If you have your own website, you should know its statistics and take care of the quality not only from the substantive side but also from the technical side. In addition, if your website is located on your private or virtual server, you should also take care of the correct, safe and optimal configuration. I would like to share with you some (obvious to some people) solutions that can be useful to any web server/website administrator. For specialists, it is an opportunity to check in what condition their site is, and for amateurs, hobbyists and enthusiasts the opportunity to find out for free what needs to be further improved.
Below is a handful of links to online tools with which to check the quality of the page, statistics and the level of website and server security. Thanks to various types of free scanners, you can check what is worth improving and what is already ok. I provide a few tools to check the site in several places to be sure that nothing is left out. The tools work similarly, scan the page and present the results with suggestions. All tools described are free.
I’m not an expert so I like to use various tools to gain knowledge and match professionals. It is also difficult to be an expert in any field. However, it is worth knowing how to use the technology you use.
Statistics
Site statistics, i.e. visits, referring pages, length of sessions, etc. you can collect in various ways. Most CMS have plugs for this. Nevertheless, the most popular tool for collecting website statistics is Google Analytics. For those who do not like to share information about their statistics, there are also two solutions to configure on their own server.
Google Analytics
A very powerful tool that allows you to track almost everything that happens on the site. Try to use Google Analytics.
Search Console
It allows webmasters to check indexing status and optimize visibility of their websites. Mostly used for integration along with Google Analytics. Learn more about Google Search Console.
Matomo
Matomo is the best alternative for Google Analytics. There is few pricing plans for business but you can also use it for free as self hosted solution, so all data is stored on your server. A good solution for privacy enthusiasts.
Open Web Analytics
OWA is similar to competitors. This is only self-hosted software.
Quality
The quality of the page. So, for example, the time it is loading, the technology used, the quality of the code, the configuration of the web server and many other small elements that make up the whole. All this has an impact on how search engines see your website and what is the user experience when browsing your site.
GTmetrix
GTmetrix gives you insight on how well your site loads and provides actionable recommendations on how to optimize it. I was working on some issues on my website and you can see results on screenshot.
WebPageTest
WebPageTest is another great place to test website performance. You can run a free website speed test from multiple locations around the globe using real browsers and at real consumer connection speeds.
On screenshot you can see example of things that can still be improved.
YellowLab
Yallow Lab Tools allows you make online test to help speeding up heavy web pages.
Uptime Robot
This service is a little bit different to other in this section but still worth mentioning. My page is located on VPS, in case when my VPS provider got some issues with network or something bad is happening on my server and site is offline I am using Uptime Robot to get email notification. I really like their slogan: “Downtime Happens. Get Notified!”
Security
At the end I left the best. Tools that test websites security. Thanks to these scanners, you will find out whether your site is vulnerable to some kind of attacks. Does it have vulnerabilities that can allow hackers to hack into the server or steal data from the database.
Pentest Tools
Discover and validate vulnerabilities in websites and network infrastructures using Pentest Tools.
Securi
Free website malware and security scanner. Keep your site clean, fast, and protected using Securi.
Observatory
Observatory by Mozilla can help you to get knowledge how configure sites safely and securely.
SSL Labs
If you have SSL configured on your server its wort to check if its implemented good. SSL Labs is free online service that performs a deep analysis of the configuration of any SSL web server on the public Internet.
Security Headers
Check if you implemented all necessary headers to your website config. Security Headers is fast and simple.
Summary
As you can see different pages can give different results, so as always it is worth using the results from several sources. Thanks to such free solutions that not only display different types of messages but also suggest how to solve some problems, everyone can check their website. The quality and speed of the pages translates into their display and position in popular search engines. In terms of security, it is important not only for you, but also for people who visit your site or your registered users. Of course, it does not mean that after checking through these tools you are fully secured. You can try other tools available for example in Kali Linux for web application penetration testing. Technology goes forward so check your website periodically.
Let’s build fast, transparent and secure internet.