Website audit checklist for small businesses

1. First impression and offer

• Can a new visitor tell within a few seconds what you offer, who it is for and where?

  Visitors who can't see quickly that they're in the right place usually leave.

  Ask someone who doesn't know your business to look at the homepage for five seconds, then describe what you do.

• Is there one clear main action on each important page (call, book, buy, ask for a quote)?

  Several competing buttons make people hesitate.

  Look at the top of each key page: is the main button visible without scrolling?

• Are prices, service area and opening hours easy to find, if they apply to you?

  These are some of the most common questions before someone gets in touch.

  Try to find each one in under 30 seconds.

2. Contact and conversion

• Do your contact form, phone number, email link and booking or checkout actually work?

  A broken form quietly loses enquiries and you may never notice.

  Send yourself a test enquiry and make a test booking. Confirm the message arrives.

• Is contact information visible on every page, for example in the footer?

  People decide to get in touch at different points.

  Open three random pages and look for your contact details.

• Do you give a reason to trust you: real reviews, examples of work, a clear company name?

  Trust matters most for people who haven't heard of you before.

  Make sure any reviews or examples are real and current.

3. Mobile and speed

• Is the site easy to read and use on a phone without zooming?

  Many visitors arrive on mobile, and Google mainly uses the mobile version of a site.

  Open your site on your own phone and complete the main action from start to finish.

• Do the important pages load quickly?

  Slow pages make visitors give up, especially on mobile data.

  Run your homepage through Google PageSpeed Insights (pagespeed.web.dev) and look at the mobile result.

• Are large images compressed?

  Oversized photos are a common cause of slow pages on small-business sites.

  PageSpeed Insights lists images that could be smaller.

4. Search basics

• Does each page have its own clear title and description that say what the page is about?

  Google often uses these in search results, and they help people choose your result.

  Search for site:yourdomain in Google and read how your pages appear.

• Is your site connected to Google Search Console?

  It is Google's free tool that shows which searches find you and reports problems with indexing.

  Set it up at search.google.com/search-console and submit your sitemap.

• If you serve local customers, do you have an up-to-date Google Business Profile?

  It is often what people see first when they search for a local business.

  Search for your business name and check the address, hours and phone number.

5. Measurement

• Do you have website analytics, such as Google Analytics 4, installed and working?

  Without it you can't tell which changes help.

  Visit your site, then check the real-time report to see your own visit.

• Are your most important actions (enquiries, bookings, purchases) tracked as key events?

  Visits alone don't show whether the website brings customers.

  Make a test enquiry and confirm it appears in your analytics.

6. Housekeeping

• Does the site use https, with no browser security warnings?

  Warnings scare visitors away.

  Look for the padlock in the address bar on several pages.

• Are there broken links, outdated offers or old dates?

  Outdated information makes a business look inactive.

  Click through your menu and footer links, and re-read your offers.

• Do you have up-to-date privacy information if you collect personal data?

  Forms, analytics and newsletters usually involve personal data.

  Make sure your privacy page describes what you actually collect.

What to do with the results

Sort your "no" answers into three groups: things that block enquiries or sales (fix first), things that confuse visitors (fix next) and nice-to-haves. Fix one group at a time and check the results in your analytics afterwards.