This audit is outdated. Progress for a new guide can be seen here.

Baseline Tech Specs

The basic audit template covers some basic technical stats so we can get a bird eye view of how well the site is put together. There are some tools and plugins that can help us preform the audit, but much is done by manual code review. We want to have a basic understanding of the client's website so we can come up with quick and informed plans for improvements.

When we rank something red or yellow we need explanations of what these ratings mean in the Notes section. We will also need to change our default recommendations if, for instance, a multisite is a good solution for a client's needs.

Site Audit Template is HERE

Section 1: Basic WordPress Audit

Security
Item	How to find
Tools
Version Control	Go to the webroot and run "git version"
WP-CLI	Try running wp cli in the webroot; if it exists, "wp --info"
Directory Structure
Files Directory Size	Run "du -h wp-content/uploads"; this gives you total size at the bottom along with size on other directories/files. May be
Database Size	Run "mysqldump -uusername -ppassword databasename > db_backup.sql" then "du -h db_backup.sql" or Run the following query that lists the sizes of all the available databases. SELECT table_schema AS "Database", ROUND(SUM(data_length + index_length) / 1024 / 1024, 2) AS "Size (MB)" FROM information_schema.TABLES GROUP BY table_schema;
Other “Files Directories”	See if any other large files exist in the codebase; particularly in the root of the codebase.
Codebase Structure	Are there non-standard directories? Is all custom code in wp-content/themes/themename (or appropriate multisite directories)? Are styles and libraries organized properly and extendable?
Multisite	Check for subdomains or subdirectories
Codebase
Plugin Codebase Quality	How many plugins are in use? (the fewer the better, typically) Are they up to date? Any custom plugins? Are they coded using best practices? Are the plugins in use well maintained/updated for security frequently? Do they have high ratings? Many installs? Are they compatible with latest version of WP? Run WordFence plugin if possible. Make sure to check the boxes in options to scan themes and plugins as well
Theme Codebase Quality	Is the theme up to date? Was the Parent theme built by a well-respected developer? (If 3rd Party, Many installs, high ratings, well maintained) Run WordFence plugin if possible. Make sure to check the boxes in options to scan themes and plugins as well.
Uses Child Theme	Is the site using a child theme of the enabled theme?
Custom Codebase Quality	Check custom codebase for WordPress Best Practices Do templates contain complex PHP? PHP coding standards Is JS written properly? JavaScript coding standards Is the site responsive? Are images sized correctly? is the Code legible? Will various developers be able to read it? Are there any patches? Are the patches well documented? Are they using Custom post types? How many? Are they being used properly/Is it clear how each is used? Are they using a Plugin, such as Advanced Custom Fields or something else for this? Are they making use of taxonomies? (post type name > categories).
CMS configurations	Has the admin dashboard menu been customized? Would cleanup improve ease of use for content editors? Has the WYSIWYG been customized? Are they using a Page Builder of some kind (not preferred, but often included with paid themes) Are there any obvious improvements that could be made to the content editor experience?
Site Users	Check site users. Are there many site administrators? Is there an "admin" user? (if so recommend this user be deleted with content assigned elsewhere) Do they have different user roles setup?
Restricted Access	Any password-protected areas of the site? Are login forms secure?
Security Plugins	Any security plugins installed? WordFence, Sucuri, iThemes Security, All In One WP Security & Firewall might be good options
Update Status	Are plugins, themes, WP core up to date?
PHP version	Are they using PHP 7+? php --version
SEO
https	Is SSL installed? Does site default to https (check site Settings > General for WP Address and Site Address) Are they getting mixed media errors?
Header tags	Are they written properly? Are they in the proper order?
Social sharing	Using proper tags and setup for social sharing?
Broken links	Can use Broken Link Checker Plugin to check on broken links
Google Analytics	Is GA installed? Take a look at Analytics account setup
Plugins	Yoast SEO is a popular and easy to use Plugin for adding metatags, etc.
A11y
	If you turn off CSS is the site legible? Are images using alt tags properly? Is color contrast correct? Can you use a keyboard to navigate the site? Can you use a text browser (Lynx)?
Performance
Server Response	This will vary between requests; for a quick idea, load the page in question with the Network tab open and the browser cache disabled and see how long it takes for the initial request of the HTML document to be returned.
Google Page Speed	What's the PageSpeed Insights score for the URL you're investigating? Use the mobile speed and the desktop speed (mobile/desktop) in the audit.
Image Optimization	Is the site effectively using image styles to make sure that images are an appropriate size? Bonus points if they have a system in place to handle responsive images.
Load testing	Blazemeter is an option for load testing. Pantheon guide to testing with Blazemeter.
CDN	Check for CDN if it would be helpful
Caching	Any caching plugins in use? W3 Total Cache and others can sometimes be appropriate but other times cause more trouble than they're worth. Check caching options offered by the host.

