You trusted your web developer to build you a brilliant website. They delivered something that looks the part, functions well, and ticks all the obvious boxes. But here's the uncomfortable truth: there's probably a whole checklist of critical items they've either forgotten about or simply don't know to check.
It's not necessarily their fault. Many developers focus on the fun, creative bits – making your site look gorgeous and work smoothly. But the behind-the-scenes health checks that keep your website secure, fast, and findable? Those often get overlooked in the rush to launch.
Let's dive into what your developer should be monitoring but probably isn't, and why it matters for your business.
Security Headers: Your Website's Invisible Bodyguards
When did you last ask your developer about security headers? If you're drawing a blank, you're not alone. These invisible protections shield your website from common attacks, but they're easily forgotten because visitors can't see them.
Security headers like Content Security Policy (CSP) and X-Frame-Options protect against nasty attacks like cross-site scripting and clickjacking. Without them, your site is like a house with unlocked doors – it might be fine, but why take the risk?
Many developers assume their hosting provider handles security, but that's rarely the complete picture. Your developer should be actively implementing and testing these headers, not leaving them to chance.
Performance Beyond the Obvious
Sure, your developer probably checked that your site loads reasonably quickly on their laptop. But did they test it on a 3G connection in Birmingham on a Tuesday afternoon when the network's struggling?
Google's Core Web Vitals have become crucial ranking factors, yet many developers still treat performance as an afterthought. Your site might look snappy on a developer's high-end machine with fibre broadband, but what about for your actual customers?
The devil's in the details: oversized images, render-blocking resources, and poorly optimised code can torpedo your search rankings and frustrate visitors. Your developer should be running regular Lighthouse audits and treating performance as seriously as they treat visual design.
Structured Data: Speaking Google's Language
Here's something that makes many developers' eyes glaze over: structured data markup. It's not glamorous, but it's how you tell search engines exactly what your content is about.
Without proper structured data, Google has to guess whether your business listing contains opening hours, reviews, or contact details. With it, you can unlock rich snippets that make your search results stand out like a beacon.
Most developers know structured data exists, but implementing it properly requires ongoing attention. It's not a "set it and forget it" job – it needs regular testing and updates as your content changes.
The DNS Health Check Nobody Does
When did your developer last check your DNS configuration? If the answer is "during the initial setup," that's a problem waiting to happen.
DNS issues can tank your website's performance and reliability. Misconfigured records, missing backups, and poor provider choices can leave your site vulnerable to outages that could have been prevented.
Your developer should be monitoring DNS health regularly, not just when something breaks. Prevention is always better than scrambling to fix a crisis.
AI Bot Access: The New Frontier
Here's something newer that's catching many developers off-guard: AI bot management. With AI tools increasingly crawling websites to train their models, you need clear policies about which bots can access your content.
Some businesses want to embrace AI indexing for visibility. Others prefer to restrict access to protect their intellectual property. Either way, it should be a conscious decision, not an accident.
Most developers haven't caught up with this trend yet. They're not actively managing AI bot access or helping business owners make informed decisions about it.
Link Health: The Slow Poison
Broken links are like weeds in a garden – they start small but gradually damage your site's credibility and SEO performance. Yet link checking rarely makes it onto developers' regular maintenance schedules.
Internal links break when pages move or get deleted. External links break when other websites change their structure. Both types of broken links frustrate users and signal to search engines that your site isn't well-maintained.
Your developer should be running regular link audits and fixing problems before they accumulate into a serious issue.
SEO Meta Tags: Beyond the Basics
Most developers know to include title tags and meta descriptions. But do they understand how to optimise them for click-through rates? Are they monitoring for duplicate content issues? Do they know which pages are missing crucial meta tags entirely?
SEO isn't just about having the right tags – it's about having tags that work hard for your business. Your developer should be thinking like a marketer, not just a coder.
Why This Matters for Your Business
Each of these overlooked areas can impact your bottom line. Poor security headers expose you to attacks. Slow performance drives customers away. Missing structured data means invisible search results. DNS problems cause outages. Broken links frustrate users.
The cumulative effect of these issues is a website that underperforms its potential. You might not notice the problems immediately, but they're quietly costing you traffic, conversions, and revenue.
Taking Back Control
The solution isn't to micromanage your developer or become a technical expert yourself. Instead, you need visibility into your website's health across all these areas.
Regular website health checks should be part of your routine, just like checking your business's financial health or customer satisfaction scores. You need to know when problems are developing so you can address them before they impact your business.
This means having conversations with your developer about ongoing maintenance, not just initial development. It means establishing regular check-ups and being proactive about website health.
Your Next Step
Don't wait for problems to surface. Take a few minutes to scan your website and see how it measures up across all these critical areas. You might be pleasantly surprised – or you might discover issues that need immediate attention.
Either way, you'll have the knowledge you need to have productive conversations with your developer and ensure your website is working as hard as it should be for your business.
Ready to see what your developer might be missing? Get a free, comprehensive health check for your website at healthyurl.co.uk – no signup required, results in under 60 seconds.