The 10-minute website audit: 12 things that quietly cost you customers
You don't need a developer to find the biggest problems on your website. Grab your phone and go through this list.
Most website problems are invisible to the owner. You know where everything is, so you never notice that the booking button is buried, the page takes eight seconds to appear on a phone, or the link on your Google listing broke three months ago.
This checklist is the short version of what we look at when we audit a site. Do it on your phone, not your laptop. That's where most of your visitors are.
Getting to your site
1. Does the link on your Google listing work?
Search your business name on Google, open your listing, and tap "Website." Then do the same on Bing and Apple Maps. Lapsed domains and disconnected website builders are more common than you'd think, and when a domain expires it can end up pointing somewhere you'd never want a customer to land.
2. Does the address bar show a lock?
If Chrome shows "Not secure" next to your address, your site has no SSL certificate. It's usually free to fix through your host, and it matters most on pages where people type in their details.
3. How long until something useful appears?
Load your homepage on your phone using cellular data, not Wi-Fi. Count the seconds until you can see a headline and a button. If it's more than about three, or the screen stays blank until you scroll, you're losing visitors. For a measurable answer, run your homepage through Google's free PageSpeed Insights tool and look at the mobile results.
The first screen
4. Can a stranger tell what you do in five seconds?
Your headline should say what you offer and who it's for. "Welcome to our website" and a slideshow don't count.
5. Is there a clear next step without scrolling?
A button that says exactly what happens next: "Book now," "Get a quote," "Shop the bestsellers." On phones, consider a bar pinned to the bottom of the screen with your main action and a tap-to-call button.
6. Is anything in the way?
Popups on load, cookie banners covering half the screen, chat widgets over the button, promo bars stacked three deep. Each one is a small tax on every visitor. Keep one, delay it, and make it easy to close.
Show your homepage to someone who doesn't know your business for five seconds. Ask what you sell and what they'd click. If they hesitate, your first screen needs work.
Trust
7. Is your best proof above the fold?
Reviews, star ratings, years in business, credentials, recognizable clients, a guarantee. Whatever makes people choose you should be visible before they scroll, not on a page they'll never open.
8. Is everything current?
A copyright year from years ago, old promotions, typos in the header, or broken images tell visitors the business might not be active. Fix the small things. They're doing more damage than they seem.
9. Does every page have a real title and description?
Search site:yourdomain.com on Google. Each result should show a clear title like "Laser Hair Removal in Doral | Your Business" and a sentence that makes someone want to click. If you see your bare web address as the title, or random text in the snippet, those tags are missing.
10. Is there anything on your site you didn't put there?
Hacked sites, especially outdated WordPress installs, often carry hidden spam links. On a computer, open your homepage, right-click, choose "View page source," and search for words like "cheap," "replica," "casino" or "jerseys." If they show up, get the site cleaned and secured.
Measurement
11. Do your forms and buttons actually work?
Submit your own contact form. Tap your own phone number. Click "Book" and go through to a confirmation. You'd be surprised how often a form has been sending to an old email address for months.
12. Can you see what's working?
You should have analytics installed (Google Analytics or similar), and if you run ads, the Meta pixel and Google Ads conversion tracking firing on real actions like bookings, purchases or leads. Without that, you're guessing which marketing pays.
What to do with your results
Most businesses fail three or four of these. Fix the ones about getting to your site and the first screen before anything else. Those affect every single visitor, and they're usually the cheapest to fix.
If you'd like a second pair of eyes, we'll do the full version for free. Request a free website audit and you'll get a private page with what we found, plus a concept of your new homepage on desktop and mobile. For med spas specifically, see why your med spa website isn't booking appointments.