Front-End performance

A lot of drain can happen on the front end, and this can vary per browser. Lots of calls to external JS or iFrames can really slow things down.

A speed test is the best place to start:

http://www.webpagetest.org/

Yslow is a browser extension you can install that can provide stats and recommendations for performance improvements.

Deeper Technical Audit

DRAFT - MATERIAL NEEDS WORK

Some clients who have specific concerns or have a technical background may require further research. Here are some resources that may assist in preparing audits for them:

Resources

Google Network Tab Docs

Example Audits

Considerations With Managed WordPress Hosting Services

Managed WordPress hosting services such as Pantheon and WP Engine handle all of the dev ops aspect of website management. Furthermore, their hosting platform is geared towards hosting WordPress websites and many aspects of a good website are handled by them. These aspects include but are not limited to:

overall web server security
PHP, nginx/Apache, and Database performance, updates, and security
server side performance including various types of caching
CDN (content delivery network) management and implementation

It can be assumed that if a website is using a reputable managed hosting company, the above aspects of the website are of high quality and up to date.

It is almost always desired that a client use a managed website service to host their website. At Kalamuna, Pantheon and WP Engine are the recommended managed WordPress hosting services.

Considerations With Self Hosting

If the client is currently hosting their website internally and plans on continuing to host internally various precautions need to be taken. In addition to doing a thorough technical review the client needs to confirm the following:

In general, if their web server is set up to effectively run WordPress. https://en-ca.wordpress.org/about/requirements/ can be used as reference
If they have the appropriate IT resources to do ongoing server/security updates
If their server setup is capable of handling current and reasonably foreseen increased website traffic. One way to examine the current server load is to examine a week long log of CPU and RAM usage. If the usage is close to maxing out then they should update their server hardware.

If the client is not able to properly set up and/or maintain their website server it could result in:

slow page load times, for both front end and back end
hacked websites and other security compromises
vulnerability to DDoS attacks
PHP errors

The client may not understand the technical nuance of the website creation service we do at Kalamuna and the website hosting. They may erroneously view Kalamuna as being responsible for their web server issues.

WordPress Code Structure

WordPress offers a lot of flexibility with how themes and plugins are structured code-wise. This is both positive and negative. This flexibility can allow a WordPress site to technically function and work while being very fragile and difficult to extend (adjust or add new features). On the contrary, a WordPress theme or plugin can have excellent architecture which makes adding or adjusting features and functionality easy. It is very important to determine what kind of project Kalamuna is taking on as early as possible. There are many plugins available that can allow a novice website editor to make structural and styling changes directly from the WordPress admin. These types of plugin can result in fragile and confusing architecture. If a WordPress website has any of the following plugins installed (this is not a complete list, but a list of some of the more popular plugins) it should be viewed as a red flag:

Custom Post Type UI
WCK Custom Post Types and Custom Fields Creator
Pods
Toolset Types/Views
Custom Post Type Maker

Kalawiki

WordPress Audit Process – DEPRECATED