Process

Five passes over a finished site

The method behind the audit batches: point the checks at the site's claims about itself, not only at its pages. The pages were fine; the claims were drifting.

Intermediate1 min read (computed · recorded 8)updated 2026-09-12auditmethodprocess

by Motif Editors

revised 2026-09-12 — First publication in the suggestions-100 backlog batch.

Part 6 of 6 in How a build tells the truth← Auditing the crawl surface

Key takeaways

— Audit the claims, then the pages, then the claims again.
— Every pass ends with a gate, so the fix cannot regress.
— The ledger records what was wrong, not just what shipped.

The five passes

Pass one: the counts. Every number a page prints against the data it claims to read. Pass two: the links — every route a document mentions must answer. Pass three: the claims — every sentence about automation must name the check that runs it. Pass four: the fixtures — every rule must be proven to fire on a broken input. Pass five: the docs — the files that describe the site must describe the site as it is now.

Why the claims came last and first

The pages were fine through every pass. The claims were not: counts drifted within a batch, a check was described that did not exist, a number was quoted without its frame. The claims are the site's self-portrait, and a self-portrait that flatters is a lie with better lighting.

The method is one sentence: whenever the site says something about itself, find the check that keeps it true — and if there is none, the sentence is the next batch's first item.

Practise the lesson

Theory sticks when you ship it. These original Motif assets put this guide's lesson to work — open one and copy it into your own page.

Audit Ring with Threshold Tickspractice Dot Draw Gridpractice Aurora Veilpractice

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