You want to audit your Drupal website's infrastructure, SEO, best practices, security, stress, overall performance... And you ask yourself:
Are there tools that help you run a Drupal 8 site audit?
... and generate the reports you need?
There are quite a few, actually.
To narrow down your too many options, we've made a list of 10 tools and Drupal modules that you can use to test your website's performance, security, and stability.
1. 3 Best Tools to Run a Website Security Audit
1.1. Coder
What does it do?
- it checks your code to see whether it meets the industry standards
- it checks your text, so you'll know whether i's properly sanitized or not quite
In short, a Drupal 8 audit module you'll want to have in your toolbox when conducting a website security audit.
1.2. Qualys SSL Server Test
Another tool that you'll want to use during your Drupal 8 security audit process.
Why?
Because it performs a thorough analysis of a public SSL certificate and generates a grade for you.
1.3. Security Kit
How does it work?
It provides you with a set of security-hardening options, that strengthen the shield around your site against CSRF, XSS, and clickjacking attacks.
2.3 Best Tools to Run a Drupal 8 Site Audit Focused on Its Performance
2.1. PageSpeed Insight, YSlow, GTMetrix
Take these 3 website performance audit tools as your the "swiss army knife" in your toolbox.
They run multiple tests on your website and generate a whole set of practical recommendations on how you can boost its front-end performance.
Here are just some examples of recommendations:
- cut down on the number of elements the browser's forced to parse by simplifying the DOM
- cut down on the number of requests by aggregating your JS files or using image sprites
2.2. New Relic
An all-into-one Drupal site audit module that helps you monitor different sections on your website: from infrastructure to server, to browser and application.
Now, here's precisely why you'll want to keep it close at hand while assessing your website's performance:
- it allows you to set up multiple customized dashboards that show graphs and charts of your website's performance data
- it enables you to keep an eye on your website's traffic and performance in real-time
- it allows you to isolate bottlenecks and set up alerts for key events
2.3. Performance Monitor
Let's say you've just moved your Drupal website to another hosting and you now feel that it has slowed down. And that the new server needs to be optimized for Drupal.
This is precisely where this module comes in handy:
It gives you a clear picture of how your website's performing now, while comparing different servers/hostings.
Here are some of the features you'll love:
- it checks the Mysql status and variables (and provides recommendations)
- it tests the overall system performance (it runs database, CPU, and file operations performance tests)
- it evaluates the "Performance score"
3. 4 Best Tools to Evaluate Your Website's Stability
3. 1. Behat, PHPUnit, Nightwatch
Or you can put together your own "combo" of unit and functional testing tools.
Automated testing will improve your website's stability... in the long-term (and nothing can beat the peace of mind that you'll get).
3.2. Code Sniffer
Whenever you need to assess your code's quality, just reach out for this Drupal 8 audit tool.
It will... "sniff on" your code and signal you if it doesn't meet the coding standards.
Also, while testing your code's stability, you'll want to have a look at:
- the quality of your links
- the cycles of peer review for codes
- the factors that influence the SEO
- the access and breadth of documentation
- the modules you have on your website: are there any outdated ones?
3.3. Tugboat
You save time and money using Tugboat (or an alternative continuous integration tool).
Here's how:
- it runs the automated and linting tests that you will have set up and generates a report to your developer before even merging or reviewing the code
- it builds a completely working website that incorporates that new feature you've added or has that specific bug fixed before it gets merged
A true time-saver that you'll definitely want to have in your toolkit when testing newly added code for stability.
3.4. Linting Tools
How do they help you increase the stability of your Drupal website?
- they get all the developers in your team on the same page when it comes to the code format to be used
- they (i.e. Drupal Code Sniffer) enforce the Drupal coding standards once integrated to your developers' text editors
Tip! Make sure you incorporate your linting tools into your automated testing routine, the one that gets performed on each pull request.
The END!
These are your best options when it comes to the Drupal 8 site audit tools to include in your toolkit.
But what if you dread the idea of digging deep into your code, checking every single one of your Drupal modules, evaluating the CPU performance...
What if you could still get a clear picture of how you're website's performing without the dread of going through all these tedious, time-consuming tasks?
Just shift the burden to us!
Drop us a line and let's get your Drupal website checked for all the issues and bottlenecks affecting its performance, security level, and stability!
Image by Free-Photos from Pixabay
