Recommendations)
Regardless of your total score, these specific issues strongly suggest headless is right for you:
🚩 Immediate Headless Candidates
Check all that apply:
- Mobile PageSpeed score under 30
- Content updates require developer involvement
- You need content in mobile app but can't access it
- Plugin conflicts happen monthly or more
- Site has been hacked or had security incidents
- Developers refuse to work on the codebase
- You can't launch features competitors have
- Content team spends hours on simple updates
If 3+ boxes checked: Strongly consider headless migration regardless of score.
What's Next?
If You're Exploring Headless
- Share this audit with stakeholders
- Identify priorities based on lowest-scoring sections
- Research options (Sanity, Contentful, Strapi)
- Get professional input on your specific situation
Related Reading:
- Headless CMS Explained Simply — Understand what headless means for your business
- 10 Best Headless CMS Platforms for 2026 — Compare your options
- 7 Signs Your Website is Costing You Customers — More warning signs to watch for
If You're Ready to Move Forward
- Document requirements based on this audit
- Plan timeline (ideal: start during slow period)
- Budget appropriately (typically $15K-50K for full migration)
- Choose partners carefully
Want a Professional Assessment?
This self-audit gives you a starting point. A professional audit includes:
- Competitive analysis
- Technical deep-dive
- Custom recommendations
- Implementation roadmap
- ROI projections
Get a free professional audit — I'll review your specific situation and provide detailed recommendations.
Keep This Checklist
Bookmark this page or download the PDF version to:
- Track progress over time
- Share with team members
- Compare before/after migration
- Evaluate agency proposals
Questions about your audit results? Reach out — I'm happy to help you interpret your scores and decide on next steps.
