Free checklists

Check your own website in 20 minutes

These are the same things our website scan looks at. Open your site on your phone and go down the list. Every box you can't tick is something to fix.

Speed and safety

• The home page loads quickly on your phone, on mobile data, not just on Wi-Fi.
• Nothing is cut off or needs zooming on a phone screen.Buttons are big enough to tap with a thumb.
• The address bar shows a padlock, and the address starts with https.
• No links go to "page not found".Click every link in your menu and footer.

Turning visitors into customers

• Without scrolling, a stranger can tell what you do, who it's for and what to do next.
• Every page has one clear button for the next step: call, book, buy or ask.
• There's a way to stay in touch with people who aren't ready yet, like an email list or a free guide.
• Your phone number and email are easy to find on every page, and the phone number can be tapped to call.

Being found on Google

• Search for your business name. The page title and description Google shows make sense.
• Each page has one main heading that says what the page is about.
• Your photos have short text descriptions (alt text).Screen readers and Google both use them.
• When you paste your link into a text or social post, the preview shows the right picture and title.
• yoursite.com/robots.txt and yoursite.com/sitemap.xml both open.
• Your hours, address and phone are marked up for search engines (structured data).Ask your web person if you're not sure.

Looking like one business

• Your logo, colors and fonts match across your site, social profiles and printed material.
• Your cards, signs and flyers point people to your website.
• Your social profiles link to your site, and your site links back to them.

Ten questions to ask before you hire anyone

Ask these of any web designer, agency or freelancer, including us. A good one will answer each in a sentence or two.

• What is the total price, and what costs extra?
• What do I pay every month after launch, and what does that cover?
• Who owns the website, the domain name and the content when we're done?
• If I leave, how do I take my site with me?
• Whose name is the domain registered under?It should be yours.
• Who will I actually be talking to, and how fast do they reply?
• How many rounds of changes are included?
• Can I update text and photos myself?
• How is the site backed up, and how fast can it be restored?
• Can I see two or three sites you built that are live right now?

What to gather before a website project

Having these ready saves weeks. Missing pieces are the most common reason a project stalls.

Accounts and logins

• Where your domain name is registered, and the login.
• Your current hosting login, if you have a site already.
• Access to your Google Business Profile and any social accounts you want linked.

Brand

• Your logo in the best format you have (a vector file such as SVG, AI or EPS is ideal).
• Your brand colors and fonts, if you have them.
• Two or three websites you like, and what you like about them.

Content

• A list of your services or products, with prices if you show them.
• Your own photos: you, your team, your work, your space.
• Three to five customer reviews you're happy to show.
• The questions customers ask you most often.These become your FAQ.

Decisions

• The one thing you most want a visitor to do: call, book, buy or ask for a quote.
• Who on your side approves the work.
• Any date the site has to be live by.