Can a stranger say what you do after one screen?
Test it with someone outside the business. It is the most predictive single question on the list.
Checklist
Website audit checklist
Not ninety points. The dozen that decide whether a visitor understands, believes and acts — with the reason each one is on the list.
What you get: your FixSift score and your highest-priority findings, with the evidence behind each one. See what FixSift checks.
Run your free scan
Enter your address and FixSift returns your score and your highest-priority findings. It is the same scanner the homepage runs — there is no separate engine behind this page.
The difference in practice
This page reads the FixSift scan through one lens: a short, defensible checklist rather than an exhaustive one. The scanner is the same one the homepage uses — what changes is which findings are brought to the front.
Is the audience named anywhere?
Recognition drives everything downstream. Without it, the visitor has to self-select.
Is there one dominant action?
Dominant visually and positionally, not just present.
Does the button say what happens?
"Submit" and "Learn more" describe nothing the visitor wants.
Is the main claim supported near where it is made?
Proof at the bottom of the page arrives too late to affect the decision.
Is the top objection answered on the page?
Usually cost, commitment, timing or switching. Usually answered nowhere.
How many steps before value?
Count gates, forms and required accounts placed before the visitor has a reason to accept them.
Does the first screen work on a phone?
Check it on an actual phone, not a narrow browser window.
Is key content in text?
Anything only in an image or a PDF is invisible to search engines and assistants.
Do the title and description describe the page?
They are the two lines a searcher reads before deciding to click.
Is the heading structure real?
One main heading, sub-headings that describe actual sections.
Is anything on the page contradicting anything else?
Inconsistent claims across sections quietly undermine all of them.
Why this matters
Long checklists fail because they treat every item as equal. Most of a hundred-point list has no bearing on whether anyone buys anything.
A short list is also finishable, which matters more than completeness. Twelve points checked honestly beat ninety skimmed.
Each item here is on the list because it changes what a visitor can conclude, and each one is checkable without a tool.
What this looks like in practice
The stranger test
Ten seconds with someone outside your company will surface more than an hour of internal review.
The swap test
Put a competitor's name on your headline. If it still works, rewrite it.
The phone test
Open the page on a real phone and note what is visible before scrolling.
Mistakes worth avoiding
Checking without changing
A completed checklist is not a completed project.
Grading yourself
Everyone inside the business passes the comprehension items. Ask someone who is not.
Ignoring the order
Comprehension items first. The rest depend on them.
How FixSift works
- 01
Enter your website
No account, no installation, no card.
- 02
FixSift reads the page
Messaging, conversion, trust and clarity.
- 03
Fix what matters first
A score and your highest-priority findings.
Every page on this site runs the same scanner and the same analysis. There is no separate engine behind any of them — what changes is which findings are explained first.
Frequently asked questions
Can I use this checklist on a client's site?
Yes. It is written to be used by anyone reviewing any site, and the free scan produces the same structure automatically if you would rather start there.
Does FixSift check all of these automatically?
Most of them. The stranger test and the phone test are worth doing yourself, and FixSift covers the rest, with the evidence attached to each finding.
Why is page speed not on the list?
It matters, and dedicated tools measure it far better. This list is about what the page communicates.
How often should I run through it?
After any significant change to the page, and otherwise a couple of times a year.
Related pages
Scan my website
One address, one scan, one prioritised list. Free, and you keep the link to your result.