Technical store review: what to check before you order an audit
A technical store review, sometimes called a store health check, is a quick check that your store works as it should: Google can read it, customers don't see errors, and pages respond and lead where they should. You can do it yourself in PrestaShop or WooCommerce before you order an audit. The audit then starts with what really needs a specialist's time.
Author: The TellMyShop team. A guide for PrestaShop store owners: the cause, the manual fix and the same work in a chat conversation.
Last updated: · 5 min read
Why review before you order an audit
Every audit starts with the basics: does the store have HTTPS, is it blocking Google, is it throwing errors. If you check that first, you get two things. You fix simple problems straight away, and the person doing the audit gets a ready list of facts and spends their time on what you can't judge yourself.
A review doesn't replace an audit. It won't assess module code, content strategy or whether your categories make sense to customers. It only tells you what is wrong in the store right now and what to fix first.
The technical review checklist
The first rows cover things that can cost you Google traffic or stop orders straight away.
| Area | What to check | Where in PrestaShop | Where in WordPress |
|---|---|---|---|
| HTTPS | every address opens over https, and http redirects to https | Shop Parameters → General | Settings → General, site address |
| Indexing | important pages have no noindex and aren't blocked in robots.txt | Shop Parameters → Traffic & SEO | Settings → Reading |
| Errors customers can see | developer or debug mode is off | Advanced Parameters → Performance | Tools → Site Health |
| Updates and PHP | the platform, modules and PHP are still supported | Advanced Parameters → Information, Module Manager | Dashboard → Updates |
| Scheduled tasks | cron runs and tasks complete | hosting, modules with scheduled tasks | Tools → Site Health |
| Cache | it is on in the live store | Advanced Parameters → Performance | caching plugin or hosting |
| Cart and checkout | the cart and checkout pages open without errors | as a customer, in a private window | as a customer, in a private window |
| 404 errors | which missing addresses get the most visits | Stats → Pages not found | redirect plugin log |
| Error log | is any error repeating every day | Advanced Parameters → Logs | PHP error log at your host |
You can check end-of-support dates for PHP versions on the PHP website. How blocking indexing works is described in Google's documentation on noindex. In WordPress, Site Health collects some of these items, and we explain how to read it in the article on WordPress Site Health.
How to check a page as Google sees it
Settings are half of the review. The other half is a few pages seen through a search engine's eyes: the home page, one category and the two or three products that sell best.
- Redirects. Type the address with http and without www (or with www, if the store doesn't use it). There should be one redirect to the right address, not a chain of several.
- Canonical address. Find the canonical link in the page source. It should point to the same page or its main version. The rules are in Google's guide to canonical URLs.
- Robots. Check that the page has no meta robots with noindex.
- Headings. One H1 with the product or category name, with H2 and H3 below it in a sensible order.
- Images and links. Count images without alt text and check that links on the page don't lead to 404s.
- Structured data. Check the product JSON-LD in the Rich Results Test. A missing price or availability is a common reason Google doesn't show them in results.
- Response time. Note how long the server takes to answer the first request. If it's clearly slower than on other pages, read what to do when PrestaShop is slow.
Write the results down in one place, with the date. In a month you can compare them with the next review.
How to do the review in a chat conversation
TellMyShop is a PrestaShop module and a WordPress plugin that let you run your store in a conversation with your chat (Claude or ChatGPT). The technical review works in the free version, TellMyShop Free, which only reads the store.
You: Do a technical store review and put together a fix list, most important first. Don't change anything.
Your chat: Review done. Store settings, the home page, the Lanterns category and three bestsellers. The most important:
You: Where does that noindex in the category come from?
Card status: waiting for your “yes”new version: urgent: the Lanterns category has noindex, so Google won't show it
new version: important: 2 products in the category have no price in their structured data
new version: important: an old promotion address has the most visits in the 404 report
new version: some day: 14 images without alt text
The names and numbers in the example are made up. The chat will give your store's real data and tell you what it couldn't check.
What the review checks in Free:
- Store or site: HTTPS, noindex, errors customers can see, available updates, PHP version, cron, cache, the cart and checkout pages, and in WordPress also the Site Health results.
- A page as Google sees it: redirects, canonical, robots, H1–H3 headings, images without alt text, links, JSON-LD structured data and response time.
- Also: the 404 report, the PHP error log and an answer to why a specific product or page isn't showing.
You'll find an example request in the use case first review of a store. If the review finds a product that isn't showing in its category, read why a product isn't showing in PrestaShop, and for old addresses the guide on 404 errors.
What to hand over to the person doing the audit
The review list with its date, the platform and PHP versions, the list of modules or plugins, and what has already been fixed. Add one sentence on what you expect from the audit: Google visibility, speed, a tidy module setup or preparing for an update. The next step is a full audit. If you're taking over a client's store as an agency, the full checklist is in the article on the PrestaShop store audit, and the SEO part in the PrestaShop SEO audit.
You can do the review in the free version, TellMyShop Free. It works in PrestaShop and in WordPress, with or without WooCommerce.
Questions and answers
How is a technical store review different from an audit?
A review is a quick read of the current state: can Google read the store, are customers seeing errors, do pages respond and lead where they should. An audit goes deeper: it assesses code, modules, content and strategy, and ends with a work plan. The review shows where the audit should start.
How often should I do a technical store review?
After every bigger change: a platform update, a new module or plugin, a new theme or server. Apart from that, once a month, to catch new 404 errors and entries that keep repeating in the error log.
Does the review in TellMyShop Free change anything in my store?
No. TellMyShop Free only reads your store. The chat puts together a fix list, most important first, and you make the changes yourself or in TellMyShop Pro, where every change has a preview and waits for your yes.
Does the chat check every page of the store?
The store review reads the settings and state of the whole store. The check of a page as Google sees it runs on the addresses you point to or that the chat picks as a sample, for example the home page, a category and a few products.
What won't a technical store review cover?
Employee accounts, passwords, API keys and payment settings, because TellMyShop has a permanent block on them. The chat won't look into the hosting panel or Search Console either. You check that part yourself or leave it for the audit.
PrestaShop is a registered trademark of PrestaShop SA. Claude is a trademark of Anthropic PBC. ChatGPT and OpenAI are trademarks of OpenAI. TellMyShop is not affiliated with these companies.